New Shoes in the Rain

I don't know about you, but I am endlessly fascinated with the catch phrases that permeate our normal speech.  And since I'm in my 60s, I've heard a lot of faddish phrases throughout my life.  I'm a fan of language, obviously, since I'm here writing this now! The title is one such phrase that we'll come back to later, but one that I like! So let's go back...WAY back!  When I was little the word "cool" floated around for a while and then sort of lost its cachet.  Think how often we all hear or even say something or someone is "cool."  To be fair, my parents were way too unhip to ever use that word in that context.  At our house, "cool" described the weather or that a dish or cookies straight from the oven were now at a suitable temperature to eat.  Or that I needed a jacket if leaving the house! As I reached my pre-teen years, there were many, many euphemisms that were employed to describe a girl or boy who was attractive.  An ea...

Greetings, all.  Hope this week is off to a good start! Are you one of those people who have to have things a certain way and will do most anything to ensure that they are right?  Or are you a good improviser, finding ways to bend circumstances into how you want them to me? I like things just so myself, but at the same time, I think I’m pretty adept at making things work within what’s available.  Been thinking of a few examples of that lately. For example……as a man of “maturity,” shall we say, I like to look reasonably professional for work.  Our dress code for my position is “business casual,” which is a term that needs to go away, as so many people, particularly those under 40, seem to think that as long as you’re wearing a shirt with some kind of collar that you’re properly attired.  I see lots of men in pants that look like sweatpants with pockets and loose ankles, which I detest. I still wear dress slacks for work most days, and if not those, I wear khakis ...

Happy Wednesday morning, everyone.  Hope your week is going well! I’m on the road again, as I have been asked to mentor a new team member for a couple of days.  She seems nice and I’m looking forward to getting acquainted, starting in about ninety minutes! Unless you weren’t watching, or were glued to the Paris Olympics, the Kamala Harris presidential campaign held a rally in Philadelphia to introduce the candidate’s newly chosen running mate to the public.  He is Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota.   I first learned a little about Governor Walz at the time when George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis over a minor legal situation.  Walz stepped up and assigned the state’s Attorney General to prosecute the officers involved with Floyd’s death, insisting that the case be handled by someone with thoroughness and impartiality. Since his name came up as being under consideration for the VP slot on the newly formed Harris ticket, there’s been a lot of...