Monthly Archives: September 2019

Penn State Football

I watch Penn State football on TV, my alma mater, but I don’t always root for them.  I think the University is about 14th in size, by enrollment, so their football program should be ranked about 14th, too. Any higher … Continue reading

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Racial Depictions

My father loved Florida and drove us all down once a year throughout my adolescent years.  A landmark was South of the Border, then just a restaurant and a gift shop full of kitsch toilet humor that appealed to children … Continue reading

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Scrub Your Teeth!

My grandmother always told my sister and I  to “scrub our teeth,” rather than the more common “brush our teeth.” I always liked the word, “scrub” in place of “brush” in this context. Not only is it more descriptive, it … Continue reading

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Baggy Pants

All of my pants up to about eighth grade had baggy knees, especially my Sunday-best wool dress pants, although the bags were several inches below where my knee would have been. A sharp crease looked good, but was gone about … Continue reading

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The Bull In Ancient Egypt

In the ancient Egyptian religion, the bull was the symbol of fertility, as can be seen in the University of Penn’s Museum of Art and Archeology, next to the University City train stop. This is the museum we remember with … Continue reading

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Born To Kvetch

“Born To Kvetch,” by Michael Wex. Book This is a free book I found years ago on our Jewish Community Center Book Exchange Shelf that I couldn’t pass up. The cover shows a sullen 13-year-old boy in Jewish dress that … Continue reading

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Jeopardy!

My wife has become a big fan of Jeopardy! and watches it whenever she can. My father also became a big fan as he aged. In his retirement home, everyone disappeared into their apartments when Jeopardy! came on. Here at … Continue reading

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Snail Mail

Classmate Nancy L. Musser has a treasure-trove of high school memorabilia that she has sent to me over the years by “snail mail.”  Most of it I have published here, and each time, I thanked her via email. Now, I … Continue reading

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W. C. Fields

I am a big fan of W. C. Fields (William Claude Dukenfield; his friends called him “Bill.”) and I will watch any of his films I can, no matter how familiar they are, especially since he kicked Baby LeRoy (1932–1951) … Continue reading

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Terms of Endearment

The BBC recently complied a list of the words that people from around the world call their lovers or children.  These were names submitted in a survey and may not be common, but are worth knowing if you travel, especially … Continue reading

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