Handshakes–what are they and where did they come from? It is a ritual that we take for granted, one we’ve used or seen repeated time after time. From what I’ve read, the handshake may have started as a sign of friendship or to show the other person that they come in peace–the hand is empty […]
What Did You Just Say?
Words! We speak them, write them, sing them. Words have terrific impact. Knowing that, why do some use ugly, nasty, dirty words? It’s sad to hear that words once thought of as gutter language and for which I’d have had my mouth washed out, are now common place utterances and nobody blinks an eye. On […]

The Shadow of a Frown
Can you frown with your voice? Perhaps in a conversation with someone, you could feel it–that accusing frown. Some conversations are just unsettling, aren’t they? No arguing but just a feeling, a tone, and you know without being told that somehow you have come up lacking. It’s not a good feeling. It isn’t always what […]
Gardyloo!
Suppose you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, someone yells, “Gardyloo!” Then, you’d better duck, fast. Gardyloo was a warning that somebody was just about to tip a bucket of something pretty awful and foul-smelling out of an upstairs window onto the street. Words are like […]

Gardyloo and That Means You!
Words are like people–they have interesting backgrounds. One such word is gardyloo. It originated in France, but was used in other countries too, as a warning that something unsavory was about to happen. What, you may ask? Suppose that you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, from […]

If Is a Big Word
How many times a day do we hear that word, if? Or, how many times do we say it? Only two letters, but it has a lot of meaning behind it. I could have gotten that job if…If I hadn’t changed my plans, that could have been me in the wreck. Or, I’ll be there […]
