Ezra's Essays

Category: Outstanding Title

  • COMPASSION BEYOND ALL REASON

    This is an essay that was run over by the events of this week. For two or three weeks, it had been my intention to write an essay having to do with civility. I had thought that the title of the proposed essay might be, “Civility, Decency, and Compassion Toward Others.” But as I said,…

  • REALITY AND AMERICAN CONSTERNATION

    This morning, March 6, Tim Russert asked General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, how the war in Iraq was going. To save space, I will condense his answer into the thought that the war is going swimmingly. Everything is on schedule and soon there will be Iraqi boys fighting the insurgents over…

  • EZRA’S CLEAVAGE

    The reference to cleavage in the title of this essay is mainly a snare and a delusion. The cleavage reference was used as a titillating device to persuade the reader to wrestle with the rest of the essay. I offer no apologies for the misleading title in that the cleavage reference and the titillation will…

  • BASTARDS: A TASTER’S SELECTION OF FOUR DIFFERENT VARIETIES

    When the English language was developed from its Saxon roots, the original meaning of “bastard” had to do with the offspring of unmarried parents. The word bastard is sometimes considered an epithet and should never be hung on the offspring but should be reserved for the unthinking parents who produced that offspring. But in any…

  • MOUTHFULS OF NOSTALGIA

    On many occasions, I am unable to recall what I had for dinner yesterday. I mark this short-term memory loss off to advancing age and interest in other topics of the day. While I am unable at times to recall yesterday’s dinner, I am often able to recall events and situations that took place more…

  • TURNING THE VIRGINITY ODOMETER BACK TO ZERO

    This essay is going to attempt to perform an impossible literary marriage in that it involves the virginity of Muslim women and an apt poem by A. E. Housman, an English poet who could foresee miracles of the future. Whether this marriage will last is a reasonable subject for discussion, but I believe that it…

  • THE GREAT SUBTRACTION CRISIS

    In the past two months Americans and, indeed, the rest of the civilized world have been troubled by the banking crisis as well as the collapse on Wall Street. Recent reports suggest that the banks are now turning a hefty profit and reading the stock tables will suggest that the stock market is recovering. From…

  • HOBGOBLINS AND GANDER SAUCE

    The explanation for this current title will probably appear before the end of this essay. This means that those of you who wonder why this lovely title exists will have to hold on for a while and it will give you a vital interest in the outcome of this little piece. Over the 11 years…

  • A ROBUST ODE TO OUR MODEST COMMODES

    I suppose that it is commonplace for us to have to overlook the things that give us comfort and pleasure. Men overlook the contributions that women make in cooking their meals and keeping their houses clean. Children often overlook the efforts of their parents in providing schooling for them. So being forgetful is not an…

  • THE WRATH OF GRAPES

    Those of you who shop for produce may have noticed over the years that grapes never come from Arab or Muslim countries.  The reason for this is fairly simple.  The petroleum reserves in those countries are so great that they tend to rise to the surface, which proves infertile to the grape-growing industry.  And so…