Patrick Brown, “So” and much more…Rotzy’s words of wisdom comin at ya Week Jan 29.
W.O.T.W.
I used to have a semi-regular feature in this column known as the Word Of The Week, and even with yours truly’s ‘rather limited’ education, I have long been ‘interested in’….dare I say ‘fascinated with’?….words. Moreso in their usage rather than their meaning, but sometymes, both. And how, over tyme, words come and words go. For example, I very clearly recall two different W.O.T.W. columns dealing with the extreme OVERUSE and total ABUSE of ‘awesome’ and ‘absolutely’ by anybody and everybody, Rhodes Scholars and non-Rhodes Scholars. It got to be a real ‘thing’ with Rotzy….hey, I didn’t want it to be, but it was!….and I would just cringe when I’d hear either one. And Lord help me when somebody came up with ”that’s absolutely awesome”, which actually DID occur from tyme to tyme. I recall tossing my cookies. More than once. I came to referring to them as ”the A-Words”, and yes Dear Readers, they are still around. However, they have been replaced as ‘my major pet peeve(s)’ by one little word….”So”. In my Webster Dictionary ‘so’ is listed as a ‘conjunction’….not a noun, pronoun, verb or adverb…nor is it a participle, dangling or non-dangling, or anything else I learned in Miss Loft’s Grade 6 Class at Major Ballachey Public School in Brantford circa 1955. Anyway, f/fwd the tape to about three years ago, which is when I first noticed the phenomenon that was taking place throughout the English-sleaking world….of ”so” becoming the ‘opening word’ of a sentence. By anybody and everybody…..Dr Phil, Dr Oz, other doctors, lawyers, politicians, educated educators, entertainers, athletes, and cetera. No racial and or age restrictions involved. You will hear ‘so’ opening sentences wherever the English language is spoken. So……see what I mean?…..here’s an assignment for the “F/N” Readership….*pay attention to TV News, etc. and you will see/hear I’m not imagining things. Miz. Jo has been keeping track for almost 2 weeks now, mostly on TV….and she has come to see it’s true. It says here the ‘so thing’ began in 2015…but I can’t pinpoint the month. Or who started it. Yet. (*see below) Rotzy is more concerned with bringing back words that have ‘fallen out of use’….like ‘hence’, ‘forthwith’ or ‘expunge’. So, lemme know how you make out.
Patrick Brown
became the latest victim added to the ever-growing list of Men Who Grope Women as of last Wednesday. Actually, with the ridiculously large numbers of (often nameless) ‘victims’ coming forth these days over sexual misconduct or someone’s ‘perception’ of it, Brown is likely well down the list already. The list that also contains the names Bill Cosby, Zian Gomeche and George Bush. ‘Wheelchair-bound’ Geo. Bush Senior, for God’s sake!!! From an ‘incident’….alleged….in 1977!!! That woman’s got some kind of memory. Well, Rotzy can remember 1977 too….41 years ago….because I married Miz. Jo that year. But I want to go on record that Rotzy didn’t go groping no women, no sirree. (well, other than my new bride that is, but don’t tell anybody!) Three things bother yours truly about the Brown incident….actually make that four: 1/ the way his immediate staff quit/bolted the scene; 2/ the way his party is acting like he hadn’t even been the Leader; 3/ the fact his accusers have no names?? 4/ ‘innocent until proven guilty’ doesn’t matter a damn to Horwath, Wynne or Junior Trudeau. It seems that ‘sexual misconduct’ is the term du jour both sides of the border and in any and all walks of life. In truth, some of these accusations are almost laughable….unless they’re pointing at you. Speaking of Trudeau seems he’s got his own ‘mess’ to sort out as his quadriplegic/wheelchair-bound MP/Minister Kent Hehr from Alberta referred to a female Civil Servant as ”Yummy” Lord knows HOW long ago. Well, THAT is some pretty serious s–t….maybe five or ten years in Kingston will straighten him out??!! Mr Hehr saw the way things work so he already resigned from Cabinet, hence JT won’t have to get his hands dirty. It says here that….1/ too many people in this day and age don’t know the difference between ‘insult’ and ‘assult’, and 2/ too many ‘victims’ don’t know the difference between what’s ‘right’ and what’s ‘trite’. Nor do they appear to care. One of James Brown’s biggest hits was “A Man’s World”…..whoa JB, that was a LONG tyme ago! Nuff said.
Food For Thought
1/ Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Small, large, circle, square, thin crust, thick crust, stuffed crust, extra toppings. 2/ I may look like I’m having deep thoughts but 99% of the tyme I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat later. 3/ Ever wonder if clouds look down on us and say “Hey look……that is shaped like an idiot”.
I Enjoyed….
….watching some of the action at The Nakina Curling Club’s Bonspiel Sat aft up at the Rec Complex….first ‘live’ curling I’ve actually seen this season. It took me back to 2001 (or maybe 2002)and the Legion Branch #116 Spiel for that year, the curling ‘debut’ for Miz Jo and Rotzy, where we took turns at showing varying degrees of total ineptness that afternoon. We were bad…plain and simple. Soon after that Jo Ann ‘retired’ to the viewers’ gallery inside, and the phatt guy started using a ‘stick’ for delivering the rock, and I became good. Damn good in my humble opinion….in fact, I was getting calls from Al Hackner about becoming his Vice. Well, three years ago at a Seniors Curling Afternoon On Sheet #2 South End, I took what was surely my ‘worst fall ever’! Cracked some ribs, really banged myself up!! Well, word got around and of course, Hackner stopped calling. So (*see above) we’re settling in this aft to watch The Tournament of Hearts. On TV. Much safer.
*Thought Of The Day…The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. (s/w)
“From Nakina”…until next tyme.
