R.I.P. Tom

The husband of a good friend died yesterday morning. Cancer. He put up a long, heroic and painful fight, without complaining and always grateful for the care he received. In his wife’s opinion he did not lose his fight with cancer but won his way into heaven. I love that view.

His wife was his constant caregiver and constant advocate. She kept detailed notes of everything even remotely medical. His vitals at each visit to each of several doctors. What each doctor and/or nurse said. All medications, and the effects of the same. And every new medical professional was blown away by her book of details, and of immense value to his care. She was a squeaky wheel on his behalf; she got answers and got help. She gave him care, at home, 24/7 for three years.

In my opinion, there is a special place in heaven for caregivers.

Groundhogs ... and the march of time

The winter of 1903–04 was apparently a cold one, at least in Virginia. And too long. That faithful weather forecaster, the groundhog, had on February 2 proclaimed six more weeks of winter as he returned to his cozy burrow. 

So winter continued, a situation that the Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch had tongue-in-cheek blamed squarely on the “evil spell” of the “ground hog.” However, that “universally accepted weather prophet” had not stayed in his “winter retreat” for the entire six weeks but apparently had had “two weeks of his sentence to solitary confinement ... commuted for good behavior.” He, and the missus, had indeed emerged early, a fact proven by “his carcass ... lying in state in the Times Building for the publc (sic) view.” While breaking their fast, on frogs and whatever other appetizing edibles they could find, they were unceremoniously killed by “Mr. P. Bracey, of Bracey’s (sic), Va., near where the Seaboard Air Line Railway crosses the Roanoke River. Mr. Bracey sent the carcass to The Times-Dispatch, accompanied by a letter in which he says: ‘I hope the winter of our discontent is a thing of the past, and that we shall have glorious spring now.’ ”

Ah, how things stay the same over the years ... and how they differ!!

This year we will again be watching for the emergence of the groundhog, or ground hog — both spellings are permissible. But while Punxsutawney Phil will be met with a noisy fanfare, at least he will not have to fear a reception committee with a shotgun. And any other groundhog that might be killed in the weeks following most likely will not be killed for the purpose of proving that he had emerged earlier than expected and that “glorious spring” will soon be present. 

No groundhog need fear lying in state in the Times Building because, although the Richmond Times-Dispatch is still with us, proper etiquette no longer allows animal carcasses to lie in state, in a newspaper office or ... well, probably anywhere. 

And while Bracey, Virginia, still exists, the railroad tracks were pulled up a few decades ago, the Roanoke River at that location is now Lake Gaston (the result of a dam across the Roanoke, at Gaston, NC), and an interstate highway now runs atop where Paschal (“Pack”) Bracey’s childhood home once stood.

Time, winters, and groundhogs march on.

Time and Change

“It’s only four months to Christmas. Better do that shopping early this year.”

Sound familiar?

Not surprising. Stimulating the economy with that “warning” and encouraging fellow citizens to use time wisely has been going on for ... at least 100 years. The above quotation is from The Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, 30 August 1909.

Life, Mashed?

I was looking at an old newspaper ... no, not from last week; from the last century: from 1900 to be precise. And I was reminded once again of the power a given word can have, depending upon its use. Or depending upon its perceived appropriateness in a given situation or time in history.

Take, for example, the word mashed. There’s nothing wrong with the word itself. It’s not a “bad” word. Mashed. Certainly there’s meaning conveyed by the single word, but it does have more meaning, more life, if you’ll pardon the expression, when used with other words. (Yes, I know, “duh,” but bear with me.) Mashed potatoes. (Yummy) Mashed sweet potatoes. (Yummier still) Mashed metal at a junkyard. (Perfectly reasonable) Mashed people. Life mashed out of a person. (NO, wait!!)

In the early twenty-first century, no respectable publication would state, in headline or in copy, that a heavy object had mashed the life out of an individual! That would certainly get attention, but at the price of angry letters to the editor and probably some from the lawyer(s) for the deceased’s family, promising a suit. However, in the early twentieth century a leading and respected newspaper in the state’s capital said just that and probably never heard a word about it. On Monticello Mountain, a certain gentleman was thrown from a lumber wagon and was then “Run Over and His Life Mashed Out.”* It certainly gets the point across, and it is not grammatically wrong, but in the present day, it would definitely not be considered appropriate, acceptable wording! In 1900 there was no problem.

“Mashed” when used with “potatoes” is a non-emotional word; “mashed” when used with “life” is, at least now, likely to stir up plenty of negative emotions and lawsuits.

*The Times, Richmond, VA, June 3, 1900, page 2, column 5.

Pin Money Pickles: the best ad

Virginia entrepreneur Ellen G. Kidd (1852–1932), of Richmond, had a talent for making pickles. From a start of selling some, for “pin money,” from her home at 619 N. Sixth Street, she launched a company—“Pin Money Pickles”—that eventually sold the pickles all over the world. The pickles “sold themselves” and were undoubtedly their own best advertisement.

The company continued production until 1950.

“Pin money” is an idiom, referring to small amounts of money, for incidental expenses. Originating in France, pins (jewelry) were introduced in England by Catherine Howard, wife of Henry VIII. Since pins were expensive, indulgent husbands would grant their wives special money to be used for that luxury. Hence, “pin-money.”

“The best ad is a good product.” –Alan H. Meyer

As the language changes

The English language is always growing, changing, evolving. New words enter from other languages. Are created in specialized fields. Are created from combinations of already existing words. Were originally created as trademarked names of products. Acquire new meanings. Die out. Have meanings become obsolete. Acquire new meanings.

And there's always the problem of: what is the correct way to spell [fill-in-the-blank]? Well, sometimes "correct" hasn't been firmly established yet. Sometimes what is "correct" just depends. Sometimes it's a matter of personal preference or company policy. Sometimes it has evolved from something that had once been correct into something different that is now correct.

Sometimes the correct spelling depends on what part of speech the word is. How is it used in the sentence? Verb? Verb phrase? Noun? Adjective? A verb phrase would be two separate words, but those two words would be hyphenated or closed up (one solid word) as a noun or adjective. ("Superman picked up the pickup." "Clark Kent tried a pickup line on Lois Lane.") And partly it depends on accepted usage, which could very well change over time. (In other words, check a current dictionary to be safe.)

Or a prepositional phrase (for example, two words such as "over time") might in a one-word combined form ("overtime") serve as a noun, adverb, adjective or verb (but not necessarily all of those!). Or another prepositional phrase (for example, "in between") might be an adverb when open ("in between") or a noun or adjective when hyphenated ("in-between"). Again, it depends.  

And while a new word is being assimilated into the language, its "proper" spelling is often in flux. It might be open, combined, hyphenated, capitalized or lowercase. Is it "web site," "Web site" or "website"?; "on-line," "online" or "on line"?; "e-mail" or "email"? Answer: for the time being, there is no right or wrong. There is only preference. Or a style guide.  ("Over time Clark Kent picked up many pickup lines while online, in between checking his email and reading websites.") 

Often a spelling changes with time. The way you were taught to spell something when you were in school might not be currently accepted usage. (Now: "Cooperate"; then: "co-operate.") Many words that we now always close up were hyphenated decades ago. (For example, a 1935 young-adult novel used "bed-time," "day-light" and "tattle-tale"; we would now use "bedtime," "daylight" and "tattletale.")

How much more will English have evolved by the end of even this decade? And of even greater importance, how many bad example lines can I think of?

The political religion of the nation

Law Day, U.S.A.

Raise your hand if you know when this is. Raise both hands if you know what this is!

All those with hands raised probably are some part of the legal profession! The existence of Law Day is part of U.S. public law, but is not widely known. According to Wikipedia it is often used as a "legal education tool."

May 1 was proclaimed Law Day, U.S.A., in 1958 by President Eisenhower. Three years later it became part of public code.

Did you know that? I hadn't. I saw a mention of Law Day a few days ago on Twitter. And then went in search of enlightenment.

According to the U.S. Code, Law Day is to be "a special day of celebration," for people of the country to express "appreciation of their liberties," to reaffirm their loyalty to the country, to rededicate themselves "to the ideals of equality and justice under law," and to cultivate "the respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life."

This year's theme for Law Day (chosen by the American Bar Association) honors the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln: "A Legacy of Liberty—Celebrating Lincoln's Bicentennial." And to borrow his own words, from the Gettysburg Address. "it is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this": "Lincoln ... was the quintessential American lawyer-president." And he was passionate about how essential the law is to continued liberty.

"Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother ..... Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries and in colleges; let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation ...."

How will you observe Law Day?