an old writer and his words

  • WITH STANDING

    The nurse wanted to knowif I had pain with standing.I thought about this and said“Notwithstanding a silly questionif I say so myself and I do.”“No,” she said smiling, “withstandingyour answer do you or do you not?” ‘I don’t have pain, not with standing.Notwithstanding what shewanted to know so she said,” let’s try this again.Do you…

    Lou Faber

  • AT THE APEX

    He reminds us that we are alsoapex predators just like the raptors,bald eagle, hawks, osprey, and whiletheir numbers have once again grownfrom the edge of extinction, we havemoved ever closer to it with our chemicalsolution to problems, our greed,our demand for what we desire,our environment be damned.He says the birds would speak to usbut they…

    Lou Faber

  • INSTAHELL OR METAHELL?

    Some might call us linguistic sadistsand it would be difficult to argue that point.We take a perverse joy in torturing language,as though trying to make it agree with whatwe imagine it should do in our delusional world.And I am willing (and quite able) to lay someof the blame on social media, that baneof modern existence…

    Lou Faber

  • TOTALLY UNFAIR

    You realize, of course, that it wasan arbitrary and capricious decisionno matter what you say, making up the rulesas you go, changing them withoutconsulting those of us who are to bemost affected by the changes. Suremy brothers and sisters probably agreed,more for them with me out of the picture,but don’t give me the lecture on…

    Lou Faber

  • TOCK TICK

    He was an amateur horologist, so time was important to him. And time had left him with nothing but questions because language, poorly used was far less valuable to him, particularly when it touched on his greatest joy. What, he asked, did time do when it left the army and stopped marching? Why couldn’t he…

    Lou Faber

  • UNSPOKEN

    There is so much that hewould talk about, but dare not say.He knows keeping it withinis a recipe for pain and sufferingbut letting it loose makesthat pain and suffering a certaintyfor others and he is notwilling to do that to anyone.He laughs when he wants so muchto curse language for wordsare all he has and…

    Lou Faber

  • NOT THAT PICTURE

    Whoever first penned the adagethat picture is worth a thousand wordsand the multitude who haverepeated it ad nauseam in many languagesclearly never attended the partiesI once attended where, when the foodwas consumed, the guests adjournedto a den or living room wheresomeone wanted to form teams“for a spirited game of charades.”Then one poor, lost soul wouldstand…

    Lou Faber

  • SABBATH

    She could not understand whyanyone, really, would willinglygive up their Saturday morningto sit inside and recite prayershalf in a language that neitherthey nor most of the congregationspoke, and when I said some knewthe translations by heart, she added“then why not recite those.”She had a point, I knew, but wouldI easily concede, as if thatwould make…

    Lou Faber

  • PLACE NAME HERE

    Among all of the so-called artswriting does stand alone.How often have you seen arthanging on gallery wallsand look at the card next to itto see what the work is calledand find that all too uniquitous title,UNTITLED, as if the artist’s powerof language escaped into his brushes.And let’s not talk about composer’swhose work is later numberedand…

    Lou Faber

  • HEY, HUMANS

    The birds huddle lowin the brush of the wetlanddelaying their morning departure.You caused this, theywant to say but cannot,knowing we are linguistically challenged.What they mean is that wehave robbed themof so much of their habitat,carving out small areasas a balm for our souls,or that this shockingly coldmorning, they know, isa product of human activity,as much…

    Lou Faber