Mensa; Marvin Grosswirth; Computer Talk; Coriolanus Hip-Hop Rewrite

Coolish, Winter day.

Is This English?

Famous Mensan, Marvin Grosswirth wrote an article for Datamation Magazine  in April 1973, in which he gave his opinion about some of the data processing terms then coming into existence, such as:

SYSOUT - "sounds like scatological baby talk for an excretory function."

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE -  "... the fact that giant corporations and highly paid, well-educated people are devoting themselves to the creation and dissemination of artificial intelligence fills me with despair.  Is no one to be trusted."

BYTE - ",,, the 'y' gives the word a rather charming medieval flavor."

Marvin made up a little story using some words he recently encountered:

"Nand Roundoff moves from her half duplex to a dump located in a one-level address so that she can be near her lover, Al Gol.  Al's employment limits his time-sharing with Nand.  She is willing to accept his random access, however, because when they are together, his sexadecimal technique makes her heart do flip-flops.""

Certain terms caused Marvin some grief because they seemed to have  a pornographic sound:

'stroke counts; direct insert subroutine; downtime; entry point, etc. '

Yes, I know... many of these terms are now old-fashioned, but they had currency in 1973.  You know that I was writing computer programs around that time -- in fact, I've been told, but I don't quite believe it.. that one of my programs is still running at the Social Security Administration building in Woodlawn, Maryland.
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Alt-Right Hip Hop?

I find this hard to believe also, but a writer for the December 18, 2016  New York Times, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, says it's true.  Now Mr. Pollack-Pelzner is a professor of English and gender studies at Linfield College, and who are we do doubt his words? 

The author says that Stephen K. Bannon was a co-author with Julia Jones on a hip-hop version of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus.  The revision takes place during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. It is called: "The Thing I Am"..  Shakespeare adapted Plutarch's account of the Roman general's victory over the Volscians at Corioles, hence his name Coriolanus.  The Romans eventually turned against him and he teamed up with the Volscians in a plan to sack Rome.  However, his mother talked him out of it, making the Volscians mad enough to murder him.

There are two ways that people have viewed this play over the years.  First, the Roman General was hailed as the heroic strongman that his country needed. (Trumpian?)  Second, the Roman people (mob) was hailed as a necessary check on the strongman's ambitions.

The author implies that Mr. Breitbart  thinks of Mr. Trump as a national savior.  His "Coriolanus" script posits a violent conflict to purge corrupt leaders and make way for a new strongman to "pop up."

He lists some dialogue from the new play. 

"All yield to him -- the press, whitey, the color aristo-cracks of his own set.  Only the trash is weak, and I think he'll view them as birds do fish and take them as his due.  He served the hood, but lost it."

Now, doesn't Mr. Bannon scare you?  Isn't he going to "run interference" at the White (Trump) House?  Who is he going to let his strongman hero have access to? Peace loving folks?  The meek?  The old?  The infirm? The disabled?  Women?  Hold your breath!

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Spelling Changes Suggested for the English Language, as spoken by our British Neighbors

Cool and sunny.. yesterday it was almost 70 degrees... today, it was almost 50 degrees.

Suggested Spelling Changes for the English Language

Way back in September of 1976, fellow Mensan, M.G. Shaw of Orpington, Kent, England wrote an article for the International Mensa Journal about how to make (British) English easier for people to spell.  The title was:  A Spell of English.. or A Spel of Englix.)    Let me extract some of his suggested changes to get you thinking about what might also be done for (American) English.

Rule 01:   Eliminate the 'same double-letter' combination.  (What use is it anyway?) 

Examples: "hal" or "wal" or "wil"

Rule 02:  Eliminate the 'different double-letter combination. 

Examples: For "ph" use "f";  "gh" at the end of a word, drop it entirely.

Rule 03:  Drop the "parasitical C"

Examples: For "ceiling" use "seiling"; For for "cake" use "kake"; For "attic" use "attic"
                  For "luck" use "luk"

Rule 04:  Use "c" for the "ch" sound; 

Examples: For "chuck" use "cuk"; For "chicken" use "ciken"

Rule 05:  Dump the "QU" combination and use  "kw"

Example:  For "quickly" use "kwikly"

Rule 06:  Exchange "ks" for "x"

Example: For "exactly" use "eksaktly"

Rule 07:  Use "x" for the "sh" sound

Examples: For "shame" use "xame";  For "nation" use "naxn"

Rule 08:  Use 'z" for the "th" sound

Example:  For "then" use "zen";

Rule 09:  Use "ss" for "z"  (smal violaxn for rule 01.. use double-leters when zey canje ze sound of zeir single leter kounterparts)

Example:  For "crazy" use "krassy"

Rule 10:  Change the "ou" combination to just "o"

Example:  For "cough" use "kof"


Mr. Shaw didn't expect these changes to be made overnight. (I hope he wasn't holding his breath.) Let me end all this with Mr. Shaw's own words:

"Al ze books wil hav to be re-printed, for a start.  But onse ze edukaznal program begins, it won't take long for anyone to katc on.  Why, I'll bet you'r a beter speller alreay - beter zan you ever zought possible!...I rekon we wil al be able to kik ze habit of zuming zru ze dikxnary just to find out how to spel a word..."

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Somewhere in my blog entries I have written about other attempts to change the spelling for American words.  These are somewhat similar to those above.  I think the changes put forward by Melville Dewey (you know, the library man) are very  similar.  Those suggestions did not get acted upon either, as far as I know.

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Christmas Stuff; Women Doctors; Raindeer; Jingle; Barbie; Airline Fixes; Direction Signs; Social Security; Coffee Drink; IKEA Parties; KFC Innovation; Garlic on your Feet; 911 Call

Cool and overcast.  Typical Baltimore area weather in the Winter.

Christmas Stuff

On Christmas Eve, Elaine and I  treated her family to supper at our Bistro, after which we exchanged gifts.  The kids seemed to be happy with their gifts.  They couldn't wait to get home and leave some carrots for Santa's reindeer. These two kids are half Christian and half Jewish, and they celebrate both cultures, and this year Hanukah begins on the same day as Christmas. 

On Christmas day, my daughter, Diane and her husband John, hosted family Christmas at their house (which used to be my house).  A great time was had by all.  Unfortunately, Elaine had a migraine type headache and couldn't attend.  She did send cookies and sauerkraut... you know, Baltimore people love sauerkraut at occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas... and the kraut went fast.  Even I had some... it was very tasty, not vinegar like.

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

The Christmas edition of this show gave me thoughts to think about, such as this Daffy Dozen:

01.  Women make better doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers.  (Yes, Elaine has said that for years, however, I don't think I would enjoy a prostate exam given by a female.  Guess I'm old fashioned like that.

02.  New Item for the Holidays.  Raindeer Boobs.  (You can look that one up. Check out Rudolph's bright red nose.))

03.  New Item for the Holidays.  Jingle Balls.  (I'm not going there.)

04.  New Item for the Holidays in the Trump Environment.   Nuclear Survivor Barbie.

05.  One of the airlines has begun to have a separated place for people who die during long flights. (Apparently, now, if you "kick off" while in flight, the attendants just prop you up in an empty seat for the duration of the flight.  This might not be that pleasant for a seat mate.)

06.   Innovative Direction Signs.  (In Sherpa country, if you die while climbing a high mountain, sometimes it's impossible to carry you to the flat areas, so, instead, they prop you up and use you as a direction sign. )  Remember, when husbands die during a long Alaskan cold spell, their spouses bury them out back in the snow.  Why?  Well, because that is "proof of death" for the Social Security Field Reps, who may not make it to the house to take a death claim for some time. .

07.  New Drink by Starbucks:  Fruitcake frappocino.  (Why does everybody hate fruitcake?  I really like it, but Elaine does not... so at Christmas time, instead of fruitcake, we eat German Stollen. )

08.  IKEA Slumber Parties.  (In some European countries, young people are hiding in closets until the stores close, when they pop out and have their version of Slumber Parties.  Clever kids.)

09.  Finger Condoms.  Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has come out with roll-on finger protectors for when you eat their greasy fried chicken. 

10.  The Butterball Hotline.  (Everyone laughed when this was mentioned.  I did not get it.  Does it have something to do with KFC....well, maybe I get it.)

11.  Garlic Breakthrough.  A study has now determined that one can taste garlic with your feet.  They say that it takes one hour, but within that time, the  taste travels from  your feet to your brain.  (Now, why the hell would I want to know that?)

12. Car Window Breakthrough.  Some people noticed that a slumped over older woman in a locked car was not responding to their knocks on the car window, so they called 911.  The responders broke the window and opened the door and prepared to revive the poor lady.... who turned out to be a CPR dummy.

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Christmas Music Puzzle; Bloomberg Offerings; Delta; Fiat; Kellogg; Breitbart; Funny Times Offerings;Beer; Wine; Children Quotes;

Sunny and 40 degrees.  A pretty day even though cool.

Christmas Music

Yesterday, at my "Train Your Brain" session, one of the puzzles worked on was related to songs of the season.  The chore was to decipher the following sentences to come up with the names of some of these songs.  I'm not going to give you the answers.

Advance hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief.

Nocturnal hours whose stillness is unbroken.

An emotion excited by the acquisition of the expectation of good bequeathed to the terrestrial sphere.

The Christmas preceding all others.

I observed the Bishop of Myra osculating with my maternal parent.

Spatially and temporally removed in a feed box.

A juvenile dance based on the hollow metallic vessel that resonates with a fine sharp continued clinking.

Hollow cuplike metal objects of a lustrous grayish white hue.

Minute juvenile of the male sex carrying a percussion instrument.

(Did you get them all?  I missed one.)

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Bloomberg Views

Bloomberg, thinking I am rich, sent me a nice new copy of the "New Money" issue of their magazine.  The subscription cost is a bit much for something I would probably seldom read. 

Meanwhile, I did read this issue, and was surprised to find that they do not think much of our newly elected President.  However, I do remember that he bashed Bloomberg during his campaign.

Bloomberg Up:

Delta Air Lines banned for life a passenger who yelled and swore at his fellow plane passengers.  He let them know, in no uncertain terms,  that he was a Trump supporter.

Bloomberg Down:

Lapo Elkann is a Fiat heir and a fashion designer (never heard of him).  Lapo was arrested for allegedly faking his own kidnapping and demanding a ransom of (only) $10,000.  I guess he didn't think much of himself to ask for such a piddling sum.

Bloomberg Media:

In an article, the magazine discussed the problems between Kellogg and Breitbart.  May I quote:

"Brands that advertise on Breitbart have drawn flak in recent weeks, with activists saying the website espouses racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic views.  That's spurred some companies to abandon the site.  The latest to pull its ads is Kellogg..."  In retaliation, "...the site has called for a boycott of Kellogg."

No comment.

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Funny Times Views (January 2017 Issue)

Funny Times Up:

Bruges, Belgium has built a 2 mile pipeline to funnel beer from brewery to bottling plant. (Harper's)

Abruzzo, Italy has opened the first free and flowing "wine fountain."  (Shepherd)

A golf club in England has issued a special rule allowing for patrons losing their balls to Merlin the cat, who "snatches" six balls a day from the 14th fairway. (Shepherd)

Funny Times Down:

It is legal to text while driving in four states. (Harper's)

The United States bombed six countries over a three-day period in September 2016. (Harper's)

The estimated value of religious institutions in the United States is $1,200,000,000,000! (Harper's)
Is that "quadrillion?"  Just think if those places could be taxed.

The High Frequency Active Aural Research Facility, run by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks is being looked at closely by a couple of guys from Georgia who would like to attack the facility and release peoples' souls that are trapped there.  (Shepherd)

Funny Times Quotes about Children:(Jon Winokur)

W.C. Fields:  "There's no such thing as a tough child.  If you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender."

Phyllis Diller:  "I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford.  Then I want to move in with them."

Rita Rudner:  "We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet, so we bought a dog.  Well, it's cheaper , and  you get more feet.

Gore Vidal:  "Never have children, only grandchildren.

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Arsonist Husband; Cat Visitor; Baseball; Latin Mottos; Santa

Around 32 degrees and sunny.. but no wind.. so it doesn't feel too cold.

Some Nerve!

It is alleged that a Carroll County man set a number of fires in his house.  The position of the fires meant that his wife could not escape the flames and smoke.  She died.  He survived.  According to the newspaper, he called his insurance agent earlier in the day to make sure his Homeowner's Insurance policy was up-to-date.

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Some Nerve!

Last night I put some stale cat food out to the flower pots on our side porch.  We thought that some animal might need the protein in this cold weather.  This afternoon I looked out to see a great big Maine Coon cat chowing down on this cat food.  He was very nonchalant about it.. he didn't even run away when he saw me.  I guess he thought that this was his personal restaurant.  I tried to get a picture of him by my cell phone camera, but I couldn't get it to work.  When I searched for and got my regular camera, the kitty had disappeared. He'll be back.

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Some Nerve!

A little boy was talking to himself as he entered through his backyard, baseball cap in place and carrying a baseball and bat.  "I'm the greatest hitter in the world," he said proudly.

Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed.  Undismayed, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said to himself, "I'm the greatest hitter ever."

As the ball descended, he swung at it again and missed.  He paused for a moment to examine the ball and bat carefully, then once again he threw the ball into the air and said, "I'm the greatest hitter."

As the ball came down, he gave another mighty swing and missed.  "Wow," he exclaimed, "What a pitcher!"

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Mottos

Somebody sent me a list of possible Latin mottos to use, if  appropriate:

Vincit Veriitas  (Truth Conquers)

Fortis Est Veritas (Strong is the Truth)

Galatea Mea Viridis Est  (My helmet is green.)

Omnia Vincit Amor  (Love Subdues All Things)

Fortuna Juvat Audaces  (Fortune Favors the Brave)

Parea Non Servin  (I obey, but not as a slave)

Per Ardua Surgo  (I Rise through Difficulties)

Rex Porcus Largus Est  (The King is a fat Pig)

Nil Desperandum  (Never Despair)

Aut Vincam Aut Periam  (Either win or perish)

Patriae Inflici Fidelis  (Faithful to My Country)

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DID YOU DO YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING YET?!

Massive Auto Accident; Puzzle Info; Little League; Sentry Duty; Obituaries; Tiger, Tiger, burning Bright

What weather.  Yesterday's icy snow storm was responsible for many accidents, including one in Baltimore where 67 cars crashed into each other.  I thought that happened only out west.

When I got up this morning, it was 62 degrees on my side porch!  Not too many hours ago, the temperature was 14 degrees.  As the day progressed, the temperature dropped again to  40 degrees and may get below freezing during the night.

Comeupance

Last week, I crowed about doing remarkably well on the Sunday New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle.  This week, I bombed.  I didn't even reach the "Excellent" level.  The letters were LAVIPON
and the longest word found by NYT was PAVILION, which I missed. 

The NYT had an insert this Sunday. Thirty puzzles.... so you can guess what I will be doing all this week, when I should be doing something else.  But, what the hell, I love my puzzles, in fact, I just came across work and correspondence from my early involvement with the National Puzzlers League (NPL) and the American Cryptogram Association (ACA).  This was back in 1974, when I made monthly trips to Green Belt, Maryland, to meet with fellow members.  The group was  run by Walter Penney, a crypto expert from NSA.  In fact, I think he was dean of a "Code College" there, but nobody will tell me if that is true.  Secrecy... just like my promised job there that got shredded somehow.  (Search in my blogs: keyword: NSA)
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Baseball Story

Not long ago I stropped at a local playground to watch a Little League baseball game.  To get myself up to speed, I asked one of the youngsters what the score was.

"We're behind 16 to nothing," he answered.

"I must say you don't seem discouraged," I said. "Why is that?"

"Discouraged?" said the boy.  "Why should we be discouraged?  We haven't even been up to bat yet."

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Military Service Story

A young marine sentry had strict orders not to admit any car without special identification.

The first car he stopped contained a general who didn't have the required ID.  When the sentry refused to let the car pass, the annoyed general ordered his driver to pass right through.

The sentry asked politely: "I'm new at this. Do I shoot you or the driver first?"

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Bad News Story 1

I think it was Mark Twain who said something like:  "The stories about my passing have been greatly exaggerated."

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Bad News Story 2

A man was shocked to see his obituary in the newspaper.  He called a friend and asked, "Did you see my obituary in the newspaper today?"

The friend replied, "Yes. Uh - where are you calling from?"

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Bad News Story 3

An 80 year old German motorist drove through a motorway barrier, a construction site, and into a pile of sand because his Mercedes' onboard navigation system told him to.  (Jawohl!  Just following orders.)

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Good News Story 1 (?)

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has now decreed that masturbation is permissible during Ramadan, as long as the act is not intentional.

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Good News Story 2 (actually, a Life Lesson)

"What are we going to do?" said Baby Tiger to Mama Tiger in the jungle.  "Here comes a hunter, and he has five rifles, three special sighting scopes, and devices to allow him to see in the dark!"

"Hush!" answered Mama Tiger and she taught her cub how to sneak up from behind and pounce.

The hunter was never heard of again.

All of which goes to prove that technology may be fine, but it will never be a substitute for a good basic education."

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Authoritarian Personalities; UBER; Ethnic Rentals; Chips and Squid; Mensa Notes and Quotes; Punchlines; Bald Eagle vs the Turkey; They Remember her Still

Our first snow... a couple of inches.  And it iced over.  Even though we have a contract with where we live that they will shovel the snow, nobody showed up.  Luckily, we had nowhere to go, because we could not have gotten Elaine's wheelchair through the icy snow.

Perception

In an Intertel newsletter for 2007, Steve Mayer (sp?) wrote what was supposed to be a comparison of George W. Bush to Hitler.  Check out what he said:

"They (Hitler types)  are notably insecure in their daily lives, and as a result, can become aggressive - even violent - when defending/promoting their beliefs... they can be either male or female.  Most often though, Authoritarian Personalities are males.  Being amoral, they will say or do anything, and certainly won't hesitate to distort facts in their quest for power.  They pick on the weak, accept torture as an expedient, are not self-critical, and believe they have the answer to every question.  This makes any attempt at negotiation pointless."

Does that remind you of anyone in the news today?

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!

Today's show had a few items that I really grabbed onto:

UBER says:  "No more sex in the car!"  (Is it OK in taxicabs?)

Germany now has a "Rent a Jew" program.  A company decided that since today's Germans do not usually get a chance to connect with Jewish persons, (I wonder why) they would (for a price) set up meetings so that  Gentiles could find out what a Jew is all about.

(What about a program called "Rent an Arab" for the U.S?  ..  Seriously, I would guess that most Americans have never met a Moslem person and have only a hazy idea of their religion and customs.)

A new word has been coined for scatological talk.  Such speech is now known as "lavatorial."

The Brits have panicked.  Cod fish has become hard to catch, so they have creatively come up with a substitute for Fish and Chips.  It's called "Chips and Squid."  There's lots and lots of squid available.  Someday I may be able to stomach squid.  Greeks love it.  I find it a mite chewy.  Perhaps I should buy some sharper teeth and give it another chance.

Mensa Notes

Gil Krebs, from Charleston, South Carolina writes:  "The hypothalamus is one of the most important parts of the brain, involved in many kinds of motivation, among other functions.  The hypothalamus controls the "four 'Fs'":  1 Fighting  2  Fleeing  3  Feeding  4  Mating

Jim Bie, from LaJolla, California writes about his presentation to an audience who he assumed were so used to jokes that they would enjoy hearing just the punchlines again.  That way, their audience could fill in the joke from their own memory.  A great idea!... except that I had also tried that and bombed!  and so did Jim.  (check out my story in another one of my blogs.. search for "punchlines".

Anonymous:  "There are no mausoleums in Prague because the undertakers refuse to cache Czechs."

Anonymous:  "We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?"

Ben Franklin said:  "I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country:  he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy.  The  turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America."

Wally of Troy says:  "Sins of omission:  These are the sins you should have committed, but didn't... (and remember), the only way to get rid of temptation is to give in to it."

Geroge Dunn of Indianapolis says:  Quasimodo's job description: kyphotic campanologist.

Doug Larson:  "The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it."

A great poem by Hugh G. White from Midland, Tesxas

"A century ago, 'neath a Tennessee hill,
Hepzibah White ran a moonshine still.
Her product was widely noted
As first-rate likker and neat,
Guaranteed to cloud your mind
And knock you off your feet.

Hepzibah is now long gone,
Her spirit's left the rill,
And though she no longer cooks her mash
The hills remember her still."

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TRIAD Meeting; Pie in the Sky Scam; Grouchy Disabled Person; British Cryptics

Hey.. are we in Alaska?  16 degrees and blowing a gale.  This weather is probably adding a lot of fuel to Climate Change deniers.  Yeah... but, guys, why are Polar bears losing their icy homes?

TRIAD

Well, I had my monthly TRIAD meeting today in spite of the cold.  Only four of us showed up. But we had a nice meeting in spite of that.  Some of the things we talked about:

Don't Hold Your Breath

The Alliance for Retired Americans may have started out as a nice organization designed to advocate for senior citizen's benefits.  However, now they are perpetrating a scam that is designed to take money away from the people they say they are helping.  They want some donations to cover the legal and lobbying fees necessary to get Congress to come up with a $581. stimulus check for everyone. (I'm sorry, but this will never happen, at least not in your lifetime.  Remember the "Notch Babies?"  My Uncle Allen donated lots of money to organizations saying that they would get money for certain Social Security beneficiaries caught up in a Congressional screw up of benefit rates.  As should have been expected, no money was forthcoming and now all the "Notch Babies" are dead.)

They suggest  paying $10. for a membership in their organization... with, of course an extra $3.50 tacked on "to expedite petition processing and win passage of this bill more quickly..." 

New Jersey calls their request for your money, a "charitable solicitation."  However, the mailing  brochure says that "The Alliance is a non-profit, tax-exempt Membership organization that engages in legislative lobbying on  your behalf, so dues or donations to the Alliance are not tax-deductible as a charitable contribution or business expense."

My suggestion: don't send these guys any money.  If, by some unbelievable change of heart by our now Alt-Right Government leaders, they do decide to "trickle down" a few bucks to the "greedy old-timers," you'll get your share then... and you would not have helped the Alliance folks become millionaires.

Some Folks are Like That

Yesterday, Elaine and I went to WalMart to buy some "stuff" and to see if there were big crowds and make Elaine happy to own WalMart stock.  There were, and she was.

After pushing Elaine in her wheelchair  and a cart for about two hours, I sat down in the only sitting place now in the store and waited for Elaine to finish her search for bargains.  Nearby was a middle aged guy in a wheelchair.  He was looking through his wallet and grumbling, as only a grouchy looking guy can look. He obviously was not happy about his condition.

Suddenly, he dropped his credit card on the floor and said a few choice phrases, but made no effort to pick up the card.  As I was about to get up off my dead ass to help him, a young mother with a small child reached down and handed the card to the grouchy man, saying, "Here's your card, Mister."

Normally, one would expect at least a short "Thank You."  What did this nice lady get?  Nothing. Mr. Scrooge did not even look at her as he snatched the card from her hand.  Why?  Perhaps:

He was wounded in the Middle East war and has stress as well as a disability.

His wife divorced him today.

He has an incurable disease and has only a short time to live.

He had a big mac a  short time ago, and he has indigestion.

Or.. he's just a miserable son of a bitch.

And... why is of importance to me what this guy does?  I'm an empath, and my empathy this time was with the nice young mother trying to be helpful.  I hope that this guys attitude doesn't sour her own attitude. 


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What I Learned Today from Cryptics

As I work on British crossword puzzles, I come across words and references that are unfamiliar to me. For example:

drugget:  a floor covering made of coarse woven fabric. (I would have thought it was the name of a female addict.)

Curio:  a keepsake of course, but also a character in Twelfth Night.

Fleance: the son of Bafquo in MacBeth... you remember Bafquo as a ghost?  (I would have thought it was a name combination of two annoying critters)

William Etty: (1787-1849)  English (from York) artist, best known for his history paintings containing nude figures. (He was very good, and yes, you can check himt out on Google Image.)

Amy Robsart Dudley (1532-1560) the first wife of Lord Robert Dudley, who was a "favourite" of Elizabeth the first.   Amy was mysteriously choked to death.

Now.. why on earth would people include such obscure (to me) entries in crossword puzzles?  Well, that's the Brits for you... and their cryptic puzzles are very hard and fun to solve.

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Religious Stories; Stock Market; Toothache; Airplane Food; Elephant Story; Mars Program; Fred Astaire

Cool but sunny.

Religious Story

Our church hung a plaque which contained the names of the deceased who died in the service of their country from WWI  to the present.

One Sunday, I was standing nest to the plaque and a little boy looked up at it and asked me what it was about.  I said that it was the name of all who died in the service.

"Which one," said the boy.. "10:30 or 11:30?"
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Another Religious Story

A doctor who had devoted his life to helping the underprivileged lived over a liquor store in the poor section of a large city.  In front of the liquor store was a sign reading:

Dr. Williams is upstairs.

When he died, he had no relatives and he left no money for his burial.  He had never asked for payment from anyone he had ever treated.

Friends and patients scraped enough money together to bury the good doctor, but they had no money for a tombstone.  It appeared that his grave was going to be unmarked until someone came up with a wonderful suggestion.

They took the sign from in front of the liquor store and nailed it to a post over his grave.  It made a lovely epitaph:

Dr. Williams is upstairs.

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The Stock Market

J.P. Morgan said:  "If the world says 2+2 = 3, I buy; if the world says 2+3 = 5, I sell. And I pick up a commission from both actions."

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Cure for a Bad Toothache

Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget about the toothache.

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Airplane Food

"Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked the coach passenger.

"What are my choices?"

The flight attendant replied, "Yes or no."

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Another Elephant Story

The man at the zoo was weeping uncontrollably.  A passerby asked "Why is he sobbing like that?"

The zookeeper said "The Elephant died this morning.:

"He loved the elephant that much?"

"That's not it," the zookeeper said.  "He's the one who has to dig the grave."

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The Space Program

President Elect Trump was being briefed on the space program.

He asked "Why do we have to spend all this money to go to Mars?  Why can't we just go to the sun?"

"Well, if an astronaut gets within 10 m

illion miles of the sun, he'll burn up."

"So?  We'll just send them at night."

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A Failure?

After Fred Astaire's first screen test, a 1933 memo from the MGM testing director said, "Can't act. slightly bald. Can dance a little."

Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills Home.

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L'elisir D'amore; Pavarotti; Battle; Levine; Dr. Dulcamara reborn; Spelling Bee Boast; President George W. Bush; A Puppy Story

Today started out cold, but warmed up in the afternoon to almost 60 degrees.  I went out to put up our Moravian Star, but the wind was too strong.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Wonderful Opera

Today, I watched a taped performance from the Met.  Four of my favorite artists were involved.  Luciano Pavarotti played Nemorino, Kathleen Battle played Adina, and a guy whose name escapes me played Dr. Dulcamara.  The Met Orchestra was conducted by James Levine. The opera? 

L'elisir D'amore  (The Elixir of Love)  by Gaetano Donizetti.  Mr. Donizetti wrote this comedic masterpiece in two weeks during 1832. The public has been in love with the opera ever since.

Pavarotti has got to be the greatest tenor that ever lived.  I've heard recordings of other famous tenors, including Caruso, but Luciano has got them all beat.... in my opinion.

Kathleen Battle is the greatest soprano that I have ever heard.  Her "diva" shenanigans are legendary, but so what?  She is good, and she knows she is good.  I think the Met has reinstated her now.  They had fired her a while ago because of her actions.

James Levine is slowing down, but he is still good when he conducts.   He seems to have lots of physical ailments that keep him from too many conducting gigs these days.

Doctor Dulcamara is always played by a basso who provides laughter with his pomposity and outrageous claims.  In this opera, he sells "a bill of goods" so to speak, to the unwitting (dimwitted?) village folks.  They rush to buy his elixir, believing that it will make their lives so wonderful.  A few swigs of this potion will make wrinkles disappear, husbands more attentive, and fat bellies vanish. 

The good Doctor reminds me so much of someone much in the news these days.  Someone who has also sold "a bill of goods" to the unwitting (dimwitted?) American folks. Sadly, this modern con man does not have the redeeming feature of a fine bass voice.  God help us all.  (IMHO)

Blowing My Own Horn #01

This is my blog, so I can boast when I accomplish something that I think is noteworthy, or when I get praised for something that I have done.  Why not?  Life is short and my great great great grandkids might like to learn that one of their ancestors actually was able to do something other than sit in a rocking chair and watch the days go by.

This week's "Spelling Bee" puzzle consisted of the letters H,C,Y,T,N,I,E. The object was to see how many words you can spell using just the letters shown.  A score of 8 - Good.  A score of 14 - Excellent.  A score of 20 - Genius.  A score  of 25 - A match to the New York Times editorial staff.

(The longest word: ETHNICITY)

My score - 26.  God, I'm good!  (IMHO)

Presidential History Lesson

Question:  What did George W. Bush say was "the best moment" during his years in the White House?

Answer:  "When I caught a seven-and-a-half-pound largemouth bass on my lake."

Life Lesson

The pet store manager explained, "That puppy was born with a bad leg and would be crippled for life, so we're going to have to put him to sleep."

"You're going to kill this little puppy?" the boy said sadly while patting it.

"You have to realize that this puppy would never be able to run and play with a boy like you."

After a short conversation with his boy, the dad told the manager that they wanted to buy the puppy with the bad leg.

"For the same amount of money, you could have one of the 'healthy' ones.  Why do you want this one?"

To answer the manager's question, the boy bent over and pulled up the pants on his right leg, exposing the brace underneath and said, "Mister, I want this one because I understand what he's going through,"

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New Yorker Letters; Veterans' Concerns; Walls; Regional Speech; Name Tricks; Tips for Having a good Day

Cold... 31 degrees.  That's below the freezing point, folks. 

Elaine and I went to the CLV trip to Manhattan.  This was an imaginary trip with music and food.  Elaine ate duck and I ate prime rib.  Lots of good food and cheesecake desert.  A fun time.  We sat with Bob and Carol Nicoll, who originally lived on a farm in upstate New York.  He worked for IBM and knew John Glenn who just died.  A very interesting evening.

Letters to the New Yorker

A couple of letters caught my eye this week.  One was from a retired service man, Doug Bradley::

"Many of us (veterans) are concerned about a Trump presidency, which will directly affect our benefits and our health care...None of (the other Commanders-In-Chief who had not served in the military) ... invoked five draft deferments during a war (Vietnam), when each and every time another young man was drafted to serve in his place.  Nor has a Commander-in-Chief ever publicly insulted a P.O.W. such as Senator John McCain, or bragged about wanting a Purple Heart but didn't want to make the sacrifice necessary to earn one."

Another was from a Canadian, Ami Sands Brodoff:

"Do Trump and his followers realize that when you build a wall you imprison those inside, too?"

Your Speech Clues

Noted linguist, Mario Pei cites lots of ways you can tell the region someone comes from.  The one that surprised me was:

"The plural of you.  This is rendered as you-all in most of the South, as you uns in the Ozarks, mongst ye in Norfolk, and youse in the New York area."

Some other sound triggers that can be used to guess where you come from:

merry, Mary, marry.
greasy, greasy
wash, wush
dog, dawg, dahg
log, lawg, lahg
park, father
ash, ask
horse, hoarse
first, foist

Language Notes

In the Mensa Bulletin for November 1998: Richard Lederer, noted language expert and Mensa member, showed how scooting the "s" across the space separating the first and last name of a celebrity reveals something about the celebrity, for example::

Garry's handling
Sharon's tone
Gloria's wan son
Soupy's ales
Larry's torch
Sylvester's tall one
Loretta's wit
Tom and Dick's mothers
Robert's tack
Arnold's tang

Of course, most of these folks were in the 1998 headlines.

Brighten Your Day

In 1997, Doctor Dean Griffin's wife borrowed some tips from the Woman's Day magazine on how to have some fun and make your life more meaningful. .  She published the tips in the Doctor's newsletter.  Here are some of the tips:

Pick up the phone and renew an old friendship

Take a brisk 30 minute walk, rain or shine.

Reminisce through your old photographs and scrapbooks.

Do something nice and unexpected for someone who's down.

Smile at everyone you see. (Be careful with this one.)

(At Carroll Lutheran Village, you can tell who the new folks are.  They are the ones who have not yet learned to smile and say hello when passing other residents.  But, they learn fast.  However, smiling at strangers on the street can sometimes make people think you are nuts.)

Have lunch with a friend.

Volunteer.

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NARFE Mtg; Eye Poke; President Trump; Joke; Ads; Lies

Cold, 40 degrees, but sunny mostly.

In the morning, I attended the monthly NARFE meeting for December.  The Board had voted to discontinue the Yankee Swap with me as Santa.  Instead, they brought in a "patriot", who sang and showed pictures of the flag, and recited Franklin Roosevelt's speech, which took place the day after December 7, 1941, 75 years ago today.  Very moving stuff.

In the afternoon, I went to my retina specialist for my periodic eye poke.  This time, during the procedure, I must have moved, because the doctor had to "poke" me twice, and now my right eye is all red.  He said that this should go away in a few days.  Meanwhile, I'll have to make up some story about Elaine punching me in the eye.

Trump' s Strategy

Hamilton Fish wrote in the December first issue of the Washington Spectator, and I quote:

"It's easy to guess at where a right-leaning Republican Congress is headed, but harder to intuit where a Trump presidency will take them.  Trump provided a window into his tactics in his 1987 book 'The Art of the Deal.'  'The final key to the way I promote is bravado.  I play to people's fantasies.  People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do.  That's why a little hyperbole never hurts.  People want to believe something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.  I call it truthful hyperbole.  It's an innocent form of exaggeration.-- and a very effective form of promotion.'"

"Either we have elected an opportunistic, conservative businessman who is only just beginning to understand the constraints on his office, or we are standing on the doorstep of the apocalypse."

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Old Stuff:

Let's Be Friends

A woman telephoned a friend and asked how she was feeling.

"Terrible," answered the friend.  "My head's splitting and my back is killing me, and the kids are driving me crazy."

"Listen, " the caller said, "go and lie down.  I'll come right over and cook lunch for you, clean the house, and take care of the children while you get some rest.  By the way, how is Sam?"

"Sam?" the complaining housewife asked.

"Yes, your husband."

"I've got no husband named Sam."

"My heavens," gasped the first woman, "I must have dialed the wrong number."

There was a long pause.  "Then you're not coming over?" the other woman asked.

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Actual Advertisements (I think)

Ad for a reliable bed making company:

"We stand behind every bed we make."

I hope not.

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Ad in a showbiz paper:

"Lion tamer wants a tamer lion."

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Ad for a falsie manufacturer:

"Beware of imitations."
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The Best Lies

Back in 1989, Ann Landers posted some "big lies" that were sent to her by readers.  Here are a few:

"I promise to pay you back out of my next paycheck."

"But officer, I only had two beers."

"Of course I will respect you in the morning."

"You have nothing to worry about, Honey, I've had a vasectomy."

"The reason I'm late is because I ran out of gas."

"You don't look a day over 40."

"I gave at the office."

"You can tell me, I won't breathe a word to a soul."

"Our children never gave us a bit of trouble."

"Having a great time.  Wish you were here."

"The dog ate my homework."

Now... how many of these have you said over the years?  Be honest now.

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Cats; SuZee;

Very cool.  Our glass barometer has its lower portion filled with crystals.  That means that a frost is coming.  Brrrr.

SuZee


SuZee is our Siamese cat.  She is afraid of her shadow and throws up on the rug quite regularly.  But, we love her anyway.  Lately, a family of squirrels has been availing themselves of birdseed in some flower pots.  SuZee watches them motionless through the window, but she doesn't get excited and cry as she does sometimes when she see birds. 

I picked up a brochure with the title:  "Grooming your Adult Cat."  This is what it told me:

"Groom long haired cats daily!"  Now, there is no way SuZee is going to let us push a comb  or brush through her fur.

"All cats shed.  Heavy shedding occurs twice a year, in the spring and in the fall."

SuZee sheds all the time.  Today, I could vacuum a rug and fill the cleaner with gray hair.  Tomorrow, I could vacuum the same rug, and once again, the cleaner would be filled with gray hair.

"Clean the outer ear with a cotton swab dipped in baby oil.  Do not dig deep."

Yes, if I try to touch SuZee's ear with anything other than the tip of my fingers, she will "dig deep" into my arm.

"Dental Care"    Forget that.

"Bathing your cat."   Are you kidding?

This brochure obviously does not pertain to us.  We can't even get SuZee to get into a carrying cage to get her to a vet.  She senses what we are about to do and disappears for a couple of days.  Luckily she is in good health.. and there are no fleas in our house.

Besides all that, she really is a nice cat, as long as you are nice to her.  Just like humans, I guess.

Hey, ya wanna see a big cat?

This is my daughter Elizabeth's cat.  She is so fat she can hardly walk.  She likes to sleep a lot.

This is a real grumpy cat.  He would scare our SuZee.

This is not a friendly pussy cat!

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This is a cool cat.

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Love Quotes; Letha Alston Quotes; Elaine Langliois Qotes; Trivia Quiz;

Very cool and partly sunny.

Old Stuff... found anew.

Love

Chris R. Warnken sez: ""Love is the happiness that comes in bringing happiness to others."

"Love is the peace that results from aiding others to find peace."

"Love is the affection given us because we have bestowed affection upon our fellow men."

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Quotes from my Secretary: Letha Alston:

"When trouble strikes, take it like a man: blame it on your wife."

"We can't all be shining examples, but we can  at least twinkle a bit."

"The way some people drive, you'd think they were late for their own accident."

"Don't be discouraged; it's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.":

"Make the most of life before most of life is gone."

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Quotes from Elaine Langlois Vaughan:

"There is nothing so frightening as ignorance in action."  Goethe

"Man's mind stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions"  Oliver Wendell Holmes.


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Quiz:

Q: What two great writers died on the same day.. April 23, 1616?

A:  Shakespeare and Cervantes.



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Family Genealogy; Serendipity; Elephant Joke; Train Joke; Sayings from 1994; Pearls of Wisdom; Emerson; Doyle; Wisdom; Kitchen Knowledge

Partly sunny, but coolish. We had a little "spitting" of snow last night.  Not enough to stick.

Genealogy

Yesterday, I spent a few hours at my son, Christopher's house, doing genealogy work with him and my two daughters.  They are building a book, to contain family information divulged by my Aunt Ella when she was 77 years old.  It would be a shame to lose this information, so it will be extracted and placed into a bound book which can also be downloaded. 

Someone just stopped me to say that I was missed at our monthly Genealogy Club meeting.  Apparently there was a question that they thought I would be able to answer.  I felt bad about missing that session, but other priorities made it impossible.

In my attempt to clean up all of my boxes of  "stuff" before I leave this planet, I am extracting genealogy material that I have collected throughout my life (yes, I never throw anything away).  So far, I have filled 3 boxes of said material and I have a lot more "stuff" to go through.

Serendipity

While I was living a fast-paced life, I did not have the time to completely read and study information that came across my bow and interested me.  But, I assumed that someday I would be an old dude and would have time to peruse this material while sitting in my rocking chair. So I kept this "stuff."

My assumption came true, except that I don't have time to sit in a rocking chair.  But, I do have a little time each day to "go through" each of my boxes of "stuff" and extract, read, subtract, sort, cut, and scan things that still interest me.  So, as I do so, I am encountering exciting (to me) articles and pictures and sayings and other neat junk that I can post to this blog.  And... here goes:

Jokes from 2006:

Elephant Food

Four young boys were standing before the judge.  The judge asks the first boy: "What did you do wrong?"

"My name is Bill, and I threw peanuts into the elephant cage."

The judge then asked the other boys what they had done.

The second boy said: "My name is Henry, and I threw peanuts into the elephant cage."

The third boy said:  "My name is Joe, and I threw peanuts into the elephant cage."

The fourth boy said: "My name is Peanuts.:

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The Train Trip

On a cross country train, through a mix up, a man and a woman who had never met before, found themselves in the same sleeping carriage.  After an embarrassing time, they both got to sleep.... the woman in the top bunk, the man in the lower bunk.

In the middle of the night, the woman leans over and says: "I'm very cold, could you pass me another blanket?"

The man leans out and says: "I've got a better idea, let's pretend we're married."

The woman giggles and says: "Why not?"

"Good," he replies, "Get your own Goddamn blanket!"

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(I didn't say they were going to be "good" jokes.)

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Wisdom from 1994:

Janice Davies, a fellow Toastmaster, had this to say one cold January day:

"No Winter lasts forever.
No Spring skips its turn."

Friends are those who ask how your are, and then wait to hear the answer."

"Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself in their place."

"The woods would be very silent if only the best birds sang."

(I wrote about this phrase in another blog and how it helped a friend of mine govern her life as a manager.)

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Pearls by Dr. Albert W. Morris

Of all the pearls of wisdom
This is the purest gem.
There are two ways to handle a woman;
No man knows either of them.

(Amen, brother!)

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Wisdom from Famous People

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To laugh often and much,
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children...
to leave the world a better place...
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is  to have succeeded."

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Conan Doyle

Holmes' Remark to Watson in "A Study in Scarlet"

"From long habit the train of thought ran so swiftly through my mind that I arrived at the conclusion without being conscious of the intervening steps.... there were such steps, however."

(Was Sherlock the first Mensa member?)

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Wallace Fridy

"Real wisdom is more than knowledge.  Knowing is the accumulation of facts: wisdom is the interpretation of facts.  Knowledge is culled from textbooks; wisdom comes out of life."

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Kitchen Knowledge Passed On

When a newlywed served baked ham to her husband, he noticed that she had cut the ends off, and asked why.  "That's the way Mother always did it," she replied with a shrug.

When his mother-in-law came to visit, he asked her the same question.  "That's the way my mother did it, " she replied.

Finally, he asked his wife's grandmother, who answered, "That's the only way I could get it to fit into the pan."

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A "certified" nut case. Maybe I'll grow a beard and hide.

Christmas; AARP; The Magi; Fisherman's Luck; Jingle Bells; Rudolph; White Christmas; Santa is Coming to Town; Let it Snow!

Cool, but a little sunny.  Not many birds around, but we did see a nuthatch at one of our feeders,  Also, a sparrow with a yellow beak and yellow stripes on its back.  I'll have to look that one up.

Christmas at the December AARP Luncheon Meeting

Elaine and I attended and through some quirk of luck, won two of the three free dinners offered as door prizes.  And, in a further quirk... the guy sitting next to us won the last of the three.  What are the odds of that happening?  Perhaps the person who pulled the tickets did not mix them enough. However, there were twelve poinsettia plants  to give out, and they were distributed all around.

Since I did not have a Santa gig this year, I decided to wear my Santa hat while I told a couple of jokes.  Here they are... I stole them from a Readers Digest Joke Book:

The Magi (attributed to Dan Bennett)

A small boy in kindergarten was assigned by his teacher to make a Christmas drawing of the three Wise Men riding their camels across the desert.   When the drawing was finished, the youngster took it to the teacher for her approval.  She studied it and then pointed to an item -- a square box with a couple of wires sticking out of it -- that was being carried by one of the men.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, that," said the boy. "That's the portable TV set.  I didn't want them to miss "Gunsmoke!"

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Fisherman's Luck (attributed to Jim Kimball)

Ice-fisherman Floyd Colburn, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, got tired of catching and throwing back small perch.  Finding a Christmas ribbon in his pocket, he began tying pretty red bows on each perch before throwing it back.  It wasn't long before another fisherman came dashing up to him, wide-eyed, and cried, "You won't believe what I'm going to tell  you!"

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For entertainment at our AARP luncheon, we were serenaded by the Standard Delivery Duo, two real good musicians.  They played as we ate and then passed out song lyrics so that we could have a Christmas sing-along.  Lots of fun.  Some of the songs were ones that I had forgotten since my youth as a good Christian. 

I love Jingle Bells, but I always got confused about some of the lyrics, for example:

"The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got up-sot."

Did the lyricist make up a new past tense word for upset?  Why not?

"Take the girls tonight
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob-tailed nag
Two-forty for his speed,
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack you'll take the lead."

I guess this means that the horse would have his tail cropped a bit, which probably helps him to cover a mile in two minutes and 40 seconds.  Right?

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Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

I've written about this before.  Kids love this song, but I think it gives kids the wrong impression about life.  The other reindeer poked fun at him because of his red nose.  But, suddenly, Rudy became a celebrity  because Santa used him for an important job.

What does this teach kids?  It's ok to poke fun at someone who is different.  It won't hurt them because at some point in their life they may do something that the boss likes.  Then the little "ass-kissers" start fawning over the new celebrity in order to get "in good" with the boss.

I hope that our schools are teaching that "diversity" should be welcomed everywhere.  There are "different" kids everywhere in our diverse society.  They all have something to teach us if we would only drop our prejudices and observe.

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Christmas for the Alt-Right Folks

Yes... that would be "White Christmas"...

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Santa Trump is Coming to Town

"He's making a list
And checking it twice
He already knows whose been naughty or nice."

With control of the CIA,
"He'll see you when you're sleeping
He'll know when you're awake
He'll know if  you've been good to him,
So, be good for goodness sake."

"So, you better watch out,
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why.
Santa Trump is Coming to Town."

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Let it Snow!

What a wonderful song!  It's like a tone poem that pints pictures in our minds.

Every time I hear these lyrics, I tear up, because they remind me so much of the first years in New England with my fiancé and later my wife Elaine.  These words could be a script for many many a Winter's night that I enjoyed..


"The weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful.
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've brought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low
Let it snow! Let it snow!  Let it snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbying
But as long as you love me so
Let it snow! Let it snow!  Let it snow!

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Volunteerism; Leo Buscaglia; Calvin Coolidge; Abraham Lincoln; Thomas Jefferson; Eleanor Roosevelt; Robert Kennedy; Ronald Reagan

Cold (40's) and windy.  Winter is getting ready to arrive.

Some nice quotations.

Maryann Leckron, the Volunteer Coordinator here at Carroll Lutheran Village recently hosted a volunteer appreciation luncheon.  I was pleased to attend and receive a Presidential Award.

On the program for the function was contained some nice quotations as follows:

Dr. Felice Leonardo Buscaglia: 

"Too often we under-estimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

(Professor Leo Buscaglia was an expert on LOVE.  His lectures were attended by all kinds of people yearning to put LOVE into their lives.  I taped some of his lectures and each time I see and hear them I learn something that moves me.  Now that I have plugged into YOUTUBE, I should be able to see some of his lectures that I may have missed.  I am looking forward to that.  It is indeed unfortunate that Leo died very young.  The world would be a much better place if he were still here with us lecturing, especially during the recent Presidential campaign.)

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Calvin Coolidge:

"No person was ever honored for what he received.  Honor is given by what he gave."

(Perhaps this is why Dylan does not want to be honored by the Nobel judges.)

(I think I have this right:  Someone once said to the notoriously taciturn Coolidge that he had bet a friend that he could make him say more than two words.  Coolidge's reply was: "You lose.")
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Abraham Lincoln:

"To ease another's heartbreak is  to forget one's own."

(I doubt that anyone had more heartbreak than President Lincoln.)

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Thomas Jefferson:

"May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond  to the needs of others with kindness and compassion,."

(I was surprised to read some historian's recent entry on Facebook that Jefferson wanted to marry Sally Hemmings, his slave mistress, but was thwarted by the conventions of the time.  Comments on this entry poo pooed that.  Who knows?)

(Could Jefferson have become our first Mensa member?  Visit his Montecello home and look around at all the inventive features that sprang from Tom's creative

brain.)

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Eleanor Roosevelt:

"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself."

(Then, what is this thing called: delegation?  Would President Elect Trump be willing to do any of the thousands of jobs for which he will be compelled to assign to "underlings."  Well, you get my point., and I do understand what Eleanor was getting at.)

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Robert F. Kennedy:

"Some people see things as they are and say 'why'.  I look at things that never were and say 'why not.'"

(I'm in a quandary about Mr. Kennedy.  I'm reading a book about the so-called "suicide" of Marilyn Monroe, and a possible cover-up deal between him and J. Edgar Hoover.  Interesting.)

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Ronald Reagan:

"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."

(Yeah, even the Sandonistas.)

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I'm sure that you can detect a slight bit of skepticism by me at some of the words that a couple of these folks said, but they are good words, even if they have to be separated from the persons who spoke them, and Maryann is to be congratulated for giving us these words to think about.

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