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BIRDS DO IT, BEES DO IT, EVEN EDUCATED FLEAS DO IT or HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE
Your ancient essayist will be on medical leave for an indeterminate period. He has suffered a sledge hammer blow to his lustful heart and his dainty psyche. Recovery is an iffy thing, and rightly so, when the depth of the damage is considered. The old essayist is looking now for a secluded sanatorium where psychiatric…
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IS CAMILLA PG? | Meditations – Chapter Seven, Verses 1-17
For the better part of 35 years, Prince Charley of England had played games with Camilla, an upper class English woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to his mother. Charley and Camilla were married to other people for many of those years, so it is fair to assume that Princess Diana and Mr. Parker Bowles…
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TALLY HO THE G. D. FOX
Legend has it that during World War II, an American GI was invited to a fox hunt in England. It was explained to him that being invited to such a supremely significant social event was a great honor. He was told to be on his absolutely best behavior with the royalty and upper class Brits…
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THOUGHTS THAT OCCUR WHILE SHAVING | Fourth Series of Thoughts
Hiraeth My friends whose native language is other than English, tell me that the language of England, which is also spoken in many other countries, is a rich and diverse language. By that, it is assumed that the English language has a term or an expression to fit almost any of mankind’s needs. While the…
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BITS AND PIECES: A SHOO-IN FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The news from the Royal Family in London continues to be horrid. The holidays at the end of 2003 have become a disaster not only for the English Royal Family, but for the rest of the civilized world as well. On Christmas Eve, wire services such as BBC and the Associated Press were kept hopping…
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FOND MEMORIES OF BLIGHTY
Being an essayist in New Jersey, USA, is an exciting existence. There are pageants and banquets and balls to be attended. New Jersey honors its essayists weekly with an uncommon display of gratitude and outright affection. In the midst of all these ceremonies, there is a chance that Americans, particularly those of Irish ancestry, will…
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ON TO MOTHER ENGLAND AND THE U S OF A
Now that we have finished with the Iron Curtain, there may be some small merit in a review of the trouble of a Libyan tour group in Heathrow and finally, a call to personally minister to the needs of a fine group of Overseas operators and executives in Pittsburgh. We may as well start with…
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“THE MORE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME”
LES GUÊPES, 1849 JEAN BAPTISTE ALPHONSE KARR This essay has spent a longer time than normal in gestation. I had intended to dictate it on Memorial Day, but the news from Iraq was so depressing that I could not bring myself to work on it. Now that the essay has emerged from the womb, let…
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FLAGS AND ANTHEMS
Haggis is a meal consumed by Scots on ceremonial occasions. I use the word “consumed” advisedly because it is impossible to imagine that anyone would actually enjoy eating haggis. To prepare haggis, it is necessary to have a sheep’s stomach into which are poured quantities of oatmeal as well as the sheep’s kidneys, heart, lungs,…
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“ISN’T IT GRAND, BOYS…”
In a recent essay, I commented on the Irish propensity for attempting to find humor in every untoward situation, including death. In the case of the demise of a loved one, there is a bawdy Irish song whose lyrics go like this: “Look at the coffin, with its bloody gold handles, Isn’t it grand, boys,…