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WELCOME HOME?
Last Sunday night the President of the United States held a dinner to which veterans of the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war were invited. Obviously the President could not have all of those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to one dinner. I do not know how the veterans were chosen to gather for…
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WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU…
It may come as a surprise to some younger readers that there was a time in this country when there was no such thing as instant communications. As a matter of fact, my family did not have a telephone until some time in the vicinity of 1935. My mother, who was home all day, was…
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A FIVE-STAR QUINELLA
For a number of years, I have kept two dictating machines on a table near my desk. On the left side, there is a machine that I use to dictate what I hope is the final product for Mrs. Baker, the transcriber. On the right side, there is a machine that keeps notes for titles…
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MY OWN LITTLE MAPLE TREE
In 1969, I was enjoying my life as a lobbyist in Washington for the great AT&T Company. As summer was about to turn into fall, the great AT&T Company decided that my talents were needed back in New York. Time was short as my two children were required to return to school. When I came…
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UN OR NON
On a few occasions, these essays have introduced you to Miss Maxwell, my eighth grade teacher. She was the one who wore high-buttoned shoes and loved to recite English poetry to the consternation of her students. Miss Maxwell was also a bear cat on hour-on-hour learning the rules of English grammar. Diagramming sentences provided a…
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THE RHODE ISLAND RED ROOSTER
From the beginning to the end, this essay embraces about 85 years of the life of the author. On the other hand, this essay embraces perhaps 40 years of the life of the red rooster that is the title of this piece. During the last half of the 1920s, my father was employed by the…
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LICKING
I believe that it is time for us to have another adventure in country speak. Country speak is a variation of the English language. It is a language unto itself. The subject for today’s lesson in country speak is “lick.” That word is hardly ever conjugated because to do so would lead you astray. If…
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LEARNING TO DANCE
Earlier today I dictated a small essay having to do with Polk salad. I identified that as an essay which had a nostalgic ring to it. It involved my mother and her habit of gathering the Polk weed or vegetable in the early springtime. I was raised largely as an only child. All my siblings…
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A.W.K. UND STALIES
As most of you are aware, I spent a good part of my time with the Bell System in the field of labor relations. The management of AT&T, principally Verne Bagnell, decided in July of 1951 that I should become a management employee. There were two moves in the future to Kansas City and then…
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CHARLES H. AND LITTLE AUGUST
Over the years I have introduced you, my readers, to the various members of my family. In total, there were eight children. Martha and Ruth, born in 1920 and 1924, were probably stillbirths. That was a subject that the children were never encouraged to ask about. Also in 1924 there was the death of my…