|
Inspired by my good friend John Nixon's analysis of the present day use of words, I picked to-day two words for my own inspection: "About" and "Save". Sorry if you thought this story was about saving... I had received a letter from my Family Health Practice to set up my quarterly checkup appointment. When I called and had given by name and DOB - date of birth - probably what I am filed by .... watch out, do not end sentence with preposition! the receptionist asked: "What is this regarding?" I thought for a minute (second?) and answered : "not considering", then realized she did not say "disregarding" but "this" and "regarding" - and I quickly concluded that she was merely trying to avoid ending her sentence with a proposition I mean preposition, like, in this case, the word "about" like in 'whereabouts are you' or 'where are you about'. Or whatsoever like as in the Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam: ??????? ??? ???? "For in and out above about.." So I admitted that I did not know, and she saved me by asking if I had received a letter (from them), in which case it was about scheduling so we scheduled, and that was the end of "about" Isn't that French, too, le bout = THE END Wait a minute, I am not done yet... My daughter was talking about her cell phone contract with SPRINT: "You cannot imagine how much I saved!" she said "Just give me half", I answered. And I thought back of my little sister who had a piggy bank in which she saved the change my Dad produced emptying his pockets. Now that was old fashioned "saving", and if I could talk her into sharing it with me, I would have cash in hand... BLO fecit 20091208 - stories |