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HE/SHE/THEY SAID THAT?! VOLUME II
VOLUME II This is the second volume of “They Said That?” This essay will lean heavily on my experience in the labor relations field and on my work as an attendant in the filling station business. In the labor relations field, there are some rich quotations. There was a division accounting manager for AT&T…
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FOND MEMORIES OF WILL-YAM
During this last week in March, the elder Carr daughter left her abode in Manhattan and came to see Judy and myself. She was accompanied by the afore-said Will-Yam who is her son. I know a good bit about Will-Yam in that I watched Maureen, better known as Blondie, progressing through all of the stages…
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CATTYWAMPUS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE THOUGHTS
This does not purport to be a definitive essay on the English language. It is simply an interim report on the current usage of the language as well as one reference to a word that has ancient connections. These days I am obliged to hold onto a sighted person leading me about. This is not…
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THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS AGAIN REVISITED
It goes without saying that your Uncle Ezra has no to investigate the subject of the language that Americans speak. Yet while I lack the academic credentials, as a wordsmith from my essay writing I have an abiding interest in words. In this case, there are four words that have fallen into disuse that I…
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STOCKINGS AND GARTERS
I do not know much about the subject of stockings and garters. There are those who would say my ignorance on this vital subject is appalling. On the other hand, I would say to my detractors, of whom there are many, that the absence of expertise is no reason not to write an essay on…
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AUNT MARY CHICKA, REST IN PEACE
Two deaths took place yesterday, December 18. Because the Earth turns from east to west, the first death took place in North Korea. The dictator there, Kim Jong-il, aged 69, died. The civilized world was not impressed by the passing of the North Korean dictator. As might be expected, the North Koreans have required public…
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WHO PUT THE SUGAR INTO THE CORNBREAD?
Lillie Carr was my mother, who observed the rules of rural speech and of rural cooking. She was a good woman who has now been deceased for 50 years. She was always one of my defenders, and while I was in the Army she kept a blue star in the window of her living room. …
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ETERNAL LIFE
The title of this essay might lead some people to assume that in my later years I have succumbed to the teachings and the blathering of Christian preachers. That clearly is not the case. It is my intention in this instance to review what might take place if a few or many of us were…
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A LITTLE THISA AND A LITTLE THATA
Those of you with prodigious memories may recall that in 2009 there were three essays appearing in this space. All of them had to do with Ben Bernie, the orchestra leader of the 1930s, 1940s and ‘50s. When Ben Bernie led his orchestra through a medley of songs, he would often introduce it as “a…
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CHERISH THE CHILDREN AND/OR THE UNFATHOMABLE
The dual titles to this essay span a period in time of more than 2500 years. Cherish the children is a maxim from Confucius. Unfathomable was enunciated this week in Newtown, Connecticut by Don Lemon, the indefatigable announcer for CNN on weekends. As you may have guessed, the title has to do with the recent…