Posts by Pat:
This crazy language of ours
Ah, the delightful quirks of the English language-a language with so many rules and far too many exceptions. But English was invented by people, not computers. It reflects the creativity of the human race which, of course, is not a race at all.
After all, there is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger, and neither apple nor pine in pineapple!
English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France.
And doesn’t it seem crazy that the plural of goose is geese but the plural of moose is not meese?
And not only that, but English is full of paradoxes…
- Boxing rings are square,
- quicksand can work slowly, and
- a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? We have to wonder at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which a alarm goes off by going on.
I’m just a former English teacher and a current lover of words!
So…I get to play with them!
PS. – Why doesn’t ‘Buick’ rhyme with ‘quick’?
a different serenity prayer!
We all may know the basic Serenity Prayer, but have you see some of the tweaked ones? Here are some…and you may know of others! My favorite one (which I couldn’t find an image for) is… “God, grant me the serenity to accept there are things I’ve no time to read, time to read the […]
A blank calendar…
I love putting up a brand new calendar! As I look at the pictures and the day the holidays and my birthday will fall on, I love seeing all the white spaces. Each square is ready and waiting for me to write in whatever I want. Before we begin filling in those white spaces, we […]
Revised Christmas to-do list!
Here’s my suggested revised list for the season! BUY PRESENTS (be present!) 2. WRAP GIFTS (wrap someone in a hug) 3. SEND GIFTS (send love) 4. SHOP FOR FOOD (donate food) 5. MAKE COOKIES (make memories) 6. SEE THE LIGHTS (be the light) Blessings to everyone this holiday season!
The Weight of a Snowflake
Enjoy this winter parable! When we become discouraged by the seeming immensity of the task before us…remember this little fable about a conversation between two birds…a dove and a sparrow. “Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” a sparrow asked a wild dove. “Nothing more than nothing,” was the answer. “In that case I must […]
A Spider Christmas Legend…
There are many versions of this folk legend about the Christmas spiders (most prevalent in Western Ukraine and Germany) where small ornaments in the shape of a spider are traditionally part of the Christmas decorations. The legend explains the orgin of tinsel on our Christmas trees. The legend goes… The day before Christmas, the resident […]
Kids’ questions to God
Ever wonder what kids wonder about? Here’s what some brave youngsters asked God! Dear God, My grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? Love Dennis They definitely have some questions about family! Dear God, Did you really mean do unto others as they do unto […]
A lesson from Thanksgiving
One of the lessons of Thanksgiving is that we eat too much! We eat until we’re full, experiencing the sensation of too much. We confuse our desire for that feeling of ‘full,’ with the feeling of ‘enough.’ Even though enough doesn’t feel like full, could’t we make that be okay? Black Friday teaches us still […]
a jigsaw guide to life?
Why a jigsaw guide to life? Well, it’s not too difficult to look at life like a giant jigsaw puzzle. This world is broken. Life is confusing. We’re surrounded by all these pieces and not sure what to do with them. Jigsaw puzzles can be exceptional teachers. They impart patience, determination, stamina, self-control and powerful […]
A paradox for you to consider…
Theseus was an ancient hero of Greek mythology, the supposed founder of Athens, and the conqueror of various monsters, including the Minotaur. According to Plutarch in Life of Theseus, “ The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of […]