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PRESENTLY AND/OR THIS-A-WAY
This essay on the English language was inspired by a preposterous source. The someone who inspired this essay departed this vale of tears more than 51 years ago and was generally known as my father. He was a laconic man who used country speak to convey his thoughts to the outside world. Country speak is…
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CLAYTON 714-J
People with prodigious long-term memories may recognize the title of this piece as being a telephone number. That is indeed the case. It was a four party line associated with the town of Clayton, Missouri. In 1934 or 1935, my father was again employed after a layoff of six years, which was a function of…
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A THOUGHT OR TWO ABOUT “THE GIFT OF CHASTITY”
There are two or three thoughts that must be established before we proceed into this essay. The first has to do with vows that Catholic priests embrace, saying that they will live a life of poverty, obedience, and chastity. Secondly, your old essayist has never claimed to lead a life based on these three concepts. …
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“…REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE”
Tom Harkin is the junior senator from the state of Iowa. Harkin is a well-regarded fellow and has had presidential ambitions. Unfortunately those ambitions never got past the primary vote in the state of Iowa. But be that as it may, Harkin has an idea worth considering. The idea has to do with naming a…
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SEX, SEX AND MORE SEX
It may seem unseemly for a man of my advanced years to write an essay about sexual matters. On the other hand, it also seems to me that I had no choice in the matter. If my mother were to reprimand me for having thoughts about ungodly matters, I would be forced to tell her,…
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TRANSPARENCIES, LEMMINGS, AND DITTOS
At heart, this essay is about politicians and those who make their living from political commentary. Politicians and those who comment about political events are quick to seize upon a new comment which becomes the comment du jour for several days. The favorite word that is the fad these days is “transparent” or “transparencies.” When…
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IS THE POPE NOW NEARING HIS DOTAGE?
There are some observers who might regard the heading of this essay as a provocative statement. However, to Pope watchers such as myself, the statement is justified by a sharp drop in the Pope’s voltage which may be due to a short circuit. Two particular statements have led me to conclude that this octogenarian Pope…
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ASPECTS OF MORALITY
Earlier today I was stunned to learn that March 4th is the 83rd birthday of Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve Board. You may recall Mr. Greenspan, who often testified to Congress using sentences that could not be untangled. Andrea Mitchell, the television reporter, says that when he proposed marriage to her, she…
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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
In a recent essay, I deplored the fact that the tags were missing from the backs of my recently purchased tee shirts. This resulted in my putting the shirts on backwards about 35 to 40% of the time. So I wrote to the president of the Nordstrom company and told him that whoever made the…
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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…