Monthly Archives: February 2012

So what do you do with those leftover slivers of soap that are too small to use?  My mother and grandmother put them into a little wire basket with a handle and would swish it in the dishwater (for you … Continue reading →

The difficulty of cutting back on government spending was recently exemplified here in Delaware when the Post Office proposed closing down a local processing facility and having the work done more efficiently at a similar facility in New Jersey.  Such … Continue reading →

“The Sanctuary,” Elif Batuman, The New Yorker, Dec 19 & 26, 2011 In our high school Social Studies classes, we were taught the development of agriculture was the key achievement of prehistoric humans that made all the rest of civilization … Continue reading →

I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s American Idol program.  They were cutting the contestants down to 70 by combining them into groups of four and assigning them songs from the ’50s.  The songs included some of my all-time favorite ballads, “Will … Continue reading →

A recent New Yorker cartoon showed two powder-wigged French aristocrats standing in front of a palace.  One is saying to the other, “Yes, it’s a golden age—or would be, if we weren’t all swarming with lice.” About the same time … Continue reading →

Reserve Officers Training Corps.  I learned a lot from ROTC.  I learned to avoid the military. While I was at Penn State, all men were required to take two semesters of ROTC.  Continuing on after that was optional, but the … Continue reading →

Have you ever stayed awake nights wondering what keeps a train wheel on the track?  Probably not, because everyone thinks they know (as I did).   Obviously, the flange on the wheel holds it on. But no.  The flange is only … Continue reading →

Remember how Arnett Ware pronounced “about the house” as “a-boot the who-se?”  That was the only thing noticeable about her Maryland accent and the only accent I noticed at all from anyone in our class, even from those who spoke … Continue reading →