Oxymoron

While searching for oxymoron examples I came across this: “Words can not express my limited vocabulary.”

Wet Creek would not be very distinctive

After our orderly confusion of Thanksgiving I’m noticing more oxymorons. I do enjoy the contrast offered by combining opposites. Do you enjoy a good paradox? Life is full of them. 

 

This morning I found a Mary Schmich post in my Facebook feed that starting me pondering the many opposites in my life. Here’s a line from that post: 

"All of the best times in my life have grown directly out of the worst times. What feels like manure often turns out to be fertilizer."

(Mary Schmich's FB page)

 

 

I find some songs illustrate the oxymoron idea. I found this new old song called “Perfidia”. It was written by Alberto Dominguez and covered by many. I believe the melody is uplifting and a little joyful. 

 

Perfidia is Spanish for perfidy meaning betrayal. In my mind that subject should have slow sad music. Take a listen to the English and Spanish versions: 

 

 

 

the conversion doesn't work

Win a free trip to the land of milk and honey.

Now typically every grocery store has milk and honey, so do we already live in the land of milk and honey? Also, do any of you know of a popular meal that combines milk and honey? 

As you probably know the phrase comes from the Bible, so maybe the translation got messed up.

Tower Bridge towering over the others.

 

Moving on to the land of fish and chips, I'll share my wasted thinking about measurement standards.

I'm interested to get your opinion. What if The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 had really taken hold and Americans gave up miles for kilometers?

But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Those words about walking are the chorus lines from "I'm Gonna Be" by the Scottish rock duo, The Proclaimers. Substitute miles with kilometers and it just doesn't work.

But I would walk five hundred kilometers
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand kilometers
To fall down at your door

Those of you who think in metric terms know that 500 kilometers of length is shorter than 500 miles.

With that fact in mind, I conclude that if you walked a kilometer in my shoes you still wouldn't have walked a mile in my shoes. Of course, I'm not giving up my shoes but I have some old slippers that you can have for free. Walk a mile in my old slippers.

 

and now

Bear with me

 

Just a minute or two and it will come to me. Problem is will I recognize the original it or will I just go with a new it. Whatever.

2021 minus 1971 equals ? Yeah simple arithmetic says it has been 50 years since my last con--... No! Not that Catholic stuff. It's been 50 years since I graduated from High School. My wife joined me at my 50th reunion events recently. I will confess that I really looked forward to the reunion. I had a fun time. I think she enjoyed it too.

Discussing our USAF time

I suspect the size of your graduating class is a big influence on reunions. Our class of 1971 had more than 400 graduates.

A key factor in the reunion is the planning committee. Our great committee has now planned 8 reunions (they started doing 5 year intervals with the 25th). The first one I went to was our 20th reunion. For me they get better as time goes on. I might have missed only one since the 20th. A group page on FB was used for this one. Event planning is one of the better uses of FB.

Four events were scheduled over the weekend. My wife and I went to 3 of the events. A new idea for our 50th was a booklet with stories from our class. I was a slacker and failed on doing a write up. The interesting stories shared where both sad and happy memories but that's life. Another sad part was looking over a poster of classmates no longer with us. It made me appreciate being able to attend even more.

 

One event for the middle of Saturday was a tour of the downtown theater Rialto that opened in 1926. The place had a great restoration since I watched James Bond there. About 100 people attended the Saturday night dinner. Two of them got up and sang some tunes. I was pleasantly surprised.