2017 MARCH "From My Perspective"

2017 March FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy; but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things that money can't buy. -George H. Lorimer, editor (6 Oct 1867-1937)

Have you ever noticed that when you figure out something which has been a puzzle to you, it is seldom you’ll forget it?  I pretty sure this has to do with….if we teach ourselves something we usually don’t forget the lesson because we have such an intimate and close relationship with the teacher.

I found out that if one weighs 200# on Earth, they only weigh 76# on Mars.  Wow, one is not overweight--- they’re just on the wrong planet!

My daughter seems to have a knack of inventing her own words.  What’s amazing is THEY MAKE SENSE.  We were talking one day and I asked her when she would be arriving at my house for supper.  She replied, “Well, I’m almost ready to walk out the door; so, it will be ‘soonly’.”  I asked her what that meant.  She replied, “Well, it’s between soon and quickly, but it’s neither.  It’s ‘SOONLY’.”  She’s writing her own dictionary.  I think she’ll call it NEW-WORDS-WHICH-MAKE-MORE-SENSE-THAN-THE-ORIGINAL-ONES DICTIONARY.

Have you ever noticed a good mother’s love is unconditional?  I have, but her temper is another subject.  I’ve told mine, “I'll love you until I die, then I'll come back and haunt you into behaving well and reminding what you should not do or say.”

I know it’s March, now, but I wanted to express how much I love October.  It is the only time the cobwebs in my house become the status of DECORATIONS.

Peace isn’t the absence of conflict as people think it is.  Peace is the acceptance of conflict and knowing there will be calm from time to time.

The veggie garden was upset about the row of nosy, Spanish peppers. In complete frustration the tomatoes hollered, "They ask too many personal questions. They won't leave us alone. They're always jalapeño business!!!"  The Spanish archer did not take their turn at shooting.  When they were asked why they didn’t, they replied, “No habanera.”  Mountains are not just funny, they are “hill areas”.

While listening to one of my favorite radio stations, Mix 106.9, a word definition was given and the listener, in order to win a prize, was to call-in and give the word.  Here is the word and other words (synonyms) and the definition which I found:    Apophasis  "to say no" is a rhetorical device wherein the speaker or writer brings up a subject by either denying it, or denying that it should be brought up Accordingly, it can be seen as a rhetorical relative of irony.   The device is also called paralipsis– also spelled paraleipsis or paralepsis – or occupatio and known also as praeteritio, preterition, antiphrasis ,or parasiopesis.  It can be employed to raise an ad hominem or otherwise controversial attack while disclaiming responsibility for it, as in, "I refuse to discuss the rumor that my opponent is a drunk." This can make it a favored tactic in politics.  Apophasis can be used passive-aggressively, as in, "I forgive you for your jealousy, so I won't even mention what a betrayal it was." Praeteritio was the word the station was wanting.   Thank you, Wikipedia.com.
While reading a dictionary which happens when I start to look for ONE word (yeesh), I found this word:  HOWDAH.  It is from the Hindi and Urdu language and means, a seat on the back of an elephant or camel.  It made me think, “Of course.  It’s the perfect word for that seat because once you’re up there, you’ll wonder, “How duh get down from here?”
Brenduhh came over all smiles and giggles.  “Hey, Trute.  What do you call some bad employees?”  I didn’t want to spoil her fun so I started guessing.  None of my answers were correct.  “O.K. I give up.  What’s the answer, Brenduhh?”  She was laughing so hard she could hardly get out, “A staff infection!”  She went for the snort, too.
Life is mostly froth and bubble, / Two things stand like stone, / Kindness in another's trouble, / Courage in your own. -Adam Lindsay Gordon, poet (19 Oct 1833-1870)
A friend of mine told me, “I keep finding more and more “nuts” within the branches of the family tree. Gosh, you don't know how happy I am that they live in another state, and you will never know they're my kin! Did I become saner because I moved away from them, and I am crazy I admit that?”  I told her, “Yes, to knowing your relief of moving, and No, to your being crazy to admit it. You're in good company, anyway. I keep a jar of almonds, walnuts, pecans, and filberts out all the time just to remind me of some of my friends and relatives.”
Some of you may remember a balladeer by the name of Tom T. Hall.  One of my favorite songs he sung is WATERMELON WINE.  I got to thinking about that song and wondered what the 3 things mentioned were referring to.  Someone posted them:  "Old dogs" are those with wisdom, "children" are those with idealism, "watermelon wine" is what helps you deal with the injustices of the world. I love Tom T. Hall.“   Yep, I’m thinking that person was correct.  Give the song a listen if you have the time.  Listen carefully to the lyrics.
I saw a sign the other day.  It was talking about how water solves just about all problems.  “Do you want to lose weight?  Drink water.  Do you want a clear face?  Drink water.  Are you tired of the people who try to make you feel badly?  Drown them.” 
Dr. Maya Angelou said, "Be a rainbow in somebody's cloud!"  Have you ever notice how all the colors of the rainbow have come together to make a beautiful appearance in the sky?  They all complement the other and without all of them, it wouldn’t be a rainbow.  
What did the paper on the bulletin board say while being held up by a push pin?  “OH NO!!  I’m under a tack.”

Steganography:  (ste-guh-NOG-ruh-fee)   MEANING:  noun: The practice of concealing a message within another nonsecret message.   ETYMOLOGY:  From Greek stego- (cover) + -graphy (writing). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)teg- (to cover), which also gave us thatch, toga, stegosaurus, detect, and protect. Earliest documented use: 1569.   Examples of steganography: Shrinking the secret text until it’s the size of a dot and then putting it in an unsuspected place, such as the dot on top of a letter “i” in some innocuous letter. EXAMPLES:  Shaving the head of a man, writing the secret message on his pate with unwashable ink, and then letting the hair grow back before dispatching him to the destination.  To take an example from modern digital techniques, one could put the text of a message in the blank spaces in an image file. (Word A Day)  This gives me ideas for mystery stories I might think about writing.

I have a friend who goes to a little diner which serves breakfast all day and the best BLT sandwiches.  She invited me to go with her.  The diner sits on the corner of Koch and Bacon Streets.  I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw where it was located.

Smiles, blessings, and chuckles for the month.  Trudy J