The Bonnies attract Chuck’s, grammar groans, Words to the Wise
By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
In my youth, several of my friends and relatives would chant this following “singsong” phrase using what has become one of my writing characteristics of manipulating or masticating words of the English language, as often illustrated in the Grammar Groans segment of my Wramblings.
“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Many people, especially relatives, like to share their familial banter, often to the embarrassment or chagrin of the person with a first (or last) name that lends itself to that vulnerability. If you ponder and/or wonder about that statement just imagine being blessed with the last name “Wiser.” I didn’t help myself avoid that much, when I had my vehicle’s vanity plate made. IM Wiser has invited many comments. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, I experienced one such reaction as I progressed through a State Police road check setup one day with my window slightly rolled down. As I moved through the line, traffic paused at one point when two troopers were standing beside my vehicle. Through the open window unnoticed by them, I heard one trooper say to the other: “I’ll bet he isn’t.” And in many instances he would likely be correct. Hey, I asked for it having a license plate like that, so I’ll live with (or by) it.
Shortly after the beginnings of my Wellsville Sun Wrambling’s, owner/editor Andrew Harris, knowing I was a rabid fan of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, asked if I would be interested in a more formal relationship with the Sun and do “reporting” coverage of the Bonnies games? I gave it a considerable amount of thought, thinking that it would likely get me a “press pass” allowing more frequent game attendance. I finally decided that I would rather be a writer than a reporter. Reporters are theoretically unbiased, neutral and open minded in their “reporting.” “Writers” aren’t morally or ethically held to the higher standards of a reporter. I check my facts and/or meanings of the words that I don’t use daily and am conscientious about the correctness of what I’m “writing.” I, as most writers often do, take a little “poetic license” in my writing.
I respectfully, and in reality hesitantly, said “No” to that opportunity. If my memory of timing is correct, shortly after my decision, Chuck Pollock, Senior Sports Columnist and former longtime Sportswriter for the Olean Times Herald (OTH), after retirement from there, began writing under the Sun. Chuck and as was Chuck Ward, another Chuck that preceded him at OTH, were superb sports writers. If I could do just a fraction as well as those other two “Chucks” I would be very content with that aspect of my writing as a wreporter.” Once again, I came back to my Google Grammar Group to validate the use of a word, that being “rabid,” to assure its appropriate use. I guess content with content is appropriate at this point.
The first definition that I found of that word described an animal, or human, that was infected with the debilitating, sometimes fatal, disease called rabies. The other definition matched my intuitive sense by stating that being “rabid” meant that you (or I) had “an extreme or fanatical support of, or belief in, something. And then, as with peeling away the leaves of a cabbage, one layer was removed, disclosing yet another layer to be removed as well. The use of the word “fanatical” starts with the first syllable “fan.” I guess if you think about it, being a fan could make you fanatical. That could be vice-versa or versa-vice-a.
When, and as, I open the chapter of Grammar Groans, I open the door for your groans rather than mine. I’m the perpetrator, not the victim.
When I was in high school one of my pet peeves regarding the English teachers was during our story reading authors analysis. As we read a story the teacher would tell us: “What the author meant in that statement was something other than just what the black on white words had said. She, and most were all “she’s” at that time, would interpret what she thought the author was really saying or meant. That sounded stupid to me, at that time in my life. I figured they meant exactly what the words they used said. Now, after having written, and published, dozens of poems I do understand that author’s, myself included, use words to metaphorically convey a message. Again, going to Google to validate my use of a word, I found that there were actually two other words that describe the use of some words to mean other things. The words Analogy and Simile are in the same general category but not exactly the same. To avoid putting you all to sleep I will only say that a metaphor is basically the only one that applies as it “uses another thing to mean something else.” If you read much, you will likely have read that someone said something “metaphorically,” actually, meant something else. The words Simile and Metaphorically are related and similar much like “sarcasm” and “irony” are.
Sorry about that, but my never to come to fruition dream of teaching English peeks through from time to time.
During halftime of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies heart breaking loss once again last night, I decided to “surf” the TV channels for any current news updates. I recalled with disappointment how you used to be able to go from channel to channel just by pushing a button, even on a remote, and which was much more easily accomplished than my now having to go back to the Spectrum guide, then scroll down to the desired channel and click on that. Expanding the number of stations available via a TV cable provider adds a consequential downside. I may someday get into a diatribe of what I think is happening to the Bonnies recently, but not today.
I mentioned a couple of Wrambling’s ago that I had attended a St, Bonaventure basketball game as a benefit of my former military service through the auspices of the AC Dwyer Program. I will have the benefit of another Veteran’s Association offering again this weekend as that same organization is hosting a breakfast to be held Saturday at the Student Leadership Center on the Alfred State College, Alfred campus. Although the pre-registration has ended “all Veterans are welcome,” and you can contact the Veteran’s association at the link https://www.alleganyco.gov/salute/. I assure you that you won’t regret partaking of that benefit.
I had the good fortune of having been a Veteran and at one time an employee at what was then known as the Air Preheater Company. Having joined the Navy at 17 years of age, foregoing any education beyond high school, I was supported financially by my VA benefits for the early part of my 8 years of college education. and when those benefits expired my education was paid for nearly in full by The Air Preheater Company. I paid my dues to set myself up for my future teaching duties at Alfred State by attending night school classes two nights a week for 8 years. 4 years each to achieve an AAS degree in Product and Machine Design and then with a Bachelor of Engineering Technology degree for the final 4 years. I put lots of miles on my vehicle and many, many hours of learning in my effort to get the schooling.
As a frequent visitor to several URMC (University of Rochester Medicine Center) facilities I have access to most of my medical information via MyChart. That access has many benefits but can also be a source of frustration when a provider contacts or passes information to you only through that portal without the co-information via a phone call. They do send an email message, but I receive so many that are just updates or confirmations I don’t always read them. Yesterday I opened an email that was from MyChart, thinking it was just confirmation of an appointment scheduled for the 19th of this month. Upon signing in I discovered that they had scheduled me for an appointment for the 14th (tomorrow) as I was on a “call upon cancellation” list if it was possible to move the appointment up if a spot became open. I called them and later found out that they had made a mistake and didn’t really have an opening on the 14th.
I’m going to end this with an attachment of a vocabulary list quiz given to my last class of students that illustrates my vast (or half vast) grammatical whimsy. They were to provide their idea of how I would define the terms. This was my last formal “teaching activity” just before giving my farewell retirement. Many “groans were received. What triggered, or was my decision, to re-post this list again was having read an article where the US Defense Department was noted as the Defence Department. It then became apparent to me that the source of the article was British. I could probably have then added apparent to my list as describing what you became after the birth of your children.
Feel free to reach out to me with any comments, cares or concerns about this or any previous Wrambling at IM.Wiserdad@gmail.com.
