Lincoln Mailbag!

Posted: October 5, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: history, mailbag | Leave a comment

Wow, reader Dan G. didn’t take to Elizabeth Pryor Brown’s book, of which I spoke positively:

First chapter berates Lincoln for a disorderly approach to the military — fair enough, I suppose — without acknowledging the more defensible reasons for this, such as a desire to establish the facts on the ground independent of the possibly self-serving officers in the chair of command.  To hear her, the military should be spared any outside audit or opportunity for whistleblowing. And she doesn’t even mention his ultimate success. Her second chapter pooh-poohs his coarse humor and sometimes rustic rhetoric as though the prissy rareified manners of a Boston drawing room were innately superior and not, as they would have been in real life, a barrier to communicating with and leading the broad mass of the people.

It’s not just me:

https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/blog/pryor-six-encounters-with-lincoln-2017

He goes on to describe the book as:

a biography of Sam written by Diane

which is a funny idea.

Etymology

Posted: March 19, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: mailbag | Leave a comment

Correspondent “J. M.” in the UK writes:

Dear HelyTimes,

A bit of etymology found on a browse through the OED that I thought might delight and enlighten your readers.  I found myself looking up the word “douche bag” after a

Thanks JM!  Here is his discovery:

1966   Observer20 Mar. (Colour Suppl.) 41/2   A few belts, a tweed beret and a douche bag were all that was left of Eva Braun’s envied wardrobe.

Mailbag

Posted: November 22, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: mailbag | Leave a comment

Carla in Texas writes:

Dear Helytimes, I found your blog because I have a news alert set for my hometown of Balmorhea, Texas (go Bears!).  I am a retired educator with the BISD now living the sweet life AKA retirement.  Had to write after I LOL’d about your description of Ron’s lizard & reptile show, Ron is a very sweet man an admired eccentric we all love him in our community .

Bone to PICK with you: you are way off on Vertigo.  I first saw it when I was ten and it scared the DAYLIGHTS out of me.  AS for sexy WRONG AGAIN that movie gets me horny as hell.  [TMI, Carla?]  Not Kim Novak — JAMES STEWART.  Are you kidding?  He we a bomber pilot who flew over 200 missions. [20 says wikipedia].

You are right though about Midge.

Keep writin’,

Carla

Thanks Carla, and thank you for reading.

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