I bid you greetings from the front lines here at the ole blogger ranch where I'm racking up keystroke mileage faster than greased lightning. It is
Wednesday, August 7, 2013, and today I'm thinking about my buddy Herman who passed away a year ago. Herman used to make frequent comments about my blogs. He also liked to go forth and back about NASCAR, politics, faith, family, and society in general. Folks like him make me better as I weigh their inputs and thoughts. A couple of months before his passing he sent me a piece about the Grey-Haired Brigade. It was written about the old timers and their outdated old fashioned ideas, you know, the ones that helped build and make this nation what it is. Here's Herman's lead in to this article: "
I don't know who wrote this,
but it doesn't matter - I agree with it anyway. Yep, I'm an old geezer.
I can remember all but just a few of these things, like hand-cranking cars
(but I do remember pushing a button on the dash or on the floorboard
after turning the key on to start them). I didn't serve in the Armed
Forces, but it wasn't because I tried to get out of it; I failed the
entrance physical three times. I've always supported our troops, even
when it wasn't the "popular" thing to do, and still do today, donating
to programs for active troops and for veterans. I've watched this country slide
downhill for many years, wondering what the hell happened and what it
would take to set things right again. I know that us old geezers made
mistakes, too - the Lord knows I've made more than my share of them. I
used to think it would take another revolution to get the country back
on the right track, and this year's elections just might be our last
chance at accomplishing that." My prayers go out to Herman's sweet wife Betty as she continues to deal with this loss. I do miss hearing from my friend but that's okay because I know I will see him again when we all get home.
Amen.
You need not wonder too much over that greased lightning metaphor. Speed has been connected to lightning since ancient times. A quote from 1676 included this description, "quick as lightning." It stands to reason that greasing something would enhance its quickness. An English newspaper published a story in 1833 that included this quote: "He spoke as quick as greased lightning." We do know that language is also undergoing change and even more so as we add the high tech world to our common communication. Just since I've been around the slang we used to throw about is very foreign to the current generation. I've got to boogie used to mean I've got to hurry on out of here. A soda can opener was commonly called a Church key. If you said I dig it about something it meant you understood it or were into it. A flat top was a hair cut. Someone very cool was hip. To interrupt or stop something was to put the kibosh on it. A pad was where someone lived. And, those peepers people talked about were actually eyes or eyeglasses. You know, as in that Frank Sinatra hit,
"Jeepers creepers Where'd you get those peepers?"
I will admit that when I hear gamers talking to each other, I, for the most part, don't have a clue. I did hear a report coming out of the UK that said experts were discounting the need for teaching correct grammar and spelling. Their findings indicated that modern students have access to electronic tools that can substitute for the years of training being devoted to these disciplines. The news reader must have been a part of my generation because he took exception to those findings and ended his report by saying computers might help someone locate the information but it cannot do the thinking for them. If you read about all the things computers can do now, well, that fellow might be just whistling Dixie, although, he most likely wouldn't have a clue about that one, since he was broadcasting from Great Britain. Okay. I think I've prolonged this little get together long enough and it's time to say farewell until next time. May God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.
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