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A FURTHER THOUGHT ABOUT THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS
You may recall from a reading of Ezra’s Essays that my eighth grade teacher was a buxom woman named Miss Maxwell. She was the one who wore high-buttoned shoes and liked to read English poetry to us, much to the chagrin of all the boys of the class. Miss Maxwell was very intent on teaching…
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UPON BEING SELF-HOODWINKED
This essay pivots on the origin of a popular folk song written in 1835 called “Kathleen Mavourneen.” Like many Irish people and the world at large, I had long assumed that “Kathleen Mavourneen” was the epitome of Irish folk music. The word “mavourneen” is an ancient Gaelic word for “my darling.” The name Kathleen is…
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WARM WEATHER
During my enlistment in the United States Army, it was my fortune to wind up spending an inordinate time with the forces of the British Empire. I did not care much for the big shots such as Jumbo Wilson, he being of the rank of general or admiral. On the other hand, I tended to…
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A RIBALD HYMN
As most of you probably know by this time, my enlistment with the American Army resulted in my spending a great deal of time with the British. Specifically, it was to fly combat support for the valiant efforts of the British Eighth Army. From time to time, the troopers from the British Eighth Army sang…
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A FEW FURTHER THOUGHTS ON LANGUAGE
The author of this essay was born in the United States of America. Accordingly, that makes his native tongue the tongue of English. Perhaps that should read the American version of the English language. Nonetheless, the author of this essay has an abiding interest in the twists and turns that the language has taken as…
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THE LANGUAGE ACCORDING TO MITT ROMNEY
Willard “Mitt” Romney is in a pitched battle during the Republican primaries with Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich is a master at spinning a phrase in the English language. Mr. Romney, on the other hand, does not know his backside from third base. But two additions to the American language pronounced by Mr. Romney compelled my…
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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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FORBIDDEN WORDS
As an essayist, I welcome all words that will fit appropriately in my essays. There are several million people who write better essays than I do, including Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens is in love with the words he writes and the longer and more obscure terms suit him greatly. My essays are less esoteric and deal…
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RANDOM THOUGHTS: BOTH BAD AND GOOD
In these days of the winter, I find that my mind produces some random thoughts. They don’t go together. Rather they are individual thoughts that strike me from time to time. As the title of this essay suggests, there are some bad thoughts, and quite separately, there are good thoughts. One of the least praiseworthy…
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THE LINGUA AMERICANA
I have always been moved by additions to this language we speak. It is not a static language. Rather it involves all kinds of new additions. As Sven Lernevall my friend of many years says of the English language, it is “a rich language.” And so this small essay is intended to recognize the richness…