Put ‘full transparency? down on your list with ‘going forward,? ‘global,? ‘fact of the matter is,? basically and other oft-used and often questionable words heard too often in interviews.
All too often a politician, in trying to answer a question will say, ‘Fact of the matter is? when it isn’t really a fact, but an interpretation. It’s a time and space filler.
I’m one who needs to fill space once a week. So, as a matter of fact I’m showing full transparency in telling you of how ma’dog Shayna, going forward, convinced an officer of the law to let me off with a nod and well wishes.
It’s like 7:15 p.m., and we’re going down a street in Oxford, drove past a school. I’m doing 26 mph. A county sheriff pulls out behind me. I slow to 25 mph.
I turn my signals on longer than usual before my turn. The officer follows me. I recheck everything including my breath. I’m clear.
Suddenly those fearfully exciting red and blue lights start lighting the atmosphere. I ease off the road.
Seeing the officer walking beside my car I lowered my window. Shayna wakes up. She becomes more alert when the officer, with experienced strong tones says, ‘Show me your license and registration.?
As I reach into the glove box, Shayna sticks her Shepherd head out the window, ears back, tail wagging hard, smiling and sniffing.
The officer said, ‘Just your registration will do.? I handed him my registration and noticed Shayna’s blue eyes are intent on his blue eyes. He’s warmed to her.
He says, ‘This is last year’s registration.? Then he asked, ‘Do you still live on Drahner?? Yes. ‘I stopped you because you have last year’s tabs on your plate. Make sure you get new ones right away.?
The officer and ma’dog said their good-byes silently, and I went home with my 8-month-old illegal plates, and no citation.
Shayna got an extra dip of ice cream at bedtime.
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Billy Mays is gaining popularity, or notoriety, with his tv commercials for things like OxiClean and the Slider Station. He spiels as a stain remover, OxiClean will remove up to 50 percent of the stain. That means there is still a stain. No reason for me to buy that product.
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The middle finger is being seen everywhere these days. It’s a salute of sorts. Maybe word has gotten around on what happened to Galileo’s middle finger, and people want to display theirs.
Galileo’s middle finger is in the Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy.
In 1737, when Galileo’s body was being moved from a storage closet to its final resting place in a mausoleum in the church of Santa Croce, a nobleman named
Anton Francesco Gori cut off three fingers from Galileo’s right hand for a souvenir.
The middle finger was eventually acquired by the Museum of History of Science, the other two surviving fingers ‘are in a private collection.?
So, when you see the middle finger being waved at you, take it as sort of a salute to scientific achievements.
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Brian Poloniak was the guest speaker at Oxford Rotary last week. He lives locally, but travels the world as a manufacturer’s rep. He goes to China, India, Japan, Europe and South America several times a year. He’s often in the company of industrial and political leaders. He’s a tall, good-looking man who impressed the heck out of me.
He talked of trends worldwide. He said India will lead the world in engineering, China will lead in manufacturing, Europe in finance and the United States will be the global leader in medical devices and medical science. He called them all positive trends.