Tag archives: epigrams
Among the many books my wife had brought back from her travels, which I’d never looked at until recently, was one I thought I might enjoy. It is a supposedly amusing collection of signs and other short messages written in English by Japanese people not totally familiar with our language. But I did not find […]
You have probably heard it said that “Confession is good for the soul.” I myself don’t have much to confess nowadays – but in my “growing up” years, I had tremendous feelings of guilt, especially in connection with sex – and particularly masturbation. When a psychiatrist I went to asked me about it, I actually […]
What is it about the human psyche that makes so many of us want to collect things? Does it go back to our animal ancestry, in which many creatures’ survival depended on their collecting materials to eat, or from which to construct their homes? Maybe, but I think it also reflects our very human desire […]
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (2nd Edition), there are several different versions of the last words of William Pitt (1759-1806), one of the greatest British statesmen. One version is “Oh my country! How I love my country!” Another is “Oh my country! How I leave my country!” A third version quotes the words […]
There is a certain piece of literature which is dear to the hearts of many people who don’t generally love poetry, and who also possibly have no interest in organized sports, such as baseball. It is a poem which celebrates both hero-worship and disappointment. The work in question is, “CASEY AT THE BAT.” It describes […]
You have probably heard about the restaurant customer who says to the waiter “Bring me a scrambled egg – and step on it!” I can almost guarantee that that joke did not originate before 1900. Why? Because it was only the coming of the automobile (which started happening about then) that brought to public consciousness […]
If we’re talking about hardness and softness – which we will be here – the classic example in literature is a fairy tale attributed to Hans Christian Andersen. In this story, a woman is taking refuge in a castle from a terrible storm which has ruined all her garments and left her looking very bedraggled. […]
Only once has my heart been broken – but don’t ask me for details – not here, anyway – and in any case, it’s only a metaphor. The human heart is a very strong organ. When it fails, the cause is rarely disappointed love. Ask any cardiologist. Bones are another matter. They can withstand any […]
Recently a lady whose opinions I respect happened to see one of my epigrams, which says, “Just when I nearly had the answer – I forgot the question.” To me, this was simply a short, funny thought – but to her, it immediately brought to mind some of her “patients” or “clients,” who are afflicted […]
What’s remarkable about human conflicts – even very nasty ones – is that they usually do get settled, one way or another. Here are some ways this can happen: By overwhelming force (war).By negotiation and compromise.By some kind of payment or reparations.By legal process, i.e., “going to court.”By persuasion.By agreed-upon arbitration.By intervention on the part […]
The ancient activity of laundering has woven itself into our culture in many ways. As an example, there was once a popular catchphrase “no tickee, no washee” which derived from the time when most of the laundry businesses in the U.S., were owned and operated by immigrants from China. Originally it meant that, in order […]
One piece of advice I’ve given myself (after some unhappy experiences) is this: “Try to avoid situations in which all you have is a good legal case.” Of course, it’s desirable to have the Law on your side – but it’s even better to be able to negotiate an “out of court settlement,” sometimes through […]
From the ages 13 to 18, I went to school in Hendon, a London suburb. It was just after World War II, and in the field behind the school were several surface air-raid shelters; recent wartime relics which were now being used for storage. They were not locked. Once, when during a holiday I had […]
Most of us have probably had the experience of re-visiting a place we once knew well, and finding it changed in such a way as to tell us we don’t belong there anymore. Thomas Wolfe said it in the title of one of his novels – You Can’t Go Home Again. There is a word […]
Much of this system called Nature is apparently based on attraction and repulsion. The repulsion serves to protect – and to keep at least certain members of a species intact – until they have time to reproduce. The attraction is also part of that reproduction process. Most plants can’t physically get together, so some have […]
So much depends on that big bright ball in the sky. And, in the cosmic scheme of things, our sun in turn depends on many other things. Truly, in the long run, everything depends on everything else. But where does that leave us? – Back where we started, with a burning ball up there, out […]
You may have heard about the crazy theory some people have – that the entire Universe rests on the back of a gigantic turtle. A skeptical interviewer supposedly asked one such believer, “Then what is the turtle standing on – another turtle?” Back came the reply, “You can’t catch me there – It’s turtles all […]
The idea of blessing – that is, asking God to have some favorable influence on someone or something, is probably as old as religion itself. In some religions, only certain people are authorized to pronounce certain blessings – but in general, in our culture, anybody may, without any special permission, bless any other person, or […]
The River Jordan is celebrated in many “spiritual” songs. Most of us have heard lines like: Jordan river blessed but cold – Chills the body, but not the soul. “Crossing Jordan” has long been seen as a metaphor for going to Heaven. It all goes back to the Biblical account of that River having to be […]
One of the most famous of all historical events was the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. The killers were a group of men whom Caesar had considered his friends and supporters. The leader of this conspiracy, whose name was Brutus, is said to have been the last to deliver the fatal blow. And […]
