Regrets
It is Yom Kippur, a time when Jews express their regrets and apologize to those they may have offended. For instance, the mother of Sen. George Allen is certainly apologizing for not being Swedish.
You can tell a person’s politics by his regrets. A Democrat wants to apologize for winning the Mexican War. A Republican wants to apologize for winning the Civil War. A Libertarian wants to apologize for the Louisiana Purchase.
And I will apologize for my absence from this pulpit over the next few days. No, it is not Writer’s Block. My wife is going on vacation and, out of pure sentiment, she is taking me along.
I will be in New York, where there is the risk of my being mobbed by middle-age graduates of Barnard. Back in the 80s, when I was on Jeopardy, I was a sex symbol at that college. Of course, so was Alan Greenspan. Barnard’s libinal standards only require you to be bright, breathing and circumcized.
Lest any of you loyal readers go into withdrawal, you can stave the pangs with a helping of English Stew. It is my series of essays on the history and ironies of seemingly innocuous innocuous language. Look for English Stew on this website–as soon as I figure out all the technical details.
‘Til then,
Eugene