Leaks

Beginning January 2, 2011, my blog will move to the following location:
http://bobosbest.wordpress.com/. Please follow me to that location.

There are so many words that keep dropping into our 21st century English vocabulary. Being 72 years old, I can remember when "queer" meant just that: odd, different. When my senior class presented "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay," we didn't think the play was about youthful homosexuals. Later language has become to me more profane with "shit" and "fuck" dropped casually in front of ministers and lay people. Until only a few years ago, there were no initials ADHD. Now, every other kid has that label, and it appears frequently to be an excuse for their inappropriate behavior. I've never liked the phrase "pissed off," but I would think that many people now-a-days think that it could be used in front of the Queen of England. I guess I'm pretty much of a purist when it comes to my English language. I just don't see the need to use profanity. I think I've reached my limit and promise never to hide in the bushes to take a "wiki leak." That would just be going too far.

At a Loss for Words

Beginning January 2, 2011, my blog will move to the following location:
http://bobosbest.wordpress.com/. Please follow me to that location.

I am appalled at the Oxford English Dictionary which recently published its list of acceptable new words. Among the list was Sarah Palin's "refudiate." Ms. Palin certainly creates news and exercises her charisma in many ways, but what in the world does the word "refudiate" add to the English lexicon? Nothing. She is a celebrity and therefore commands acceptance, even among the high-brow Oxford English Dictionary people. I think my word "alonely," which I have written about and defined in this blog, is much more deserving of recognition as it is a combination of two words, "alone" and "lonely," creating a new word that clearly adds a new perspective regarding our emotions. A few years ago, a friend of my brother's also invented a word that I thought classy. He was referring to a Georgia author who was writing about Georgia rednecks. He spoke of the author's stories about "redneckedness." Now, that's clever. How about considering that for your dictionary, Mr. Oxford?

Merry and Bright

Bloggulating

I came to be a blogger only because I received such nice encouragement from my friend who was already blogging at http://gregkaspar.com/gfk-pad/. I looked at his site, read his incredible writings and viewed the results of his photography skills. I certainly was not the photographer that he was nor was I as creative and diverse in my writing style, but I love to write so decided to make the effort. He helped me set up the site (which has since moved) and gave me some pointers. I decided to write every other day as I didn't want the blog to become a chore (and it hasn't). I knew that I had my journal to fall back on for ideas plus I began to pre-write. I am now ahead about six blogs, which pleases me as I like to look back over the writing before I publish. My writings are not deep or challenging -- they are my ideas. I love playing with words as you may have noted in some of my titles, and I love to write about what the reader may have thought about but never seen expressed in print. Thank you for being my readers, whoever you are. Please leave a comment sometime.

Dentalphobia

"You must have gum surgery" or even just, "You need to have that tooth pulled." Anything regarding a trip to the dentist or the othodontist wreaks havoc with my nervous system. It seems to me that I heard eons ago about painless dentistry. What happened? Where is it? Why do we still sit in a chair and listen to that piercing drill and that grinding sound, the same sound you would hear outside with someone drilling cement. Where are the earphones with music playing to keep our minds preoccupied so that we can ignore some of the activity going on in our mouth. I had gum surgery recently. The doctor was capable; the two assistants were very helpful and professional; the job was done. But, for thirty or forty minutes, I was as tense as someone who is facing execution. I prayed for the orthodontist, asking God to give him wisdom as I was certain the procedure was never-ending and might even be fatal. I'm extremely grateful for the dentists who have worked so hard in order to give me chewing capability and a nice smile, but please come up with something to occupy us during the ordeal that takes place in a dental chair.

At Sea with Thom

I have never considered myself an avid cruise ship traveler, but then I have only done three cruises: one to Greece and the Greek isles; one around the Mediterranean starting and ending in Rome; and this last one in the Caribbean (St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, Granada, Tobago, Aruba and Curacao) from which I just returned yesterday. I learned on this trip that it is not so much where you go but with whom you are traveling. The Caribbean islands, although each has unique qualities to offer, become pretty much of a jumble of scenic memories. It was my traveling companions -- eleven of them, all from Kenosha, Wisconsin -- who made this adventure at sea on the Celebrity Constitution most memorable.

Kyi (piano) versus Palin (forte)

[If you do not remember the reason why the piano is formally known as a pianoforte, it was the first instrument of its type to be able to be played both soft and loud.]

Here I go political again. With the release from house arrest of human rights advocate, Suu Kyi, I can't help but compare her to our Tea Party leader, Sarah Palin. What a difference. Ms. Kyi is a political force who is most often compared to Ghandi, one of the most non-agressive leaders in world history. While Sarah is Tweeting, Ms. Kyi is speaking in a mild manner, offering peace to both the people of Burma and to the military junta that imprisoned her for seven years. I wonder what would happen if Sarah Palin were put under house arrest for seven years. Of course, that wouldn't stop her Tweeting, but perhaps it would mollify her strident "Mama Grizzly" manner and mouthing off at Fox News. Certainly, Sarah Palin could learn a lesson in positive imagery from the likes of Suu Kyi.

Readers, I am going to be away from my computer for the next two weeks. I'll miss you, but I need a break. This "break" will take place on many of the islands in the Caribbean, a location I have never visited. I will, of course, have much about which to write when I return as I will definitely keep my journal during the trip. Be patient with me. I expect to publish again on December 19, the day after I return.

The New John Wilkes Booth

When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, I worried greatly that he would be assassinated by some racial bigot, just as Abraham Lincoln, the other President from Illinois, was slain. Obama is known to revere Lincoln as his idol. Certainly Obama, like Lincoln, is dealing with a United States that is almost as polorized as it was during the Civil War. Now that two years have passed, I have seen a president wrestling with an economy that almost fell off the brink. I have seen him press for relief while dealing with a Republican party that votes no on matters that would benefit and help bring relief to those struggling with job losses, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. I have come to realize that though the President may not be cut down by a single bigot, he may be "slain" by John Wilkes Booth once more in the guise of the Republican party that has vowed to see him fail. If that happens, we will grieve once more for a great statesman who sacrificed his political future in order to insure that the United States of America will remain the greatest nation in the world.