Month: January 2021

Of Honey and Vinegar

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Honey, Honeycomb, Sweet
Piixaay

The power of words is immense. Ideas have the ability to sway emotions, and to spawn their own natural offspring. How one presents these ideas, however, has the power to stifle or to nurture the core message. What is said must have merit if it is to truly have sway, or at least it should be so. But history has shown that golden ideas misrepresented or construed have failed, where ideas bearing no nobility have encouraged crowds to do the unthinkable whether they are from some podium in Munich or in Washington DC.

I value logic. I embrace semantics and philosophical truths. Yet, I have to acknowledge that rhetoric has the ability to obscure truth, to make emotion override reason, and to lead to a lessening of the collective good. That being the case I must respond to Fandango’s question: “In the context of blogging and writing, what do you think is more important: what you say or how you say it?,” that it is how you say it that matters most.

What we write and blog is diminished if our ideas are poorly framed. What we post is as susceptible to dismissal because of “bad writing” as any other form. If we annoy with our grammar, we lose the readers heart. Furthermore, no matter how true our premise, or sound our conclusion, if it offends because of a lack of tact, we have often lost the battle. “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” it has been said. It is here that I risk losing support for my well-considered response by equating my readers with flies. Trust me, however, that you are neither small minded insects, or nuisance-some bugs, but the mirrors of, we the bloggers’ inner voices.

Padre

Blizzard

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Blizzard, Snow Flurry, Snowflakes
Pixabay

—————

Jayden stood at the living room window and watched the falling snow. It was steady with large fluffy flakes that seemed to settle quickly into a thick blanket. There was already over eight inches on the ground, an accumulation virtually unknown in his region. His boss had phoned about a half an hour before to say that they would be closing the workshop today. Closed, Jayden mused. It had been the first time since his divorce that he had had a weekday off. Since the divorce, flashed through his head. He pondered the circumstances of of it. She had said he was a workaholic and never had time for her anymore. Was she right? Why am I feeling so wound up by a few flakes of snow? I just want to get to work. Is that too much to ask? Jayden checked himself, and took a deep breath, How could such a tranquil scene as falling snow bring on such a blizzard of thoughts?

Padre

Tuesday Writing Prompt 

The Apologist

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Businesswoman, Women, Business, Lawyer, Portrait
Pixabay

Donna King was an apologist.  No not that type of apology, but rather she a woman who knew how to construct arguments.  The partners of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, struck a virtual gold-mine when they hired her fresh from some Podunk law school in the Midwest.  But now she was proving herself in spades.  To say her constructions and syllogisms were complex would be a true understatement, as most of them had more edges than a tiger shark’s smile.  A King summation was a thing of be beauty and generally left opposing counsel baffled, and an occasional judge too.

Padre

I have purposely added a few clichés to this route to setting up a alternative to Multifaceted.

Tycoon

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Photo by Flo Dahm on Pexels.com

Peter Carlson stepped lightly from the Paris hotel where he had just had an important business meeting. He tucked a document securely into his inside jacket pocket, and tapped it twice for good measure before hailing a taxi.

The real estate deal he had just completed brought back memories of his first so long ago in New York. He had been a young man then with only his college tuition money to his name, but he risked it all on that first big buy. He had never looked back.

Now he was on his way back home to the Jiffy Lube, of which he was franchise holder. This Paris deal was going to complete his portfolio. He couldn’t wait to hang the deed to the Eiffel Tower next to his certificates for the Brooklyn Bridge, Mount Rushmore, and the Leaning Tower.

Padre

Photo Challenge #351

Cliché

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Barbie, Doll, Waving, Wave, Hello
Pixabay

It is amazing how quickly good intentioned practices become mere cliché. Greetings do this. “How do you do?” is not so much an enquiry as to someone’s well being as it is a formal hello. The response of “Quite well, thank you,” is the expected retort, as the asker does not genuinely want to know your life story. “Howdy,” while less formal, still generally expects no deep response, though a rustic “Fair to middl’n,” seems an appropriate response. While some in the USA might actually care to hear how someone is doing, the British are far less eager to hear. “How are you,” should be greeted with an “Okay, and you?” or an “All right.” Lately however this has morphed into an “Allright?,” which is responded to with an “Allright.”

Another thing that has my hackles up a bit is the insistence of many Americans to thank Veterans for their service. While the acknowledgement of service is appreciated, it become cliché when it becomes a constant, as a by rote exercise rather than a statement of true appreciation.

Heartfelt gestures are always appreciated by me, and I am sure this is true of most people. But please say what you mean, and mean what you say; and if you mean to be mean, then just don’t say anything.

Padre

FOWC with Fandango — Service

Road Trip

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woman sitting inside vehicle
William Bout at Unsplash

Tank full, put it in gear

Kids all buckled-up in the rear

An outing for the day – on the road

Shovels, spades, picnic – all part of the load

To the seaside we turn our face

There will be queues so there’s no need to race

But nice music on the radio and drinks at hand

We drive down the tarmac

Taking in the views as we gaze at the land

Padre

Sunday Writing Prompt – Driving

Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron

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Jim Adams has challenged us to write about a song that contains the words Chat/Laugh/Rant/Scream/Talk. I have picked a song about another challenge – the classic duel between the Red Baron and the Peanuts’ Snoopy in 1966. The Royal Guardsmen’s song was written by Phil Gernhard & Dick Holler and was released in November 1966. It tells how Charles Schultz’s comics depicted Snoopy imagining himself as a WWI fighter pilot, battling the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen.

The song sparked all kinds of images for me as a pre-teen on its release, and I thought it would be a fun addition today.

Lyrics:


After the turn of the century
In the clear blue skies over Germany
Came a roar and a thunder men had never heard
Like the screamin’ sound of a big war bird


Up in the sky, a man in a plane
Baron von Richthofen was his name
Eighty men tried, and eighty men died
Now, they’re buried together on the countryside


Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin’ up the score
Eighty men died tryin’ to end that spree
Of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany


In the nick of time, a hero arose
A funny-lookin’ dog with a big black nose
He flew into the sky to seek revenge
But the Baron shot him down (Curses, foiled again!)


Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin’ up the score
Eighty men died tryin’ to end that spree
Of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany

Now, Snoopy had swore that he’d get that man
So he asked the Great Pumpkin for a new battle plan
He challenged the German to a real dogfight
While the Baron was laughin‘, he got him in his sight


That Bloody Red Baron was in a fix
He tried everything, but he’d run out of tricks
Snoopy fired once, and he fired twice
And that Bloody Red Baron went spinnin’ out of sight


Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin’ up the score
Eighty men died tryin’ to end that spree
Of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany


Well, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin’ up the score

Padre