MONDEGREEN REDUX

In yesterday's article "CARLY", I used the word "MONDEGREEN";  several people asked for an explanation.  

Below is a Sue's News article published in 2013:

                                                   MONDEGREEN

A Facebook friend posted that she sings the wrong lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit, much to her husband's consternation. I wrote to her that there's an actual word--MONDEGREEN--for that problem; MONDEGREEN means: 

"a word or phrase resulting from mishearing a word or phrase, usually in song lyrics." 

An example:  "The girl with colitis goes by" rather than "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes"from the Beatles song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

CLICK HERE to see my BLOG article MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK describing my gaffes as well as ones from others.

CARLY

Recently, at dinner with our nephew Daren and his family, Daren's girlfriend showed us pictures of her family and one of her daughters is named Carly.  I said that I loved the name because we love Carly Simon and she said she'd named her for Carly.  Naturally, I began singing parts of You're So Vain:

"You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte."

I exclaimed, "Only Carly would rhyme apricot with gavotte."  Daren's daughter Emily chimed in with, "And YACHT"  I asked if they knew the definition of gavotte:

"a medium paced French dance, popular in the eighteenth century, marked by raising, rather than sliding the foot."

Later that evening I was telling my brother about the conversation.  He asked, "Don't you remember that's a famous MONDEGREEN because a lot of people thought Carly sang 'As you watched yourself go by it' rather than gavotte?"

There has been much speculation that You're So Vain was written about Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger, but Carly always refused to divulge the information.  At a charity auction, Dick Ebersol paid $50,000 for Carly to whisper in his ear the identity of the the subject of the song, with the proviso that he would not reveal it.  Ebersol never revealed the name.

I think that Jagger is more likely to gavotte!

NASTY WOMAN

I often refer to the LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES:

"outcomes that are not the ones foreseen or intended by any purposeful action."

Of course there is no such law, but like Murphy's Law, it is now usually used in a humorous way.  Although the idea is referenced by John Locke, Adam Smith, and others, the phrase was popularized by the American sociologist Robert K. Merton.

My favorite recent example:  NASTY WOMAN.   

During the Third Presidential Debate Secretary Clinton's opponent referred to her as a "nasty woman" and within a day, there were tee-shirts, and all kinds of merchandise emblazoned with the logo NASTY WOMAN available.  Celebrities such as Katy Perry were soon spotted wearing the apparel.

In the intervening months since the intended insult the logo has continued and was quite prevalent at the March On Washington on January 21 and at other resistance movement events, I have seen quite a number of sisters wearing the symbol.   

Now, there are battles over the patent and copyrights as several people have applied for the rights.

I doubt if that is the outcome--the consequence-- Secretary Clinton's opponent had hoped for--intended-- with his insult.  My brother quipped, "The Litigator-In-Chief will probably be suing the ones trying to patent or copyright;  after all, he tried to copyright YOU'RE FIRED!"

42-YEAR OLD GRANDFATHER......

I am irritated whenever I read newspaper coverage or see see television reporters use the lead, something similar to this:  "The 42-year-old grandmother...."  usually followed by a report of  some criminal activity. 

I swear I have never seen an article or report referencing a "The 42-year-old grandfather..." or any other aged grandfather, have you?  Just this week our local paper described a woman as a"grandmother" although it had no relevance to the accompanying report.  If being a grandmother were relevant to an article, I could understand the inclusion, but it rarely is.  

Is being a grandmother--to a woman of a certain age-- a woman's principal identity?  I don't think so.  I don't think so.  I have seen Hillary Clinton referred to as a grandparent, but not Bill Clinton!  I've seen Ruth Bader-Ginsburg so identified, but not Stephen Breyer!  Goldie Hawn but not Harrison Ford? Always! 

In an earlier BLOG article, I noted the THREE STAGES OF A WOMAN'S LIFE (which includes my humorous addition as I am not a mother).

1. SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER
2. SOMEBODY'S WIFE
3. SOMEBODY'S MOTHER.

Well, I guess I can add another stage:

SOMEBODY'S GRANDMOTHER.

COMMENTS

I usually like the comments I receive at Sue's News, but I loved it when I received a comment from the historian Jo Paoletti whose book Pink And Blue, Telling The Girls From The Boys In America I used as a reference, although she corrected me! 

She responded to my article "GENDER-SPECIFIC" which was about the differences between the choices of pink and blue for babies.  I wrote that I thought it was because of the influence of the paintings The Blue Boy and Pinkie.

Although I certainly know that Sir Thomas Lawrence was the artist who painted Pinkie, rather than Gainsborough, I only used my flippant remark in the article rather than being specific; however, I am posting the correction pointed out by Paoletti.

This is Paoletti's response to my article:

Kimberly Christian-Campbell has an excellent article about Blue Boy and Pinky and the history of pink.  I didn't mention it in the book, but it is a bit of a modern urban legend.  The two paintings were not companion pieces or even by the same artist.  Gainsborough however, did paint a Pink Boy:

Link to the article:  http:///.huntington.org/uploadedfiles/Files/PDFs/ss2013Frontiers.pdf.

RULE OF THUMB AND OTHER CLICHES

I am fascinated to know the origin of sayings and cliches.  My grandmother and mother had a trove of sayings and my brothers and I use them frequently but I notice that most younger people do not "get" them (just as I, a younger person at the time,  did not "get" my mother's usage of AN AXE TO GRIND in yesterday's BLOG article).  

One old saying I do NOT use is "RULE OF THUMB" because it stems from the fact that in old English law a man was allowed to punish his wife and children with a rod as large as this THUMB.

Some interesting ones:

"GOD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE" is an ungrammatical rendering of "God willing and the CREEKS don't rise". It was written by Benjamin Hawkins, who was asked by the President to return to Washington from his diplomatic mission with the Creek Indians. He wrote: "God willing and the Creeks don't rise.", meaning Native Americans and not a body of water.

"IT WILL COST AN ARM AND A LEG":  painters would charge for portraits based on the number of limbs in a picture as limbs, especially hands, are more difficult to render, thus artists would charge more for all the arms and legs in a picture. (e.g.: notice on a number of portraits of George Washington; one has him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms)

"BIG WIG":  in the old days, people bathed just twice a year; women kept their hair covered and men shaved their heads (because of lice) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford nice wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs so to clean them but they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell and bake for thirty minutes. The heat would make the wigs big and fluffy, hence the term "BIG WIG".

"CHAIRMAN":  in the 1700s it was common to have just one chair in a room and a long wide board folded down for dining. The head of the household always sat in the chair while everyone else sat on the floor. Occasionally, when a male guest was there, he would be invited to sit in the chair. To sit in the chair meant that the person was important or in charge. The one sitting in the chair was the "CHAIR MAN".

"CRACK A SMILE", "LOSING FACE", and "MIND YOUR OWN BEES WAX":  women would spread melted bees wax over their face to remove unwanted hair and pimples. If she smiled while the wax was on her face, it would crack the wax, thus, "CRACK A SMILE"; if she sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt, thus "LOSING FACE"; if someone said something negative she would say, "MIND YOUR OWN BEES WAX"!

"STRAIGHT-LACED": A proper and dignified woman who required help lacing her corset in the back was said to be "STRAIGHT-LACED".

However, I am NOT going to tell the derivation of "HAVING YOUR TURN IN THE BARREL"!

AN AXE TO GRIND

In talking to a friend about cliches, I mentioned that the old saying "HAVING AN AXE TO GRIND" has a totally different meaning today than it did with my mother's generation.  

I told him that about a time, more than twenty years ago, when my mother used the term because she thought someone was taking advantage of me.   She quipped, "Methinks he has an axe to grind."  I told her I did not understand her meaning.  She told me emphatically that she knew the derivation and I should ask other people.

Because of Mother's challenge, I conducted a survey of people of her generation (memorably, Carl Wilt, Mose Wilson, my friend's mother Shirley, and Mrs. Cooper)and all agreed that my mother was correct as it meant to have a selfish or ulterior motive.  

See the accompanying text about Ben Franklin's usage: There was a stranger interested in using Ben's grindstone.  Franklin demonstrated how it worked by sharpening the stranger's axe--a task which required a lot of hard work--it dawned on Ben that was what the stranger had clearly intended,  leaving Franklin forever suspicious of others who might have "an axe to grind"--a secret motive to get something done.  

Today's usage means having a grievance and seeking retribution.  I rather like the old message.

PYEWACKET, ET. AL.

Enjoying dinner tonight with nephew Daren and his family, Connie showed us pictures of a rescued cat she'd named "Lucy", a lovely tortoiseshell.

For cat lovers, we know that the moment we've named cats, they are here to stay.  I told about several of our "naming" episodes.

Several years ago, a woman who lived down our street called, and asked, "Are you the folks with cats?''  I was immediately filled with anxiety as I feared she was probably thinking she had made contact with "the crazy cat lady at the end of the street" and was ready to lodge a complaint.   I answered, timidly, "Yes, we have cats." She then told me that her daughter and she had been walking and they spotted a kitten trapped in a storm drain and wondered if we could help them.   Gerald immediately went there and with the magic words, "Here, kitty, kitty..." the kitten jumped out of the drain into his welcoming arms.  That's how "Stormy" came into our lives.  My brother said, it was lucky he wasn't in a sewer or I might have branded him "Ed Norton".  

A woman who worked for me, called one evening, crying.  She told me she had gone to empty her trash in her complex's dumpster and there was a kitten in the bottom. She said she had tried but couldn't reach the kitten.   Gerald took his extension ladder, climbed into the dumpster, and retrieved the kitten.  We decided to name him "Rumpke".  My brother, ever-ready with a quip, commented, "Good thing it wasn't a Waste Management dumpster!"

Gerald's niece was visiting and she said she couldn't believe we had a cat named PYEWACKET because a friend of hers also had a cat with the same name.  I said that her friend must love the book or movie Bell, Book, And Candle and that I liked the movie so much I'd had FOUR cats named Pyewacket in my life, starting with one when I was a teenager and had been influenced by the movie.

A friend has had several cats she's named for cats in the musical Cats.  I told her that I couldn't name any of mine from that or the book on which it's based Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats because T. S. Eliot was an anti-Semite.  She answered that was taking political correctness to an absurd level!

Our cat Francis is named "Francis Albert Sinatra" because he has one blue eye and one green eye;  we affectionately call him "Ole Blue EYE".  

Several years ago, we had a tiger-stripe female cat "decide" to stay with us.  (You notice that I wrote that SHE decided to stay with US, rather than we decided to keep her!)  A few days later, she produced three kittens.  Naturally, she was very protective of the babies, and all of our cats were old, except for one, but all the cats were intimidated by the new mother.  One day, my brother commented how "fierce" the mother was.  I said, "Oh, I'm going to name her Sasha Fierce."  He asked, incredulously,  "HOW would YOU know Sasha Fierce?"  Being offended that he would think I didn't know Beyonce's other persona, I answered, "Well, DUH, I do read and after all, I am understated, yet a woman of the twenty-first century!"   He said, "Well, that does sound better than DUH!"  Have you noticed that young people think that "old" people don't know anything about contemporary culture?

RANKLED

A recent C-SPAN survey of 91 noted historians issued their opinions of the ranking of U.S. Presidents.

Their rankings:

1.   ABRAHAM LINCOLN
2.   GEORGE WASHINGTON
3.   FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
4.   THEODORE ROOSEVELT
5.   DWIGHT EISENHOWER
6.   HARRY TRUMAN
7.   THOMAS JEFFERSON
8.   JOHN KENNEDY
9.   RONALD REAGAN
10.  LYNDON JOHNSON

I have long been a RANKER of Presidents since Mr. Baughan first challenged his seventh-graders to that exercise.  When that assignment was made, I recall the heated discussion in my own home because my mother adored FDR and my father detested him. These rankings have been the subject of many contentious conversations among family and friends throughout the years. 

I believe that I can put aside my personal feelings;  for example, as much as I detest the rapist slave-master Jefferson, I still think he should be ranked at Number 5, rather than being below Eisenhower and Truman.  As much as I love JFK, I am astounded that he is ranked here at Number 8.  I think it is absurd that Reagan is even in the Top 10! My niece detests Jackson, as do I, and she became upset because I once referred to him as "great".    I answered, "I hate him as much as you do, but can't deny his importance."  I was very pleased to see that the detestable Jackson and Wilson were both "demoted" and that Grant was "elevated"!

It is still interesting to see the changes from the "experts" from 2000, 2009, and 2017. Unchanged are the Top 4.  I notice that twentieth-century Presidents have gained in the estimations of these twentieth-century "experts" (some of whom have been used in all three of these rankings).

2000                           2009

1.   LINCOLN /LINCOLN                                               
2.   WASHINGTON/WASHINGTON                                          
3.   FDR/FDR                                                          
4.   TR/TR                                                                  
5.   TRUMAN/TRUMAN                                               
6.   JEFFERSON/JEFFERSON                                         
7.   WILSON/REAGAN                              
8.   JACKSON/EISENHOWER                                 
9.   EISENHOWER/JACKSON                                       
10.  POLK/WILSON                                      

For President Obama to be ranked at Number 12, after being out of office a month, is indeed gratifying but I think it is too early to judge him and also Bush 2.

For full listings you can go to C-SPAN.

THRENODY

It's interesting to me HOW one comes across new words.  My brother asked, "Do you know this word  THRENODY?"  I answered, "No, I don't know it;  where did you see it?"  He said, "I'm reading an article in ESPN Magazine about the national anthem."

THRENODY:  a poem, speech, or song of lamentation, especially for the dead; dirge

The article was mainly about the multifarious performances of The Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl and other sporting events by such different performers as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Jose Feliciano, and Jimi Hendrix.  I was surprised that Hendrix performed his version 70 times.  Listen to his performance from Woodstock:

After reading the article, I said that I thought that  the term"threnody" was inappropriate because most of the renditions are uplifting rather than lamenting.  

I said, "The author should have mentioned Robert Goulet's debacle because that was truly lamentable!"   Les retorted, "That's what they get for allowing a non-American to sing it!"

GENDER-SPECIFIC

A friend is preparing for the arrival of a grandchild and asked my help with a baby shower. 

She asked, "How do you suppose it happened that blue is for boys and pink is for girls?"  I answered, "It's probably because of the influence of Gainsborough."  She reacted, "Hunh?"  I said, "You know, The Blue Boy and Pinkie."

Naturally, I had to investigate.  I learned that prior to World War II department stores actually advertised pink for boys and blue for girls. In a 1918 issue of Good Housekeeping, it was reported:  "Pink, being of a more decided and strong color, is more suited for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate, is prettier for the girl."  That's exactly the opposite of the way people think today. 

Photographs of babies from the late nineteenth century show both male and female children wearing white, frilly dresses. That was probably because white clothing could be easily bleached.  When pastel clothes were introduced for babies, there was great variation in what colors were considered gender-specific.  In those days it was thought that blue was more flattering to blondes and pink was preferred for brunettes and that blue was better for blue-eyed babies and pink for brown-eyed babies. 

In 1927, Best And Company in New York City, Marshall Field in Chicago, Filene's in Boston, and Halle's in Cleveland showed boys in pink and girls dressed in blue.  However, at the same time, Macy's and Wanamaker's stated the opposite.

Historian Jo B. Paoletti's book Pink And Blue, Telling The Girls From The Boys In America was a valuable resource for me; however, she did NOT mention my theory about the influence of Gainsborough.

My brother commented, "Yeah, you would have to put an artsy-fartsy spin on it."

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Random Acts of Kindness And Senseless Acts Of Beauty is a children's book by Anne Herbert. She coined the phrase in 1982 and Jack Canfield used the phrase in his book Chicken Soup For The Soul.

February 17 is National Random acts Of Kindness Day. The day, of course began after Anne Herbert's book became popular.

I try to perform acts of kindness on a daily basis.

Below is an article I wrote in 2010:

Today I was at my doctor's office in Wilmington and an elderly woman left the Receptionist's area and sat down. The Receptionist asked if she needed anything else and the woman said she was waiting for a cab. She was still sitting there when I came out from seeing the doctor. I asked the woman if I could take her home. I said, "We can ask the Receptionist to call the cab company to tell them you've left." We had a very enjoyable conversation on our drive to her home and she insisted on paying me and I told her, "Just PAY IT FORWARD and do something good for somebody else." I told her I would wait until she went in the house. She went to her porch and brought back a sack of cucumbers. Of course I could not refuse. I now have THIRTY cucumbers; does anybody want cucumbers?

SCHADENFREUDE REVISITED

Today, a friend and I were discussing Mean Girls and I said I would re-publish an article I had published in 2010:

                                                           SCHADENFREUDE

"SCHADENFREUDE": the pleasure or satisfaction derived from the misfortunes of others.

I had never attended class reunions because I still had great bitterness from my school experiences. My husband finally convinced me to attend one of my class reunions as we always have a good time at his own class reunions.  I was always surprised by his lack of bitterness, but he is the kind of person not to bear grudges.

What I learned from attending my class reunion was that the more people change, the more they stay the same. In school, one of my classmates was a particularly snobbish, mean-spirited person that I will refer to as "Mean Girl" in this article. As a grownup she was even a worse person than she had been in school as she remained just as snobbish and mean-spirited and yet proselytized about her religious beliefs.

At the reunion which was held at Deer Creek Park, I was standing under a tree, as I am allergic to the sun. Another classmate, Don, was talking to me and Gerald,and he gestured toward "Mean Girl" and said, "You must know her husband Jerry as he works at the same place you do." I told Don, "There are 18,000 people there, so I probably don't know him." Don went over to them and then all three came over to where I was standing and "Mean Girl" said, "Oh, Phyllis,we saw you over here under the tree so I thought you were worried about the sun changing your hair color." (I guess that was her idea of charitable Christian humor.)   I was Phyllis in school, but was always called Sue in my family and I used Sue at work.

Don said, to "Mean Girl's" husband, "I was telling Phyllis that you also worked at Rockwell."  Jerry asked where I worked at Rockwell and I answered, "In the FIF."   Jerry asked for whom I worked and I answered, "Al Smith--but, Jerry, at work--I'm known as Sue Raypole."  Obviously surprised, he asked, "You're THE Sue Raypole?" "Mean Girl" immediately responded with the question, "What do you mean by THE Sue Raypole?"  Jerry replied, "She runs the whole FIF!" "Mean Girl" immediately struck a confident pose, tossed her hair, and said to me, "Well, Jerry's an ENGINEER, and he also works for Smitty."  Jerry said, "That's a different Smith; she's a MANAGER; she reports to the VICE PRESIDENT AL Smith; I report to C.W. Smith; she's equal to my boss." "Mean Girl" said, "Well, lah-di-dah, isn't our little Phyllis SO special?"

Then I laughed at her and said, "But we pronounce it special, NOT "spay-shul", unless, of course, we're referring to something being spatial." and I spelled it out: S-P-A-T-I-A-L.  It was clearly evident that "Mean Girl" was very angry, probably because I had laughed at her, corrected her, and, of course, most importantly,  because I outranked her husband at work.  She turned away from us in a snit while Jerry, Don, and I continued with an enjoyable conversation.  "Mean Girl" never spoke to me again that day and she and Jerry left shortly afterward.

SCHADENFREUDE! Twenty-five years of bitterness wiped away! Laughter IS the great equalizer.

When we completed the contract at Rockwell, I moved on to BMY in Marysville. "Mean Girl's" husband had worked at Rockwell for a long time, but was too young to retire. When I attended a funeral for the mother of another classmate, "Mean Girl" was also there. "Mean Girl" walked up to me and without any attempt of small talk, asked if I could help Jerry get a job where I worked. I asked how she knew where I was working.  She said that Jerry had told her he'd heard where I'd gone. I opened my purse, took out a business card, and told her to have Jerry to call me.  Jerry called me and although we had no position for him at BMY, I was able to help him by being a reference.

My husband said, "Wow!  I can't believe you were able to overcome your animosity."  I told him, "In our lives, we probably have to make only a few moral decisions;  I wasn't being NOBLE: I just thought of how much the guy had suffered being married to such a thoroughly nasty person."

SCHADENFREUDE!

Since then I actually look forward to class reunions, but at the last two reunions "Mean Girl" conspicuously avoided me, but Jerry and I always have great conversations.

ADDENDUM TO "OLDER THAN DIRT"

Yes, I am OLDER THAN DIRT!

A friend posted an article on her BLOG about her grandmother's ration books from World War II. I said, sheepishly, "I have MY ration book from WWII."

During World War II, one could not walk into a store to buy as much coffee, sugar, butter, or meat which one wanted, nor could one fill up a car with gasoline. The government introduced rationing because many items were in short supply and with the Declaration Of War, the economy shifted to war production and consumer goods took a back seat to the needs of the military.

In May, 1942 The U.S. Office Of Price Administration (OPA) froze prices on practically all everyday goods starting with sugar and coffee. War Ration Books and coins were issued to all families describing how much gasoline, tires, meat, silk, shoes, and nylons that one person could purchase. 8,000 Rationing Boards were created to assess the families' rationing requirements. Cookbooks were even revised to adjust recipes to rationing.

TYPES OF RATIONING:

UNIFORM COUPON RATIONING: provided equal shares of a single commodity (e.g.: sugar) to all consumers.

POINT RATIONING: Provided equal shares of commodities (e.g.: meat, cheese, processed foods) by coupons issued for points which could be used as a combination or in a group.

DIFFERENTIAL COUPON RATIONING: Provided shares of a single product (e.g.: gasoline, fuel oil) according to varying needs.

CERTIFICATE RATIONING: Allowed individual products (e.g.: tires, cars, stoves, typewriters) only after an application demonstrated the need.

VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's Day is more than greeting cards, flowers and candy, and more than telling your sweetheart that you love each other. It is also love in general toward others and sacrifice. There is much history about Saint Valentine, dating back before the 14th century, but the holiday is generally celebrated world wide.

Prior to Chaucer in the 14th century, no links between the Saint named Valentinus and romantic love existed. Earlier links were focused on sacrifice rather than romantic love.

The "roses are red, violets are blue" saying dates back to Edmund Spenser's epic of 1590:
"She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew."

One of the nursery rhymes by Gammer Gurton's Garland in 1784:
"The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou'd be you."

And to my Sweetheart, Gerald:

OBAMA LEGACY DINNER

FAYETTE COUNTY DEMOCRATS OBAMA LEGACY DINNER
         (a benefit to support the Fayette County Democratic Party)

WHEN:      February 19, 2017
WHERE:   OUR PLACE RESTAURANT
TIME:        5:00 PM
COST:        $15.00 per person
RSVP:        Judy Craig:   740-426-6674 and Sue Raypole 740-335-8034

Come join fellow Democrats for food, fun, and fellowship combined with guest speakers, live auction, and door prizes.

In the past we have enjoyed President's Day dinners and we do not want to lose that camaraderie and have changed the name to the OBAMA LEGACY DINNER until we elect another Democrat as President.

MISTER LINCOLN

Today is the birth date of my hero Abraham Lincoln.  I have more than 100 books about Lincoln and today I am re-reading several slim volumes (Why Lincoln Matters by Mario Cuomo,

Lincoln's Devotional with an introduction by Carl Sandburg,

and his Great Speeches) to celebrate and honor his birthday.

I recall, when I was a youngster, there would be Lincoln Day Dinners and other celebrations put on by the Republicans.  It is interesting that they no longer align themselves with Mister Lincoln. 

I also recall that, in "the old days", Democrats would have Jefferson-Jackson celebrations.  It is also interesting that one seldom hears of Democrats celebrating those two supposed ancestors of the party.

Of course I always say that if Lincoln were alive today he would be a Democrat.  My brother disagrees and says he would definitely be a Socialist!

OLDER THAN DIRT

I am older than Gerald.  One day I said, "I'm older than dirt." to which Gerald replied, "And I'm dirt."

Having heard me say this, I received this from a friend, reminding me that I am actually OLDER THAN DIRT:

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE.........................

The disgraceful manner Senator Elizabeth Warren was treated by Mitch McConnell by his citing "Rule 19", rebuking her and not allowing her to speak was an egregious example of blatant sexism and bullying.

In talking with a friend who is young enough to be my daughter, she said, "If it were a man talking he wouldn't have dared do that."  I asked, "Can you imagine if that had been Teddy Kennedy?"

Later we learned that four maLe Senators had indeed been allowed to read the same Coretta Scott King letter Senator Warren was quoting when she was censored.

We lamented, wondering if things would ever change or whether her daughter would be fighting the same battles we have encountered in our different generations.  I sighed and said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

I told her, "This reminds me of a BLOG article I published in 2010 titled "HOW TO TELL A BUSINESSMAN FROM A BUSINESSWOMAN";  see below:


                       HOW TO TELL A BUSINESSMAN FROM A BUSINESSWOMAN

My sister-in-law Sheila gave this list to me in the 1980s.  Her list is followed by examples I encountered in my own work life.  (plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose)

A BUSINESSMAN IS AGGRESSIVE..........................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS PUSHY

A BUSINESSMAN IS GOOD ON DETAILS................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS PICKY

A BUSINESSMAN IS FIRM..........................................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS HARD

A BUSINESSMAN IS CONFIDENT..................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS CONCEITED

A BUSINESSMAN FOLLOWS THROUGH................................A BUSINESSWOMAN DOESN'T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT

A BUSINESSMAN IS CLOSE-MOUTHED........................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS SECRETIVE

A BUSINESSMAN IS A STERN TASK-MASTER.......................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS HARD TO WORK FOR

A BUSINESSMAN IS WITTY.............................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS SARCASTIC

A BUSINESSMAN ISN'T AFRAID TO SAY WHAT HE THINKS...................................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS MOUTHY

A BUSINESSMAN HAS GREAT JUDGMENT.....................................A BUSINESSWOMAN HAS PREJUDICES

A BUSINESSMAN DRINKS BECAUSE OF EXCESSIVE JOB PRESSURE..................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS A LUSH

A BUSINESSMAN LOSES HIS TEMPER BECAUSE HE'S SO INVOLVED.................................A BUSINESSWOMAN IS BITCHY

WHEN A BUSINESSMAN IS DEPRESSED (OR HUNG-OVER) EVERYONE TIPTOES PAST HIS OFFICE.....................................................................A BUSINESSWOMAN MUST HAVE PMS



THE FOLLOWING ARE ONES I'VE ENCOUNTERED IN MY OWN WORK LIFE:

HE'S PERSUASIVE..............................SHE WRAPPED THEM AROUND HER LITTLE FINGER

HE PROMOTES WOMEN, HE'S PROGRESSIVE.............................................SHE'S A LESBIAN

HE PROMOTES MINORITIES, HE'S FAIR......................................SHE'S A BLEEDING-HEART

HE RECOGNIZES ACHIEVEMENT................................................................SHE'S A SHOW-OFF

HE'S COMPASSIONATE.................................................................................SHE'S A PUSHOVER

HE'S OUTGOING..............................................................SHE CAN'T KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT

HE USES HIS GOOD PERSONALITY...................................SHE USES HER FEMININE WILES

HE WAS PROMOTED ON MERIT..........................WELL, WE KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS ONE

AD IGNORANTUM

During a contentious discussion, my use of the phrase "ad hominem" to describe his behavior, caused an emotional response from the person to whom the remark was directed;  he countered with, "You see, that's what you do--use words that people don't understand."

Later, my ever-witty brother said, "You should have used ad ignorantum;  there probably wouldn't have been any doubt WHAT you meant."

LIBERAL

Imagine, just yesterday, I had that "L" word thrown at me!

I told my brother, "At least they didn't use the "C" word."

He answered, "You mean CONTRARIAN?"

A friend said, "At least they didn't call you the "N" word."

I said, "You mean NIHILIST?"

(I must admit that I stole that "nihilist" comeback from a conversation I had years ago with my nephew!)

THE WHITE HOUSE SAID

With all the "leaking" coming from The White House, a friend asked, "Doesn't it just drive you crazy when you hear the newscasters say 'the White House said'?"

I answered, "I know, I hate that, along with 'the office said', etc."

She asked, "What do you call it, personification?"

I answered, "No, I think personification is when inanimate objects or events are given human characteristics, such as saying that time is a great healer."

She said, "I thought that was pathetic fallacy."

I said, "I think pathetic fallacy is giving things in nature human traits such as a babbling brook or a moaning wind."

She screaked, "I thought THAT was personification!"

Struggling, I said, "Well, maybe it's metonymy."  She asked what that was and I said, "That's when we say Hollywood when we mean the whole film industry.  I know it's not synecedoche because that's when we say ABCs instead of saying the alphabet."

She answered, "Hell, I thought I was smart but I don't even know those two words;  did we learn them in school?"

I said, "Oh, Miss Digman, I wish I could call you;  I guess "THE WHITE HOUSE SAID" is a combination of synecedoche and metonymy!"

My brother, hearing my side of the conversation, asked, "What the Hell was that about?"

WHEW!  Here are the definitions from Merriam Webster:

PERSONIFICATION:  giving human qualities to non-human things;  can be objects, events, ideas, or even living, non-human things, such as saying "hunger was left standing by the road".

PATHETIC FALLACY:  attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, such as saying "angry clouds", "cruel wind", or "smiling eyes".

METONYMY:  something is referred to not by its own name but the name of something closely related, such as saying The Pentagon instead of saying all branches of the service.

SYNECEDOCHE:  a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, such as saying "the law" when meaning a police officer.

JUST LIKE MY MOTHER

Today would have been my mother's birthday.  She would have been 104 years old.  I went to the cemetery and placed some flowers on her grave although they will die in today's weather.  Les asked, "Why are you taking REAL flowers?"  I answered, "Because she hated plastic flowers!"

On the way to the cemetery, I played The Rose and other songs she loved.

I used to be upset when someone would tell me I looked "just like" my mother because I knew it was untrue.  I wished it were true and I knew that people actually meant it to be a compliment because everyone would always compliment my mother's looks.  My brothers would NEVER say it because they always reminded me that I look just like my aunt (by the way, NOT a compliment), but when my brother Norman told me, "You DO look more like Mom the older you get." I DID take that as a compliment.

My brothers and I often remind each other when we are "acting like" our mother and it's not always a compliment either!

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN--REDUX

Yesterday I referenced this article from 2011:



I have never seen a woman SPIT! Do men produce more saliva than women?

The "re-arranging" of private parts. I must say that I have never seen my brothers or husband do this, but I have seen it at work and in public.

Things one would never hear from a woman:

"What can I do you for?"
"Working hard--or hardly working?"

In line in stores, when guys see other guys whom they know, one will say, "Are you going to pay for mine too?"

Do guys have problems with small talk?

I have always said that the best thing about being a woman is that we aren't expected to be pallbearers but after seeing the niece of a sister-in-law being a pallbearer, I guess we have total equality.

REASONS MEN ARE HAPPIER THAN WOMEN

MEN CAN PLAY WITH TOYS ALL THEIR LIVES

MEN CAN WEAR SHORTS NO MATTER HOW THEIR LEGS LOOK

MEN HAVE ONE WALLET

MEN CAN DECIDE WHETHER TO GROW A MUSTACHE

MEN CAN "DO" THEIR FINGERNAILS WITH A POCKET KNIFE

MEN HAVE THE WHOLE GARAGE TO THEMSELVES

MEN NEVER HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LAST NAME

MEN ONLY HAVE TO SHAVE THEIR FACES AND NECKS

MEN CAN KEEP THE SAME HAIRSTYLE FOR YEARS--EVEN DECADES

MEN CAN GO ON VACATION FOR A WEEK AND PACK ONE SUITCASE

MEN CAN OPEN ALL THEIR JARS

AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE ME?

At a birthday party today, I was sitting with a male friend and as some of the people were leaving, one of the men said, "Aren't you glad you were able to see me?"

I was taking a drink at that moment and I did a spit-take; I asked my male companion, "Do you know that there are things that ONLY men say?"

He asked what I meant and I mentioned what had just been said and I continued, "Here's another: what can I do you for; no woman would say that!"

He laughed, obviously in recognition, and asked, "What are some other examples?"

I said, "Only men say are you working hard or hardly working and ever since Christ was a Corporal, but my favorite is when men are in stores and they see a male acquaintance they will ask are you going to pay for mine too?"

"When you say "Hi.", men will answer, "Not for a long time."

I swear I have never heard a woman use any of those conversational gambits.

I told him that I'd written a BLOG article entitled THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN  and that I'd mentioned that men seem to have a problem with small talk.

HAPPY CANDLEMAS DAY!

Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in the United States. It is also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths such as this tie our present to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence our lives. It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter sleep to look for his shadow.

If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole.

If the day is cloudy and, hence, shadowless, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.

The groundhog tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. Even then, it marked a milestone in the winter and the weather that day was important.

According to an old English song:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

According to an old Scotch couplet:

If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There'll be twa (two) winters in the year.

Another variation of the Scottish rhyme:

If Candlemas day be dry and fair,
The half o' winter to come and mair,
If Candlemas day be wet and foul,
The half of winter's gone at Yule.

GRANDIOSE

During a conversation, an acquaintance used the word "grandiose", not once, but twice, pronouncing it as "gran-doyce", rather than:

Gerald and I looked helplessly at each other, obviously wondering, "What to do?"  The obvious answer was "Nothing!"  I said, "Well, if he says it again, I'll say something."

I was reminded of my grandmother who loved using big words (oh, my, maybe it's genetic!) but she was also the mistress of mangling the words with her unique mispronunciations.  She would say "in-come-pet-unt",  "re-seep", "per-cue-late-ur", "heighth", and the worst of all: 

 "pro-nounce-e-a-shun".  

One day, she told my mother about receiving a government document which had written on it:  "Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate."

but when she told mother, the word mutilate came out as "mutt-uh-late".

To this day, whenever we mispronounce a word, someone in the family will invariably mutter "
MUTT-UH-LATE" to bring us back to our senses!