PURELY COMMENTARY for openers
Minor Damage
W
e “poor mortals” are often buffeted about by fate and damaged accordingly. Through all of this rough handling, items may get nicked or scratched. However, that does not stop us from using those terms in Sy Manello other ways in Editorial our conversaAssistant tions. Here are some instances. Men who are not caught up in the annual Movember craze (growing beards and moustaches) should practice extreme caution when shaving so as not to nick themselves. If you are in Britain and try to nick something from a store, you may find yourself locked up in the nick. (Your
lack of knack was not worth taking the nick-nack. Yes, that spelling is an acceptable one!) Then a lawyer may be hired to save you in the nick of time. We would hope that when we move our lodgings, the moving men will not nick any furniture. The term even is used to apply to colorful figures. At Christmas, there is jolly old St. Nick. One popular name for the devil was Old Nick. He was also called Old Scratch. (How is that for a segue?) If you are up to par in your well-being or your work or any endeavor, you may be described as being up to scratch. Seeking a quick win? You may find good results when you scratch off a lottery card. That may earn you a sizeable
amount of scratch, or not. The real gambler may stake a bet at the track by using a scratch sheet and then hope that his horse does not get scratched. If it does, he will have to start from scratch seeking his fortune. If you wish to get a favor from someone, you may have to employ the strategy of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” A literalist, however, may suggest this phrase if he has recently encountered a swarm of mos-
quitoes. A famous person’s handwriting may be described as chicken scratchings. Well, that certainly makes it harder to forge, I suppose. Trying to read it, however, may lead one to scratch his head. He may then decide to scratch the idea of trying to sell the famous signature since it cannot be read at all. I suggest you use these terms sparingly if you wish to minimize the damage in your life.
as the conversation took place over 40 years ago, but I can remember what she had told me — as if it was yesterday. I will call her Miss Anna. You see, Miss Anna told me of her travels all around the world. I was filled with wonder and could only think and say, “Wow, wow and wow.” I should mention that I was in my mid-teens and was already much taller than Miss Anna. I must have said “wow” one too many times because she suddenly grabbed me by the
shoulders and began shaking me. Her eyes locked onto mine and she screamed in my face, “It was no pleasure trip! We were running from Hitler!” I felt confused. She quickly released me and backed away. Then she proceeded to pull up her sleeve to reveal dark green numbers tattooed on her arm. She’d been a prisoner in a concentration camp. I don’t remember exactly what happened after that. My heart began to pound, and the rest of the visit was a blur. I do
essay
A True Story
M
y dad worked hard to raise four kids, moving us from an African American neighborhood on Detroit’s Eastside to the Northwest side, which was predominantly Jewish back then. One day, as I was walking home, Judy Hall I saw one of my neighbors with whom I enjoyed talking and especially liked. Sometimes she would make tea
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and we would sit in her living room and talk. She was always interesting, and I liked her accent as she spoke. On this particular day, I was about to learn just how interesting she really was. This day, she was standing in her front yard near the sidewalk, which may be where she’d been when I’d first met her. She could have been 75 years old; she was short, stout and wearing a dark blue dress. It seemed that she always wore dark dresses. I can no longer remember her name,
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