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ON LANGUAGE: DON’T TOUCH MY JUNK
I hope that it is apparent to all that language is an important part of the human condition. We use it to reason with one another and we use it to praise each other. We use language to denounce each other as evidenced by the recent political campaigns. We use language to persuade each other. …
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THE WEINER AFFAIR AND AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM
This essay is being written after Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress. In his disgrace, former Congressman Weiner has earned a bit of admiration on my part. For the past day or two, it has been obvious that former Congressman Weiner had no choice but to resign from Congress. Resigning from his Congressional seat is one…
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GUY D’
As most of you know, I worked for the AT&T Company for a long time. During the last seven or eight years, my duties were with what was then called the Overseas Department. Basically this had to do with telecommunications outside of the United States. It was an assignment that brought a great personal satisfaction. …
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ROLL, JORDAN, ROLL
Contemplating the essay that I am about to write, I have come to the conclusion that more than anything, it is about curiosity. The curiosity is my own. For many years, I have wondered about the Jordan River and whether or not it really rolled. But there are some things to take care of before…
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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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THE RHODE ISLAND RED ROOSTER
From the beginning to the end, this essay embraces about 85 years of the life of the author. On the other hand, this essay embraces perhaps 40 years of the life of the red rooster that is the title of this piece. During the last half of the 1920s, my father was employed by the…
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IN PRAISE OF…
According to my notepad, I had wanted to dictate an essay entitled “In Praise of Running Water and Flushing Toilets.” Further down on my notepad, I discovered an entry called “In Praise of the Forgettery.” These are different subjects but because I make the rules around here, it seemed to me that the two of…