I love to learn new words, in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and even Hungarian. I learn most of them from the crosswords that I love to do. American crossword puzzles, for the most part, are straight-forward definition-based. Spanish and French crossword puzzles are quite easy, American types. German puzzles are quite varied and fun to do. British cryptic crossword puzzles bend your mind and, regardless of scientists saying that puzzles do not ward off Altzheimers, I think they are wrong when it comes to cryptics. Hungarian puzzles have me stumped.. because I am having a very hard time with the language. It may take me a few years to be able to do even one of them. We'll see.
When I can, I purchase German puzzles at an international delicatessen. I purchased French and Spanish puzzles on the Internet. One of my programmers at the Social Security Administration brought me Italian puzzle books when she returned after a long Government assignment in Italy. My Hungarian puzzles were brought to me by Elaine's daughter, Emily. She and her family lived in Europe for a year.
I just purchased a Great Courses seminar called "words." I'm looking forward to 24 30-minute lessons on word origins and usage. This will be lots of fun for me.
I boxed up a couple hundred Enigma's and sent them to RON, a fellow member of the National Puzzlers League (NPL). Enigma is the monthly puzzle magazine published by NPL. The copies I sent to RON are mostly pristine, because I do the puzzles on separate sheets of puzzles.
RON is a Nom. Everyone in the NPL has a nom. Mine is AHAB. (you know, New Bedford and the whale thing.)
.....
"The Romans had a word for it." Yes.. and here is a little of how they used words.
Marcus Aurelius: "Do not forget: a man needs little to lead a happy life."
Ovid: "Everywhere chance reigns, just cast out your line and where you least expect it, there waits a fish in the swirling water."
Terrance: "An easy task becomes difficult when you do it with reluctance."
,,,,,
The word IRONIC is often misused. The Readers Digest offered this information on irony.
"Strictly speaking, irony involves a reversal. A traffic cop who has 13 unpaid traffic tickets is ironic because that is not expected. Rain on a wedding day may be dampening and a tall man named Tallman might be coincidental... but it's properly ironic only if the rain falls on a sun festival or if Mr. Tallman is short."
.....
Interesting (at least to me) words and phrases as pseudonyms encountered in crossword puzzles:
Every Mother's Son ... A 1967 NYC Rock Band extracted this phrase from A Midsummer Night's Dream and used it for their name.
OUIDA ... Pseudonym of English novelist Maria Louise de la Ramee. He wrote A Dog of Flanders.
ERTE ,,, Pseudonym of Romain de Tirtoff (1892-1990) Russian born French artist and designer. He is known as the "father of art deco," and the "oriental ballet" designer.
.....
Here are a few mis-used words, as submitted to the Mensa Bulletin in September 1976.
Barnett Shaw: assiduous Big in the hips.
Phil Beggs: horary A place for ladies of the evening.
Lawrence Perkins: pismire Swampy ground used as a latrine.
midrash A skin rash over or near the belly.
.....
Here is some more inanity from 1976 Mensa:
"Tell a man that his son is a 'cheeky young pup' and he just grins."
"Tell a man that his son is an 'insolent son of a bitch,' and you have a fight on your hands."
The British call women "birds".. so:
Call one your 'pigeon' or 'turtle dove,' and get a nice kiss.
Call one a 'crow' and get a nice slap.
Tell a woman she has a well-built chassis, and get that nice kiss.
Tell a woman she's built like the back of a bus, and get that well-deserved slap.
Likewise:
''Shapely filly' vs 'a bit horsey.'
'Pretty young heifer' vs 'a young cow.'
.....
Some Interesting Signs:
"Ears pierced while you wait."
"God helps those who help themselves." vs "God help those who help themselves."
"Road wet when it rains."
.....
Fellow Mensan, Richard Lederer, is a word expert and his articles are very well written. I will try to steal some examples in the future for your enjoyment.
.....
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Saturday, January 26, 2019
The Gelatinous Wizard of US
The score is now: Pelosi 2: trump 0
Our glorious leader is now being called "Caveman" for giving in twice to Nancy Pelosi. At last, I hope, he has met his match. After regaling us with new "fake news" about the Southern border of the U.S., he allowed the Government to open again... but with the threat to throw another tantrum if money isn't allocated for his "wall" by February 15th.
His bosom buddy, Roger Stone has at last been arrested. What a sweetheart! I'm told that he has a picture of Richard Nixon tatooed onto his neck. I did see his office with its picture of Nixon on display. He also gave the Nixon victory salute to the crowds outside of the arraignment center who were shouting "Lock him up!" He was released on $250,000 bail, which he can probably afford easily.
Roger said that he would never be a "rat" for trump.. but these sleezebags often "flip" when they realize that there is a chance that their protector might be in jail too and not able to give them a pardon.
Gene Weingarten wrote a Washington Post article about his "no-effort, magic, no-diet diet." I liked the humorous article and recommend it to you. Meanwhile, let me pluck out of his article a line related to his special diet, yet, which could also be related to a famous person. You guess who.
"... Kiss goodbye that huge gelatinous tub of lard whose image has haunted you day and night."
I love the Nation magazine. I read it all, cover to cover, and work the cryptic puzzle in each issue. One of the highlights of the magazine is its poems by Calvin Trillin. I hope he will not mind me writing a copy of his latest wonderful poem.
If he can't get the wherewithal
To build at once his precious wall..
A wall that's thick, a wall that's tall,
The strongest, toughest wall of all
Then to the floor he'll surely fall,
And pound his little fists and bawl."
Dana Milbank also had a great article in Sunday's Washington Post, with the title: What If Trump Was Comic Relief?
Some of his misspellings and made up facts are already kind of funny, and the way he runs the White House is hilarious. So, the idea is to beat him at his own bumbling game and have some fun doing so. How about whoopie cushions in the oval office? Pepper in his french fries? Short sheets in the Lincoln bedroom?
Seriously though.. this is a tough time for the U.S. with this incompetent person in charge. Nobody knows what he is going to do or say next. It's time for a new deal, and I agree with most of Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley's "Blueprint for a 'We The People' Democracy."
o Pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
o End partisan gerrymandering.
o Abolish the Electoral College.
o Provide a pathway for voting representation in Congress for U.S citizens of DC and Puerto Rico.
o Reinstate the full protections of the Voting Rights Act:
Allow early voting
End purges of voter lists
Re-enfranchise ex felons
Allow same-day voter registration
Establish Nation-wide automatic voter registration.
Jeff... You have my vote!
Our glorious leader is now being called "Caveman" for giving in twice to Nancy Pelosi. At last, I hope, he has met his match. After regaling us with new "fake news" about the Southern border of the U.S., he allowed the Government to open again... but with the threat to throw another tantrum if money isn't allocated for his "wall" by February 15th.
His bosom buddy, Roger Stone has at last been arrested. What a sweetheart! I'm told that he has a picture of Richard Nixon tatooed onto his neck. I did see his office with its picture of Nixon on display. He also gave the Nixon victory salute to the crowds outside of the arraignment center who were shouting "Lock him up!" He was released on $250,000 bail, which he can probably afford easily.
Roger said that he would never be a "rat" for trump.. but these sleezebags often "flip" when they realize that there is a chance that their protector might be in jail too and not able to give them a pardon.
Gene Weingarten wrote a Washington Post article about his "no-effort, magic, no-diet diet." I liked the humorous article and recommend it to you. Meanwhile, let me pluck out of his article a line related to his special diet, yet, which could also be related to a famous person. You guess who.
"... Kiss goodbye that huge gelatinous tub of lard whose image has haunted you day and night."
I love the Nation magazine. I read it all, cover to cover, and work the cryptic puzzle in each issue. One of the highlights of the magazine is its poems by Calvin Trillin. I hope he will not mind me writing a copy of his latest wonderful poem.
If he can't get the wherewithal
To build at once his precious wall..
A wall that's thick, a wall that's tall,
The strongest, toughest wall of all
Then to the floor he'll surely fall,
And pound his little fists and bawl."
Dana Milbank also had a great article in Sunday's Washington Post, with the title: What If Trump Was Comic Relief?
Some of his misspellings and made up facts are already kind of funny, and the way he runs the White House is hilarious. So, the idea is to beat him at his own bumbling game and have some fun doing so. How about whoopie cushions in the oval office? Pepper in his french fries? Short sheets in the Lincoln bedroom?
Seriously though.. this is a tough time for the U.S. with this incompetent person in charge. Nobody knows what he is going to do or say next. It's time for a new deal, and I agree with most of Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley's "Blueprint for a 'We The People' Democracy."
o Pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
o End partisan gerrymandering.
o Abolish the Electoral College.
o Provide a pathway for voting representation in Congress for U.S citizens of DC and Puerto Rico.
o Reinstate the full protections of the Voting Rights Act:
Allow early voting
End purges of voter lists
Re-enfranchise ex felons
Allow same-day voter registration
Establish Nation-wide automatic voter registration.
Jeff... You have my vote!
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Time Travel
Why do people try to figure out how to time-travel when we have it already in our power to move forward or backward in time? Yes we can. By using our brains. For instance, I can think about the house I lived in over 70 years ago, and it as though I were there again. Also, I can visualize a future time in my "mind's eye" ..
For now, let's travel back to 2008 and see what was going on then.. and maybe guess at what became of that period's burning issues, and what may happen to them in the future.
Year 2008: P. Babcock. 35, of Kansas had been sitting on her boyfriend's toilet for two years. As a result, her skin had grown around the seat. The seat was detached and forwarded with Pam to the local hospital, where it was surgically removed from her butt.
Year 2018: P. probably is one of those 600 pound plus persons now and probably would crush any old fashioned toilet seat. We'll never know for sure, but we can guess and visualize.
Year 2028: I predict that P goes to Doctor M in Atlanta and loses 450 pounds after a stomach by-pass procedure. After a "flabby skin shave," P becomes a svelte model. Nobody knows she is 55 years old. She and her boyfriend have started their own business, selling organic toilet seats.
.............................................................................................................................
Year 2008: A 50-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia filed for divorce because he husband lifted up her veil and looked at her face while she was sleeping. She had kept her face hidden for 30 years and although her husband apologized, she will not forgive him.
Year 2018: I suspect there was a different reason for hiding her face than religious fervor. She probably was ugly as hell. Today, at 60, she is probably wishing she still had her ex husband in her lonely life. Although, now that she can legally drive, maybe she would not need a husband anymore.
Year 2028: The Saudi woman tricked everyone by becoming one of the wives of the new crown prince.. the former one is awaiting execution for the murder of some journalist or other. At 70 years of age, she runs the harem. Since she was 50 years old, no other man has even tried to sneak a peek at her face.
................................................................................................................................
Year 2008: German tour company OssiUrlaub has started the world's first nudist airline. After boarding, passengers can drop their trousers and sit on hygienic seat covers, as they wing it to a "naturist" spa on a Baltic island.
Year 2018: Some nudists have planned weddings on that Baltic island and some now have even had their weddings on the plane. There have been some problems with that though, like when the wedding party couldn't agree on who was the "best man," and then they didn't like where he wanted to hold the ring.
Year 2028: Since the whole Baltic area has now become mandatory nudist territory, many airlines serve that population. Lots of folks fly in for a vacation where they can "hang out" for a fortnight.
...................................................................................................................................
Year 2008: Yoda, the cat with four ears, has become an Internet sensation. However, many people feel that Yoda is the devil incarnate. She certainly looks evil enough. And who can prove that is not true.
Year 2018: At 20 years of age, Yoda does not seem to be aging as her fellow felines. Perhaps she is the devil, or at least an imp. She has a big staff of humans who do her every bidding. But then, that is not much different from what other cats manage.
Year 2028: Now 40 years old, Yoda is still around. She hasn't even begun to work on Life #2. One suspects now that Yoda is really Donald Trump, former President. We all know that DJT disappeared early in 2019 when Nancy Pelosi put a curse on him. As evil as he was, he must have made a pact with the devil to keep people working for him. We wonder what he offered Satan for his transformation, because he obviously did not have a soul to barter with.
.......................................................................................................................
For now, let's travel back to 2008 and see what was going on then.. and maybe guess at what became of that period's burning issues, and what may happen to them in the future.
Year 2008: P. Babcock. 35, of Kansas had been sitting on her boyfriend's toilet for two years. As a result, her skin had grown around the seat. The seat was detached and forwarded with Pam to the local hospital, where it was surgically removed from her butt.
Year 2018: P. probably is one of those 600 pound plus persons now and probably would crush any old fashioned toilet seat. We'll never know for sure, but we can guess and visualize.
Year 2028: I predict that P goes to Doctor M in Atlanta and loses 450 pounds after a stomach by-pass procedure. After a "flabby skin shave," P becomes a svelte model. Nobody knows she is 55 years old. She and her boyfriend have started their own business, selling organic toilet seats.
.............................................................................................................................
Year 2008: A 50-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia filed for divorce because he husband lifted up her veil and looked at her face while she was sleeping. She had kept her face hidden for 30 years and although her husband apologized, she will not forgive him.
Year 2018: I suspect there was a different reason for hiding her face than religious fervor. She probably was ugly as hell. Today, at 60, she is probably wishing she still had her ex husband in her lonely life. Although, now that she can legally drive, maybe she would not need a husband anymore.
Year 2028: The Saudi woman tricked everyone by becoming one of the wives of the new crown prince.. the former one is awaiting execution for the murder of some journalist or other. At 70 years of age, she runs the harem. Since she was 50 years old, no other man has even tried to sneak a peek at her face.
................................................................................................................................
Year 2008: German tour company OssiUrlaub has started the world's first nudist airline. After boarding, passengers can drop their trousers and sit on hygienic seat covers, as they wing it to a "naturist" spa on a Baltic island.
Year 2018: Some nudists have planned weddings on that Baltic island and some now have even had their weddings on the plane. There have been some problems with that though, like when the wedding party couldn't agree on who was the "best man," and then they didn't like where he wanted to hold the ring.
Year 2028: Since the whole Baltic area has now become mandatory nudist territory, many airlines serve that population. Lots of folks fly in for a vacation where they can "hang out" for a fortnight.
...................................................................................................................................
Year 2008: Yoda, the cat with four ears, has become an Internet sensation. However, many people feel that Yoda is the devil incarnate. She certainly looks evil enough. And who can prove that is not true.
Year 2018: At 20 years of age, Yoda does not seem to be aging as her fellow felines. Perhaps she is the devil, or at least an imp. She has a big staff of humans who do her every bidding. But then, that is not much different from what other cats manage.
Year 2028: Now 40 years old, Yoda is still around. She hasn't even begun to work on Life #2. One suspects now that Yoda is really Donald Trump, former President. We all know that DJT disappeared early in 2019 when Nancy Pelosi put a curse on him. As evil as he was, he must have made a pact with the devil to keep people working for him. We wonder what he offered Satan for his transformation, because he obviously did not have a soul to barter with.
.......................................................................................................................
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Quick Views
I'm finding less and less time to do blog entries, but I need to keep my fingertips in the pot.. so to speak. So, here are a few thoughts.
Toys R $ for this Kid: Ryan, who is 7 years old, reviews toys on YouTube and this earned him $22 million in 2017! Almost as much as trump received from his father when he was 7 years old.
(When I was 7 years old, my 2nd grade teacher slugged me. I must have done something really bad.)
(My short-lived life of crime probably started in 2nd grade. It stopped when I was in 4th grade. And there is an amazing story there, which I recount in other blog entries.)
(A poor little 7 year old died from dehydration after her trip from Guatemala, to our nasty border. I would bet that there are lots more bad stories like this. When will we ever learn?)
Retirement $ for this Retiree: I read where Americans expect to have saved $250,000 by retirement, although they feel as though they need $610,000. Doesn't seem to add up. Experts say that if you want a "nice" retirement, you need to have saved at least $1,000,000 at retirement time. (I was a millionaire once, believe it or not.)
However, retirement living in a continuing care community ate most of that up in short order. But... the community will take care of me til I die, even if all of the rest of my money evaporates.. so the expense is worth it, in my opinion.
They will probably win their case if the judge rules like was done in another case where a guy broke into a home to burglarize it, hurt himself, and then sued for damages... and got them!
............................................................................................................................................................
Toys R $ for this Kid: Ryan, who is 7 years old, reviews toys on YouTube and this earned him $22 million in 2017! Almost as much as trump received from his father when he was 7 years old.
(When I was 7 years old, my 2nd grade teacher slugged me. I must have done something really bad.)
(My short-lived life of crime probably started in 2nd grade. It stopped when I was in 4th grade. And there is an amazing story there, which I recount in other blog entries.)
(A poor little 7 year old died from dehydration after her trip from Guatemala, to our nasty border. I would bet that there are lots more bad stories like this. When will we ever learn?)
Retirement $ for this Retiree: I read where Americans expect to have saved $250,000 by retirement, although they feel as though they need $610,000. Doesn't seem to add up. Experts say that if you want a "nice" retirement, you need to have saved at least $1,000,000 at retirement time. (I was a millionaire once, believe it or not.)
Pending Legal Claim: Two women who broke into a closed amusement park are suing for injuries sustained when they were hurt sliding down a non-operating mechanical ride. They want damages because the park owners "should have had safety features which worked when the ride was shut off.
They will probably win their case if the judge rules like was done in another case where a guy broke into a home to burglarize it, hurt himself, and then sued for damages... and got them!
............................................................................................................................................................
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Some More Stuff
Lots going on. Schadenfreude nochmals over problems that trump is having. Seems to me that he is already an "indicted" co-conspiritor with Cohen and Manafort.
Here are a few life items in no specific order.
1. Son Chris and his beautiful wife, Kathleen, are waiting (not patiently) for my new grandson to be born. Chris says that Kathleen is eating special foods known to hasten birthing. Her due date is next Thursday, December 13th. My daughter, Diane, will be acting "doolah" to assist and encourage Kathleen in the birthing room. Should be a very happy time.
2. A Netflix presentation from the Korean Broadcasting System, has a section in which they discuss how to eliminate Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). They interview a lady with CMT who had the CMT gene removed from sperm and ovum (I think.) The Chinese are messing with genes too. Soon, we will all live forever... not me.. I' already too old. My new grandson should live a very long life. I just hope that trump disappears so that the world will not disappear too.
3. At yesterday's Genealogy Gang meeting, we discussed DNA, and of course, I monopolized the conversation. I'm waiting for Douglas Ivan Gifford's DNA test through Ancestry to be finalized. There could be three results: a. He is my brother. b. He is my cousin. c. He is an adoptee and is not a Gifford after all. Time will tell.
4. Also, as the meeting, I mentioned how one can easily set up a blog and fill it with family information and then cheaply (I think) print it into a nice book. I did this twice and have two very nice books. I'll bring them into the meeting next month.
Enough for now... I don't have much time for blogging lately.
Here are a few life items in no specific order.
1. Son Chris and his beautiful wife, Kathleen, are waiting (not patiently) for my new grandson to be born. Chris says that Kathleen is eating special foods known to hasten birthing. Her due date is next Thursday, December 13th. My daughter, Diane, will be acting "doolah" to assist and encourage Kathleen in the birthing room. Should be a very happy time.
2. A Netflix presentation from the Korean Broadcasting System, has a section in which they discuss how to eliminate Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). They interview a lady with CMT who had the CMT gene removed from sperm and ovum (I think.) The Chinese are messing with genes too. Soon, we will all live forever... not me.. I' already too old. My new grandson should live a very long life. I just hope that trump disappears so that the world will not disappear too.
3. At yesterday's Genealogy Gang meeting, we discussed DNA, and of course, I monopolized the conversation. I'm waiting for Douglas Ivan Gifford's DNA test through Ancestry to be finalized. There could be three results: a. He is my brother. b. He is my cousin. c. He is an adoptee and is not a Gifford after all. Time will tell.
4. Also, as the meeting, I mentioned how one can easily set up a blog and fill it with family information and then cheaply (I think) print it into a nice book. I did this twice and have two very nice books. I'll bring them into the meeting next month.
Enough for now... I don't have much time for blogging lately.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Even More Observations
I guess djt can't control himself. After fighting with another war hero, he is into it with Chief Justice Roberts!
This week, djt also said that he is a Nationalist. Well.. so was Hitler. This is what Charles de Gaulle said on the subject:
"Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate of people other than your own comes first."
................................................................................
Names can hurt: Jessica Manafort wants to legally change her name to Jessica Anne Bond. She says that she is a "passionate liberal" and a filmmaker. She says that the name will more closely reflect her profession. (How? I think she just wants to keep people from judging her by her father, Paul Manafort.
....................................................................................
New Scrabble Words: Two new legal words have now been added to the Scrabble vocabulary:
ew and ok
....................................................................................
Shame! Last July, Facebook censored five paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence for being inappropriate.
......................................................................................,
Appropriate word: Dictionary.com named "complicit" as the 2017 Word of the Year. It means: "Choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others."
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
This week, djt also said that he is a Nationalist. Well.. so was Hitler. This is what Charles de Gaulle said on the subject:
"Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate of people other than your own comes first."
................................................................................
Names can hurt: Jessica Manafort wants to legally change her name to Jessica Anne Bond. She says that she is a "passionate liberal" and a filmmaker. She says that the name will more closely reflect her profession. (How? I think she just wants to keep people from judging her by her father, Paul Manafort.
....................................................................................
New Scrabble Words: Two new legal words have now been added to the Scrabble vocabulary:
ew and ok
....................................................................................
Shame! Last July, Facebook censored five paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence for being inappropriate.
......................................................................................,
Appropriate word: Dictionary.com named "complicit" as the 2017 Word of the Year. It means: "Choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others."
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Friday, November 16, 2018
Some More Observations
Our furnace gave out today at 2 am - on a 28 degree day with 6 inches of snow. OY!
Deja bus
Recently, a Greyhound bus driver lost his way on a trip from Ohio to New York. Passengers got a little alarmed when they saw the same gas station over and over through their windows. The driver, who was (as women say: a typical male) refused help from passengers with GPS apps and he finally completed the run, although he was 4 hours late.
I recently gave up and decided that I will now fully utilize the GPS system in our van, rather than get lost, as I did a couple of times so far in 2018.
How could I have ever gotten lost, because all of my life I have been blessed with internal maps.. it started when I was given a two-week stay at Camp Royal Ambassador, in Maine. A friend's father drove us up and through Boston, and I was able to guide him through the Boston mess, and then guide him back home at the end of the stay. (I think I was 12 years old.)
Yes, I know, I need to tell you how I got lost two times in 2018.
First: My granddaughter, Adrienne, was getting married on an out-of-the-way farm in Pennsylvania. I decided that we should do a dry run to get there, so we would not get lost on the wedding day.
Carefully plotting the way on a map and following good signage, we made the trip in under one hour.
So, now that we had done the trip successfully once, we should have no trouble getting to the wedding on time. Wrong! In one of the small towns we went through there was a fork in the road. This time, I took the wrong fork and we ended up lost and late for the wedding.
In a panic, I used my cell phone to call my son, Chris, to see if he could give me directions from where we were. Chris said: "Don't you have GPS?"
Holy cow! Yes I did, even though I had never used it or felt that I needed it. But now.. being lost, I decided to get baptized in my GPS System. Bingo! It gave us instructions that allowed us to get to the wedding only 45 minutes late... and they had held up the wedding for us.
Now, I said to myself: Dumb Ass! Start to use the GPS. Lose that stupid pride!
Last: I attended a function in Glen Burnie, Maryland and I asked myself: how hard could it be to get there without the GPS? No problem. I rolled right along and got there in plenty of time. However, the return trip boggled my mind.. I thought sure that I would have no problem reversing my arrival channels. Dump ass again! For a trip that would have taken me 45 minutes, I spent 90 minutes acting like that Greyhound driver. I hope that I have now learned to stifle my pride and use my GPS.
BORING! Yes, I know.
In the Buff Stuff
Some Florida folks are asking the police to stop one of their neighbors from mowing his grass or washing his car in the nude. Is there a Constitutional amendment for this?
Once, my late wife and I were asked to deliver an important package to an acquaintance who played for the Boston Symphony. We tracked him down to a seaside cottage across town. My wife and I knocked on the front door of the cottage and when it opened, we saw what probably was half of the Boston Symphony artists playing their instruments in the nude.
There was police blotter notice about a woman who complained that her neighbor walked around his property in the nude. When the policeman went to investigate, he noted that there was a fifteen foot fence all along his property. When he asked the woman how she could see the nude man when the high wall would block anyone's view. She replied, "Well, if you stand on a ladder, you have a good view."
................................................................................
\
Deja bus
Recently, a Greyhound bus driver lost his way on a trip from Ohio to New York. Passengers got a little alarmed when they saw the same gas station over and over through their windows. The driver, who was (as women say: a typical male) refused help from passengers with GPS apps and he finally completed the run, although he was 4 hours late.
I recently gave up and decided that I will now fully utilize the GPS system in our van, rather than get lost, as I did a couple of times so far in 2018.
How could I have ever gotten lost, because all of my life I have been blessed with internal maps.. it started when I was given a two-week stay at Camp Royal Ambassador, in Maine. A friend's father drove us up and through Boston, and I was able to guide him through the Boston mess, and then guide him back home at the end of the stay. (I think I was 12 years old.)
Yes, I know, I need to tell you how I got lost two times in 2018.
First: My granddaughter, Adrienne, was getting married on an out-of-the-way farm in Pennsylvania. I decided that we should do a dry run to get there, so we would not get lost on the wedding day.
Carefully plotting the way on a map and following good signage, we made the trip in under one hour.
So, now that we had done the trip successfully once, we should have no trouble getting to the wedding on time. Wrong! In one of the small towns we went through there was a fork in the road. This time, I took the wrong fork and we ended up lost and late for the wedding.
In a panic, I used my cell phone to call my son, Chris, to see if he could give me directions from where we were. Chris said: "Don't you have GPS?"
Holy cow! Yes I did, even though I had never used it or felt that I needed it. But now.. being lost, I decided to get baptized in my GPS System. Bingo! It gave us instructions that allowed us to get to the wedding only 45 minutes late... and they had held up the wedding for us.
Now, I said to myself: Dumb Ass! Start to use the GPS. Lose that stupid pride!
Last: I attended a function in Glen Burnie, Maryland and I asked myself: how hard could it be to get there without the GPS? No problem. I rolled right along and got there in plenty of time. However, the return trip boggled my mind.. I thought sure that I would have no problem reversing my arrival channels. Dump ass again! For a trip that would have taken me 45 minutes, I spent 90 minutes acting like that Greyhound driver. I hope that I have now learned to stifle my pride and use my GPS.
BORING! Yes, I know.
In the Buff Stuff
Some Florida folks are asking the police to stop one of their neighbors from mowing his grass or washing his car in the nude. Is there a Constitutional amendment for this?
Once, my late wife and I were asked to deliver an important package to an acquaintance who played for the Boston Symphony. We tracked him down to a seaside cottage across town. My wife and I knocked on the front door of the cottage and when it opened, we saw what probably was half of the Boston Symphony artists playing their instruments in the nude.
There was police blotter notice about a woman who complained that her neighbor walked around his property in the nude. When the policeman went to investigate, he noted that there was a fifteen foot fence all along his property. When he asked the woman how she could see the nude man when the high wall would block anyone's view. She replied, "Well, if you stand on a ladder, you have a good view."
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