Journeys of a Bent Mind

I am 84 years young and over the years I’ve had things that I considered the best, the premiere and most important of things. The night I proposed to Barbara is at the top of that list. There are many others near the top, the birth of my favorite son and daughter, for two more.

Continue reading →

Racism is a funny thing sometimes. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean funny “ha-ha!” or to diminish the evil it represents, but funny on occasion as in peculiar and unintentional. Maybe that’s still too cavalier and I should think in more serious tones. But bear with me here, let me explain what I’m getting at underneath this comment as a lead-in to the point of the story I’m sharing

Continue reading →

1.  Teachers can claim deduction of up to $250 in personal expenses for school materials. For perspective, millionaires can write off the operation of their private jets.

2.  Teachers spend personal funds for school supplies for student’s whose families can’t provide their child that support.

Continue reading →

Jack Riemer, Houston Chronicle: February 10, 2001~

On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an awesome sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair.

Continue reading →

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
 
1) No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats.
2) When your Mum is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can’t trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you’re sad is Grandma’s lap.

Continue reading →

No one knows with any certainty how language started in the dawn of human life. Primitive humans probably grunted a lot and gesticulated to convey what was on their minds. Before the evolution of elaborate throat muscles and vocal chords speech wasn’t possible, and any lengthy conversation wasn’t going to appear for a very long time. The upside of this lack was there wasn’t any ‘”nagging,” but it must have taken years to master the meaning of three grunts. Early humans must have at some point started noticing tonal qualities of their grunts. When they had a cold, their grunts came across raspy. Women’s grunts had a higher pitch, as did young children. When boy’s voices started to change, it would have been noticeable to any discerning and budding linguist. Throughout all this time don’t you wonder what came out of the mouth of the person who stubbed his toe? How many grunts and in what tone did they curse? Was there even cursing? Did volume reflect the intensity of one’s emotions? Was a whispered grunt a term of endearment?

Continue reading →