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CELEBRATION: the release

May 2, 2011

There are many reasons people celebrate. Whether it be a wedding which has been in the planning for over a year, or a winning homerun in Little League game, celebration is something that emerges from within.  If there is too much cerebral involvement, the celebration is muted.  When it is a surprise, an unexpected explosion [...]

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SAVAGE: a verb meaning to destroy using vicious methods

April 14, 2011

I’ve always bristled at the use of the term savage when it was used as a noun.  It was commonly employed by writers who were disparaging American Indians for their attacks on white soldiers.  It is frequently questionable as to which side was the savage side.  All one has to do is read the accounts [...]

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APRIL FOOL: a game played on April 1 to snag a person in jest

April 1, 2011

April Fool is supposed to be a fun game played in families and among friends, in which harmless  “tricks” are played on each other.   When the “victim” becomes aware that “he” has been tricked, the perpetrator shouts “April Fool” and everyone laughs (hopefully.) Sometimes, however, the tricks played are not harmless, and embarrassment or pain [...]

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TODAY IS MY 500TH POSTING! HOPE YOU READ IT!

March 28, 2011
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ZERO SUM-GAME: seeking “one’s share” of the pot

March 22, 2011

The term zero sum-game refers to a transaction in which one person’s gains occur only at the expense of another person’s losses. That is to say, it is based upon the assumption that there is only a finite  amount of money available.  Therefore, if I gain some of the money, it must mean that another [...]

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METRONOME: an instrument that measures rythmn

March 15, 2011

Our metronome stood on the piano where it faithfully watched over our girls as they (reluctantly) practiced their piano lessons.  It’s voice monitored their speed, their regularity, and their consistency.  The metronome we purchased for them wasn’t like the traditional one in the graphic.  It was smaller, made of black plastic and its voice was [...]

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BETWEEN/AMONG: easily confused

March 7, 2011

There is a vast number of words that get confused in the American English language.  You can hear them all the time on television, and they appear with frequency in the print media.   To me they are like fingernails on a chalk board (how’s that for a dated image?) But no matter how much they [...]

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ESCUTCHEON: a heraldic shield that displays a coat of arms

January 29, 2011

While I was hospitalized I read Ken Follett’s epic novel, The Pillars of the Earth, which follows the construction of one of the great cathedrals of England over two generations.  A number of years ago I had enjoyed Sarum, a similar, but grander, epic novel tracing the construction of the Cathedral at Salisbury.   Author Edward [...]

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NOT ALL THAT BAD: the State of the Union Event

January 26, 2011

Well, yesterday you saw my skeptical self and today I’m wearing my “not half bad” tee shirt.   I had little anticipation that anything would come out of the State of the Union Address event which would bring hope or promise.   The President was wedged into a very uncomfortable place where anything he said was going [...]

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ELDERLY: a term for “old” which varies by the age of the person using it

December 11, 2010

Today was an eyeopener for me.   My wife and I went to the nursing home/ rehabilitation center where I will “reside” for up to two weeks following my discharge from the hospital next week.  It is a place with a specific floor dedicated to rehab patients, a good physical therapy team, and a well-equipped therapy [...]

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