Why Do People Insist on Going With Three Names?
Why Do People Insist on Going With Three Names? 350 words • 3 minutes Frankly I do not know. I mean no offense here as some long names are almost musical sounding, but I find the use of three names to be rather pretentious. Again, not always, but for most people a...
A Southern Profanity
A Southern Profanity 928 words • 7.1 minutes When I was growing up, I never heard my parents use profanity—never once. It just wasn’t used in our household and I can hardly imagine the trouble that would have been in store for me had I uttered foul oaths in front of...
Johann Sebastian Bach says, “Let me try that!”
Johann Sebastian Bach says, “Let me try that!” 1,320 words • 7 minutes I recently heard a quote about J.S. Bach that made me think harder about something than I have in quite some time. Bach, it was said, was better at what he did, composing and performing music, than...
Ardent warriors – Submariners in WW2
Ardent warriors – Submariners in WW2 1,600 words • 12 minutes Ardency is one of my favorite words in the English language both for how it sounds and for what it means. Sadly though, we do not hear it much anymore—at least not in the United States where it has been...
About Your Average Author
Bios are normally the place to list great achievements and accolades, but since Neal’s are a bit thin the recap of his life is refreshingly brief.
Quite early Neal caught the attention of his teachers as being on the fast track to the cherished 50th percentile in life. It might have been his noteworthy lack of skill, not to mention talents, in areas such as academics, athletics, the arts and drama, or social life. Together they destined him to observer status only. Tragic? No, for it was there that he found his comfortable place in the just average bleachers.