Comets and Crickets and Beatles, Oh My!
I have written ten books and I’m now plowing through number eleven, but anyone who’s read my work will confirm there is no Pulitzer Prize for Literature in my future. I clearly haven’t mastered that skill, but recently I decided to try something different: lyrics for music. It’s just “wordsmithing” at its core, right? Deep messages cloaked in marginal poetry, right?
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When daughter Jenny schooled some college kids in the BVI
One of our most special family trips was in 2006 to the British Virgin Islands. The BVI archipelago is made up of sixty volcanic Caribbean islands surrounded by pristine beaches and warm, crystal clear water. Our home for eight days was 42-foot Moorings Charters sailing catamaran with the roomy comfort of an upscale hotel suite and a 360-degree ocean view.
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Tom, Dick, and Harry............and John?
My dad loved people, he had a rich sense of humor, and he was always willing to participate in silly school, church or community skits and events. He was a smart, decent man with, a good sense of humor, timeless values and a strong desire to connect with others.
Sometimes we considered him our family’s Yogi Berra.
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ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Chernobyl and Moscow
Last year, sons Roger, Brett, and Christopher traveled with longtime friend William Wiersig and me to Ukraine/Chernobyl and Moscow. Son Andrew couldn’t join us; he and his wife Sarah were busy with their nine-month-old baby, Tommy. We missed Andrew, but his priorities were correct.
Our primary goal was to tour the site of the 1986 “Chernobyl Disaster” which occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the town of Pripyat, Ukraine, a few miles from Chernobyl City.
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ADVENTURE TRAVEL: North Korea
Always interested in exotic travel, son Christopher and I visited North Korea for six days. This was a few years ago, when Kim Jong-un was launching missiles to grab the spotlight on the world stage. Here is a quick summary of our personal experiences: North Korea made Cuba seem like a bastion of personal freedom and a model for unbridled economic success.
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ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Cuba
In 2008, when political tensions between the USA and Cuba were still very high, I organized a trip for senior (over 50) slow-pitch softball players to compete in Havana against retired Cuban League baseball players. It was the first time an American-Cuban group had gathered for this sport.
My primary motive was to visit Cuba legally; involving sport was the ticket that made it happen.
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ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Cold War "Communist Bloc"
Working and living in Germany—mid-70s and late 80s—and personally supporting a dozen or so European subsidiaries required that I do weekly business travel throughout Western Europe. That in itself was an adventure.
Even more challenging (read: fun) was visiting much of Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe: Russia, East Germany, East Berlin (different entry than for East Germany), Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Estonia, and Hungary.
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When Author Stephen King Took Me to the Woodshed
On occasion of World Book Day, I am sharing an awkward personal interaction with mega-author Stephen King. It is an example of imprecision with a simple question. By the way, this is an excerpt from my forthcoming e-book, “AWESTRUCK – Personal Encounters With Legends”. More on that later.
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So Just Where is "The Next Level"?
Everyone talks about “Taking it to the next level.” Just what or where is that…a massive leap or a small step? Is that step forward or backward?
“We have a great marriage, but we want to take it to the next level.” Wouldn’t that be divorce?
Similarly, “We are taking our relationship to the next level.” Does that mean sex, moving in, threesomes, or a Pilates class?
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Horrors of Learning English, Chapter 2
What nobleman or lunatic decided to toss in so many silent g’s and h’s? Did a monk get an extra shilling for each “ough” he inserted into seemingly simple words? Try making sense out of the following.
Through…pronounced “threw”. Shouldn’t that letter-mess be pronounced “throw-ugh”? Oh yeah, there is a version of the same word also spelled threw. Good luck explaining all that to Olga, a new arrival from Ukraine.
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Horrors of Learning English, Chapter 1
There are so many contradictions and loony, often-broken rules in the English language, I can’t imagine having to learn it as a second language. Here are some brief examples.
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Those Pesky Colonists are Taking Over the English Language
Americans haven’t just changed the language; we have made it more colorful, much to the disgust of our British cousins. “Humongous” has a richer, campier sound than “huge”, right? Still, I am not sure that makes English easier to learn. In fact, foreigners who learn “the Queen’s English” are often confused when they arrive in the States. American slang and the mumbling of terms like shoudda, woudda, and coudda drive them nuts.
To its credit, the official Oxford English Dictionary—both online and in printed form—is adding around a thousand words each year. Most of them come from American slang.
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The Department of Redundancy Department
Here are examples taken from a single four-hour sitting watching television. Admittedly, part of the time was watching college football. Though they are allegedly college grads, some of the football analysts can barely put together a coherent sentence.
“…exact same message.”
“…tie the ballgame up.” (Twice)
“…where his house is located at.”
“…never seen that in my entire life.” (Double redundant!)
“…his abilities with mine together.”
“…one of only 65 made in the world.” (Doesn’t count others made elsewhere in the galaxy.)
“As per usual…”
“The net result is…”
“…short period of time.” (As opposed to a short period of cheese?)
“Wanna hear a true fact?” (Um, “facts” are only true.)