Monthly Archives: November 2013

Thanksgiving Day Parades

When did we lose the concept of a parade?  At one time, a time we can remember, a parade was moving entertainment.  We stood still and the entertainment passed by in front of us.  Now, all you see on the … Continue reading

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General Motors, Billy Durant, and Pierre du Pont

Many ordinary Delawareans today hold General Motors stock thanks to Pierre du Pont.   How did that happen?  Read on. In the early 1900s, Pierre du Pont and his two cousins  transformed the failing DuPont company whose basic product was obsolete … Continue reading

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Selfies, Just as I Told You

The Oxford University Press, publishers of the Oxford Dictionary, recently named “selfie” as the new word of the year, describing it almost exactly as I did in the posting of September 16.  They said “selfie” saw a huge jump in … Continue reading

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The Smith Family

When I was growing up in East Lansdowne and still very young, the Smith family lived a short way down on the other side of the street.  The East Lansdowne elementary school was directly across from our house, and the … Continue reading

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Ode to Old People

I received this forwarded email from more than one person, so it must be making the rounds.  I have no idea why they would send it to me, but I can’t resist venting my rebuttal. Old People are easy to … Continue reading

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Gillette Shaving Products

I think—and write—a lot about shaving, probably because I am most alert in the early morning, and the quiet, sensual pleasure of wet shaving is conducive to contemplation. I often write a blog posting soon after, so the topic is … Continue reading

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Scamming a Cashier Updated

The posting  of Nov 4, How to Scam a Cashier, has only been on the Internet a little over a week when our local TV news tonight showed a surveillance tape of it being pulled off at a Mt. Laurel, … Continue reading

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The Spammers Win

Most spam blockers work by inclusion.  That is, if you mark an email from the ABC Company as spam, anything they send to you from then on automatically goes into your spam folder. But, you may have noticed, that does … Continue reading

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The Beadle Bumble Fund

You have probably seen the name “Beadle Bumble” before, but long ago and understandably forgotten.  He was a minor character in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist  who said, “The law is an ass—an idiot,” in response to being informed that the … Continue reading

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Foreign Visitors at Longwood Gardens

Many foreign visitors come to Longwood Gardens in small family groups of young adult couples entertaining their visiting parents.  They may also have small children and other visiting relatives, but the group is only as large as can fit into … Continue reading

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