Humility makes us real.

Today's Tids  Issue 3,671

For Humility:

A jokester writing quips in cursive needs good punmanship.*

I have to be honest with you. I have an immense capability to say some extraordinary dumb things. Part of what I like about this Tids mess is writing stuff as it enters my mind as sort of the first line of defense against smothering political correctness. I have also been told by people much wiser than myself that speaking and writing though your gut instead of filtering everything through your brain is good for your mental health, and even better for the people around you. This is good because my gut knows more than my brains anyhow. I am not the smartest person in the world, but I’m pretty good at rational observations. So, I’ll just keep putting out the stuff I see, or steal, and look forward to reading what really smart people send back. Thanks for letting me evangelize about occasionally understanding humility. If, that’s what I did.

There are 67 synonyms for the word, “Smart”, in case you are interested

Ok, America is a great free place and Colin Kaepernick has the right to free speech. But his, “I’m not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” is a little offsetting. Where have you been Rip Van Winkle? -- Oppresses black people! Sure, maybe black leaders do in order to preserve their racism industries, and also some politicians who play the “I’ll save you” game. No people cringe more about bodies in the street and kids with struggling or no parents, than all good regular Americans with true love in their hearts. And that is the vast majority, regardless of which side of the aisle they favor. There are many inadequacies in those neighborhoods (which many social analysts could with the absence of PC define readily), which could be best resolved by many who managed to get out and attain success. Like yourself, who could make $114 Million over six years. And many other athletes, entertainers and business and professional people. Hey, wait a minute, a lot of successful blacks, Hispanics et. al. do walk the walk and go back home to contribute to the reestablishment of a better place, with better schools and domestic tranquility. America is free and open to allow all people themselves to rise above their circumstances. Oppression? Get in there and do something, Colin. We have had plenty of empty words that enable mediocrity.

I write better listening to melodic orchestral tone poems like those of Strauss, Respighi and Sibelius. That is, if you call this writing! Now, if I could only find music that would help with spelling.

The Question:

There used to be 27 letters in the alphabet. What is missing today? Bonus: What are the names of the ships for these captains: Henry Hudson, John Paul Jones, Oliver Hazard Perry, Christopher Jones, Lord Nelson, Captain Ahab, William Bligh and Ferdinand Magellan.

Baseball players are so good at what they do in the field that most people don’t realize how great the plays they make are.

The Headlines:

--Wiener Out In Public Again; No Comments From Abedin and Hillary.

--US Banks Gearing Up For Worst Case Scenario As Euro Banks Suffer Through Brexit Woes; Some Say “Economic Nuclear Winter” Not Out Of The Question.

--Tropical Storms On Way To Southeast Coast and Gulf Of Mexico; Gulf Storm Could Bend Back Into Florida.

--US Forces Bracing For Trouble As Turkey/Syria Border Fighting Escalates.

--Oil Prices Dropping Again; Saudi Pushing Production Higher To Put Profit Pressure On Higher Cost US Fracking Production.

--Italy Says Good Bye To Earthquake Victims.

--45 Yemen Troops Killed In ISIS Suicide Attack.

Word of the day, Department:

“Kith”: Acquaintances, friends, neighbors; People living in the same general locale and forming a more or less a cohesive group. “I had neither Kith or kin in England, and was therefore as free as air – or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence a day would permit a man to be.” –AC Doyle.

The “Elite Class”, Department:

“60 Minutes” proved once again last night that “Legal” is more important to lawyers than moral and ethical. In fact, it seems it is the only thing that is important to them when the promise of money dangles before them.

Hey, did you see where MacGyver is coming back on CBS. Maybe all I really needed to keep this computer going was a couple of sticks of chewing gum and a safety pin! Anyhow, the program was always mindless fun and relaxing. I hope they didn’t mess up the new version too much.

One of my all-time favorite music recordings is the live 1938 Carnegie Hall Benny Goodman band performance of the Fats Waller classic Honeysuckle Rose. In this nearly 14 minute improvisional jazz moment, Krupa lays down a pulsating beat that never stops as just four remaining members of the Goodman band are joined by Basie and Ellington band members: From Ellington we had Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams and Harry Carney and from Basie, Basie himself along with Freddie Green, Walter Page and Buck Clayton to bring a full house crowd to its feet with remarkable solo after remarkable solo. This one grabs you.

About half of the people don’t drive well enough to negotiate narrow streets of old cities and towns. Actually, an abundance of young 20 something woman are probably good drivers, but too self-absorbed to be aware of other people on the road.

I have never been a big fan of those giant sectionals in living rooms. But then, I have never been very practical either.

Lock up you sons and daughters.. and wives, turnoff your cell phones, the Weiner is out again. Yes the irritation ex-Progressive NY worm and congressman  is sexting again, to a woman he claims is his “Fantasy Chick”. On of the more horrendous pics is one of his underwear clad crotch with his young son sleeping next to him in his bed

There’s a lot of food I like that I just don’t buy any more. I just spend hours in super markets looking at the shelves and freezers.

Yogi Berra once said: It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”

I have a problem with golf pros being forced to hit out of divots on the fairway. They can get relief from all kinds of lies except this man made obstruction which is not part of the course design.

The Answer:

The alphabet used to include the “&”. Yup, the ampersand, but it didn’t mean what it means now. In Roman Latin 1,500 years ago “ef” meant “and”. Over time, the letters were commonly fused together in cursive to the point where they looked like the current ampersand. But, the word ampersand didn’t arise until the 1800’s when part of the English alphabet (The 27^th letter). School children would conclude their “ABC’s” with &. But it would be inappropriate to end with “And” so they made it “And per se” meaning “By itself”. “And per se” became slurred together to become “ampersand”. Aren’t you glad you made it to the end? Bonus: Henry Hudson: Halve Maen (English - Half Moon); John Paul Jones: Alfred, Providence, Ranger; Oliver Hazard Perry: In Battle of Lake Erie he began on “Lawrence” and when those guns were stilled, he swam to and took command of Niagara to defeat the British; Christopher Jones: Mayflower; Lord Nelson: Victory; Captain Ahab: Pequod; Bligh: HMS Bounty; Ferdinand Magellan: Trinidad.

Hey Colin, you going to do more than talk generically if you want some action on whatever is really b othering you. I think that more people are going to stand up straighter and sing the Star Spangled Banner more vigorously than ever.

And in another effort to oust minorities from the mainstream, mover them further afield from a unified society, BLM is going to push for all to sit out National Anthem too. 

*From the Jumble Puzzle