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EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS
[Quick note from Kevin: We’re now officially foraying into 2011. Think I’d start with a piece or two written about one year ago exactly. Enjoy!] As I have reported to you on more than one occasion, my first memory of anything occurred in October of 1926. Prior to that time, the New York Yankees had…
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THE POWER OF PRAYER (THREE)
As I am a non-believer in religious exercises, it may seem unbecoming for a fellow with my mind bent to raise the issue of the power of prayer. In this essay I do so not with an accusatory sense of purpose. My interest is purely curiosity. I do not wish to deride those who believe…
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THE ULTIMATE DECIDER
A good many years ago my eldest brother married a woman named Rose Wilson. Rose may have been the kindest woman known to mankind. As my mother would have said, “She had a big heart.” Although I did not see much of Rose because of my living in Kansas City, Chicago, and New York, I…
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A PAIR OF SABBATH THOUGHTS
This dictation is taking place on Sunday, September 2nd, which happens to be a Sabbath in the Christian faith. And so it is that I have a pair of Sabbath thoughts. One is of recent vintage and the other reaches back to, I believe, 1958. Let us take the one of most recent vintage. Last…
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THE SCHWA
Late in 1945, the American Army very reluctantly agreed to my obtaining an honorable discharge. I was a simple Buck Sergeant which means that I had no place at the table with Generals and Admirals. But the war was over and American women loudly proclaimed that they wanted their sons, husbands, their boyfriends, and their…
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WHY DO I CRY?
This essay is being dictated on the Friday evening of September 14. At the moment, I am in a thoroughly somber mood. The somber mood comes from having listened to the broadcast from Andrews Air Force Base, which was the site of ceremonies honoring the four dead Americans who perished recently in Libya. If I…
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CAN YOU READ THIS UPSIDE DOWN?
[Note from Kevin — This is the continuation of this essay, entitled Setting a Nose Alight, about Pop’s time with the labor union. It had these following two lines under the title:] from Charles L. Brown Former Chairman of the Board of AT&T, Circa 1956 Earlier this year, one of my daughters pointed out…
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ANOTHER ROUND WITH A POLYGAMY OF ESSAYETTES
You will recall that these are individual subjects that have absolutely no relationship to each other. With that forewarning, we will begin a new venture into the world of polygamy which I am determined to rescue from the Mormon Church. First there is the bladder scanner. This subject is considered by some to be…
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PRESIDENT DE GAULLE, S’IL VOUS PLAÎT PASSEZ-MOI LES RADIS
Even those who are unschooled in the French language may discern that this essay is about radishes and the first President of the Fifth Republic of France, Charles de Gaulle. I do not pretend to be an expert in the affairs of the Republic of France but I believe that it is appropriate for me…
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SETTING A NOSE ALIGHT
The title of this essay may cause some consternation. However, before this essay is finished I hope to explain the derivation of the title and to remove any consternation. This essay will concentrate on what I have always called the post-war years. However, as time has gone on, the post-wars have become a confusing title. …