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UPON BEING AWESOME
I have no trouble with neologisms, clever sayings that make their way into the Anglo-Saxon language. But I do have trouble with an affectation which is widely spread among all age groups who speak the American version of the English language. The most recent such word is “awesome.” I have always thought that our exploration…
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ENHANCED VULGARITIES AND/OR DO AMERICANS REALLY TALK LIKE THIS?
In an effort to be as straight forward as possible, I will admit at the beginning of this essay that the George Bush administration made it known to all Americans that enhancement had taken on a more sinister meaning. When the Bushies talked about enhanced interrogation, they were really talking about torture. This essay has…
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THE HONDA BUMP ENHANCER
About this time in 2009, it was decided that the 2001 Chrysler, which had given impeccable service over the years, should be traded. I used to think highly of my skills as a negotiator but in this case we ran into an implacable enemy. The implacable enemy was the salesman who sold us a new…
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TO GIVE ONE BIG FAT RAT’S ASS
Over the years I have been a big consumer of sports news. Specifically, I have followed the fortunes of the New York Mets and before that the St. Louis Cardinals. When the fall and the winter came, I followed some of the St. Louis college teams but after the war, I was much interested in…
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HAVE AMERICANS GONE SOFT?
In the late 1940s, I found myself in Boston. I had always thought of Boston as being among one of the cooler climes. But this was in August and I found myself sweating profusely. As a final resort, I repaired to a movie theater that offered some sort of cooling. I am not sure at…
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THE RETURN AND/OR THE REVERTING BACK TO STANDARD TIME
This is being dictated on Friday, November 4, which is the eve of one of the happiest days in my long life. The happiness comes from the fact that tomorrow evening we will do away with daylight savings time. For a small while, if the politicians will keep their noses out of this celestial business,…
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CHRISTIAN MINGLE REVISITED
A little more than a month ago, I constructed an essay called “Christian Mingle.” The genesis for that essay had to do with the many television advertisements that I have heard whose title was Christian Mingle. Now that I know a bit more about Christian Mingle, it is time to do another essay called “Christian…
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TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME
It is common knowledge that as men grow older, their bodies perform less well. That is of course a fact of life. But medical science will not end until the ends of time are reversed. Men of 75 or so will act as though time had not done its work of deterioration on their bodies.…
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DON’T FORGET YOUR CHANGE
In Missouri where I come from, we don’t like fanciful titles or road signs. The main highway leading from St. Louis to Clayton, Missouri, my home town, is called Clayton Road. It is so called because it goes to Clayton. Similarly, in the suburbs of St. Louis there was a road called North and South. …
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CHRISTIAN MINGLE
I rarely listen to commercials broadcast on television. One recently caught my attention. The title is “Christian Mingle.” Under ordinary circumstances, when I have some curiosity about a commercial, I ask the sponsors of the commercial for some detail. In this case, I do not desire to get involved with Christian Mingle because I suspect…