-
SEGREGATED RECOLLECTIONS ON A COLD FEBRUARY AFTERNOON
This afternoon the temperature is hanging below the freezing mark. Somewhere between six and eight inches of snow are on the ground. The forecasters assure us that the snow will be followed by a freezing rain. Perhaps all of this proves that when I elected to stay in the great state of New Jersey, I…
-
FINALLY, EVENING UP FOR SOUTHPAWS
The term “southpaw” is basically a baseball expression. It refers to players who use their left hand to throw. Traditionally, baseball diamonds have been laid out with home plate in the southwest corner of the infield. This is to prevent the batter from having to look into the afternoon sun while he is at the…
-
REFLECTIONS AND TRANQUILITY
Harry Landis of Marion County, Missouri, died last week. Mr. Landis’s death was unremarkable except for the fact that he was one of the two surviving soldiers from the First World War. Mr. Landis was 108 years old and now the only survivor is a gentleman named Fred Buckles of West Virginia. Mr. Buckles was…
-
INSPIRATIONS FROM THE W.C.
The writing of essays requires an infusion of ideas. A good many of my ideas occur to me while I am attending to my duties in the bathroom. For example, you may recall that there were a series of essays which were entitled, “Thoughts While Shaving.” As time has gone on, I still receive thoughts…
-
A FOUNTAIN PEN AND KEEPERS OF BROTHERS
Preachers, politicians, poets, and the surgeons who perform autopsies remain clueless as to the location of the soul in the human body. Evangelical enthusiasts such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson claim that the soul is located in the heart. Every Fellow of the American College of Cardiologists will deny this as junk science. They…
-
PONDERING FAMILY MATTERS
One of the joys of fatherhood is the ability to ponder questions raised by your children. Two or three weeks ago, my daughter raised a question that has left me pondering prodigiously. It stems from the fact that my daughter has peculiar reading habits. When I get a batch of essays together and mail them,…
-
REDEMPTION IN TEXAS FOOTBALL
This is a short story with a happy ending. I spend very little time worrying about football and certainly less time worrying about Texas football. But in this case, I was indeed devoted to the outcome. It seems that earlier in the 2009 football season the quarterback of the University of Texas football team gave…
-
IT AIN’T NATURAL
For a short time, I have debated between the current title of “It Ain’t Natural” and another title, “Ez-ree Revisited.” But in the end I selected the title of the business about naturalness. There is a certain amount of nostalgia in this essay because it has to do with the original Ezra, my father. Ezra…
-
RAILINGS
Before I expose my innermost and secret thoughts about railings, I must confess to a vision in my mind that has persisted for almost 50 years. Those of you who follow the fortunes of the Carr family will recall that of the eight children, four were boys. It was my mother’s greatest wish that each…
-
GOING HOME
Among my fellow GIs of the Second World War was an idea that enjoyed almost complete universality. The idea was to win the war, bid farewell to the United States Army, and go home. The GIs of World War II came from every walk of life and from every corner of the United States. But…