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IN PRAISE OF BRIGHT, INTELLIGENT PREACHERS
There is an oxymoronic quality to this essay which I hope will meet with your favor. The oxymoron has to do with a writer whose belief is in non-belief, who then publishes an essay in praise of preachers. But that is what I intend to do in this essay about preachers. For more than 66…
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I DECLARE
If my mother had lived, she would now be 131 years old. But of course she didn’t live. Curiously as I grow older I am given to thoughts about my mother. I suppose we enjoyed a normal relationship as much as could be expected under the circumstances. My mother came from Golconda in Pope County,…
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CONFESSIONS THAT WILL EXCITE AND ENRICH THE SOUL
It is the standard belief of preachers that confessions are beneficial to the soul. My religious beliefs or lack thereof bar me from knowledge about the soul. However, yesterday, February 17, brought three confessions that must have benefited every soul known to man or cattle. The first was a confession by Alex Rodriguez, the $30…
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IN LAVISH PRAISE OF SCALLIONS
There are dilettantes who dine on snails, caviar and champagne who will contend that eating a scallion is beneath their stature in life. They will contend that it is nothing other than a peasant food. Your old essayist holds a contrary view. In his estimation, the enjoyment of any meal except breakfast is increased by…
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MENTAL DWARFISM AT A TIME OF GREAT NATIONAL CRISIS
As I dictate this essay on February 11, 2009, there is a grave national crisis surrounding the American people. From my view, it is a crisis of the same proportions as World War II and the great Hoover depression of 1929. There are a good number of brains at work on the crisis for which…
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A LITTLE BIT OF THISA AND A LITTLE BIT OF THATA
About the only advantage in being raised during the Herbert Hoover Depression of 1929 was that the radio carried intelligent music. The lyrics had a story line and there were harmony and melody to the music. There were dozens of bands that toured the country at a time when almost every major hotel offered a…
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THEY NEVER BETRAYED ME
This is intended as a long overdue tribute to my friends, the Italian people. Specifically, it has to do with the United States Depression starting in 1929 and secondly, it also has to do with the War in Italy which involved United States forces from 1942 to 1945. In my mind, there is a clear…
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“HAVE YOU GOT ANY NEWS FROM THE ICEBERG?”
A casual disinterested observer, noticing that this essay is accompanied by a compact disk, might conclude that this essay is about music. That casual disinterested observer would be exactly right. Music makes me feel better and so this essay is dedicated to our well-being, both yours and mine. If the rest of the world wishes…
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MARBLES
The genesis for this essay had to do with a remark made to me by Dr. Andrew Beamer following our most recent discussion. In essence, Dr. Beamer said that I had all of my marbles and seemed to have held onto them late in life. I am not quite certain that Dr. Beamer is right…
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WHERE SHALL WE GO NOW, MY FAMILY AND I?
As a general proposition, I often warn my readers about the essays that appear on these pages. And so it is that in this case, I will tell you that the essay that follows is about Irish music and also about my father. My father could not sing worth a lick. That applied to Irish…