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WHISTLES
Almost all of my friends know that I am a pushover when it comes to trains. They also know that I am a pushover when it comes to folk songs. When those two are wed together, I am largely a basket case. That is what happens when it comes to whistles on trains, but there…
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GOING HOME …. SYMBOLICALLY
According to the Bible, Methuselah was a gentleman who lived 969 years. I know this for a fact because it is mentioned on five separate occasions in Genesis 5, in First Chronicles, and in Luke, Chapter 3 Verse 37. So there is no debate about Methuselah’s age. In 1935, George Gershwin wrote an opera called…
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SOUNDS
This essay on sounds has had a delay in reaching the delivery room. It has remained in the womb of my alleged brain because of a fear that some readers might interpret it as a cry for pity. My thoughts on my non-sightedness were distributed in an essay called “Sing No Sad Songs for This…
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JELLY BEANS AND BLUE JEANS
I first became acquainted with jelly beans more than 80 years ago from a grocer in Brentwood, Missouri who served our family. His name was John Gualdoni, who kept a store where all of the merchandise was stacked on counters behind clerks’ heads. As each item was purchased, it was put on a counter in…
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EZRA’S CLEAVAGE
The reference to cleavage in the title of this essay is mainly a snare and a delusion. The cleavage reference was used as a titillating device to persuade the reader to wrestle with the rest of the essay. I offer no apologies for the misleading title in that the cleavage reference and the titillation will…
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BITS AND PIECES: WHEN ENGLAND WAS A PUP (OR YES, MASTER)
This is the final Bits and Pieces essay in this current series. Originally, it was intended to immortalize a poem quoted on many occasions by Lillie Carr, my mother. Mrs. Carr was an Irishwoman who wanted desperately to throw off the yoke that England had on Ireland. She never set foot in England or in…
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“YOU AIN’T TORE YOUR BRITCHES YET” – BILL KNAPP, CIRCA 1950
In the hills and bogs of this great country, there is a language spoken which is a derivative of the English language. That derivative is called “country speak.” If, for example, you follow the announcements of Richard Shelby, the U.S. Senator from Alabama, you will notice that he pronounces the word “can’t” as “caint.” This…
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DR. EZRA’S OVER-THE-COUNTER PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES
Our politicians, economists, and the people who bring us our news tell us that it is quite likely that the world is preparing to enter a second Depression. There are those of us who experienced the first Depression who will tell you that the American economy has been in a depressed stage for quite a…
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IODINE AND MERCUROCHROME
Growing up during the Great Depression of 1929 preceded the advent of exotic medicines for all kinds of illnesses. In every household, in the medicine cabinet of a Depression family was a bottle of iodine. When iodine was administered to a cut anywhere on the body, you had a very stinging sensation. But that was…
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CANDIDATE EZRA’S FIRST DAY AS PRESIDENT OF THE US OF A
The last time I ran for an office of any kind was in January of 1950. In that case, I ran to be the president of Local 6350 of the Communications Workers of America, which was located in my home town of St. Louis. As it turned out, my candidacy was successful but my tour…