Madeline (Giles) DeJournett is the Advance writer for the North Stoddard Countian. A retired high school English/history teacher, she spent 32 years teaching in 5 schools in Missouri and Alaska. These days, she lives quietly with a menagerie of wild and domestic animals on 52 secluded acres in the remote Tillman hills south of Advance. She graduated from Dexter High School in 1960 and Southeast Missouri State in 1964. She can be contacted at advancensc@sbcglobal.net.

The "r" mystery

Posted Sunday, February 8, 2009, at 6:36 PM

Why the extra r?

Time for another linguistic blog, fellow English teachers and other lovers of our beautiful language!

This morning, as I began my first full week back in the glorious electrical world of the living, I received my daily dose of online vocabulary trivia from the Word-a-Day program sent to me by a former student.

I've always wondered why the British add an "r" to words like "sofa(r)" and "Cuba(r"" and "Obama(r)."

Well, my Wordsmith.org program sent me a link to The Toronto Star, where guest writer Jack Chambers, a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto, explained this "r" mystery! I feel ever so much more brilliant as a result! Dr. Grauel would be proud of me!

Says Dr. Chambers: "It is called the intrusive 'r,' and shows up frequently when English people (not all British - not the Scots) say 'Obama' before a word that starts with a vowel."

Example: "Obama(r) is...", "Obama(r) appeared, "Obama(r) ended..."

It never shows up before a consonant, like "Obama signed..." or "Obama refused..."

Dr. Chambers explains that English in England is "r-less," meaning that words like "car" and "cart" sound like "cah" and "caht." He says that in r-less accents, the "r" shows up again when the word precedes a vowel, as in "the car is old." Strange, huh??

My family loved to tease my Australian Aunt Clarie by tricking her into saying, "Four door car," which always became "Foe doe cah." Aunt Clarie was a war bride, brought home by Uncle Charles to delight his family for forty years! I won't tell you where she told them to go, when they teased her...

I've noticed that some American accents are r-less, as well - particularly Ted Kennedy's Boston accent and Rosie O'Donnell with her New York accent.

I guess the mystery is more or less explained, but it still doesn't tell us WHY!!

As a side note, I used Explorer to make sure of the spelling of Dr. Grauel's name, and I found a WEALTH of his writings! Yippee!! I must check into that. In my "Got Power?" blog, one of my former high school classmates' sisters and I have been reminiscing about terroristic teachers (Dale Teachout in particular), and I'll tell you what - Dr. Grauel could prompt a few stories himself! Oh, my, he was what I would call a "benevolent tyrant"! Example: We were reading Chaucer in the original Middle English, and I came across the word "victuals," which I pronounced like it LOOKS. He sat on his stool and stared at me in disbelief, and then he screeeeeeeched, "No, No, No! Mrs. Da-Jour-nay!!! It's 'VIT-tils'! 'VIT-tils!' 'VIT-tils"!" His voice got higher with each repetition, until everyone in the class was STARING at me, thinking, "You idiot! You idiot! You idiot!!" I was mortified! (I was very easily mortified back in my younger years...)

Well, for Pete's sake, I had heard the Clampetts (of Beverly Hills) say "vittles," but how was I to know that it was RIGHT??? I doubt that Dr. H.O. Grauel ever watched a minute of "The Beverly Hillbillies," so there was no need for me to try to explain my way out of it...

From the electrified hills of rural Tillman, this is your considerably warmer rural reporter Madeline, glad that she can say her R's and signing off for a pleasant winter weekend.

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Oh my, I can't remember when I first saw the word 'victuals' or why I hadn't seen it in my first 16 years of living. I suppose in our small schools of learning the word had never come up before and can't remember where or why it has ever come up in my 77 years of living.

Now I'll have a sleepless night worrying where and when that word first appeared. Surely before today I had seen that particular word before. Thanks MD, I can blame you for a sleepless night. NOT.

-- Posted by changedname on Sun, Feb 8, 2009, at 7:22 PM
I remember Dr. Grauel with a smiling face. I had the coolest professor ever for English Lit., Dr. Jenny Frye! She was so bright and so real! I had two children with Little League, piano lessons, orthodontist appts. etc. when I returned to SEMO to finish my degree. She took me aside and said, "Look, this class is important, but don't you ever miss out on the parts of life that really matter just to do an assignment for me. I know you'll do it when you can--so don't miss a baseball game or a recital for this class." You know, I worked harder for that class than I ever had any other. Just knowing that she valued what was important to me, made me find a way to get it all done. SO, I do remember a little bit of English Lit that I might not have otherwise.

I don't remember victuals or "vittles" ever coming up though, so maybe I missed that lesson to go to a ballgame. I can't tell my most embarrassing moment in a literature class--it is just too embarrassing to type the words. I'll say this though, I got an A++++ on a nonsense essay. He thought it was a serious one, but it was written in jest. See there, that sense of humor didn't always deter my success.

-- Posted by GONENOW on Sun, Feb 8, 2009, at 8:26 PM

Madeline Dejournett's response:
If you were a non-traditional student at Semo, you were very well-treated. I had a highly eccentric teacher for Greek and Roman Mythology (oh, darn, have I forgotten her name?? I can't believe that!) - She positively GUSHED over non-traditionals, especially the veterans!
I don't know if Semo even offers that mythology classs anymore. None of my student teachers had ever had a minute of mythology - so I was never able to turn that class over to them.
Chaucer was a graduate class that I took during the first summer I went back to school. I LOVED it!
I once wrote a serious essay for Dr. Bierk, and he raved over my "satire." That was news to me...
Even on the other side of the world we always pronounced victuals as "vittles". I am sure the word was around long before Jed Clampett, maybe even back as far as Tom Mix even though he made just nine talkie movies. It certainly seems to be a word that John Wayne would have used. It's a surprisingly common term here and is reflected in a few branded products such as Vitabrits, Vitawheat etc.

Sleep well Dexterite !

-- Posted by wartz on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 2:32 AM
Thanks Wartz, I did sleep well suppose I wasn't so confused after all at the time I first heard victuals used in a sentence. Oh didn't realize Tom Mix only made 9 talkies. Hello to 'down under'.

-- Posted by changedname on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 7:00 AM
Wartz, aren't you the one from New Zealand? Do you folks say "Obamar"?

Geneva Parmely? Was she the one who taught Mythology? About one-hundred years old?

-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 7:27 AM
Tom Mix is well known down under?? Isn't that a kicker! My dad LOVED Tom Mix, so, of course, I grew up on Tom Mix stories. The actual films were a bit harder to come by.

-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 7:29 AM
GL, you might want to track down a copy of "Tom Mix and Pancho Villa" by Clifford Irving. It is one of, if not the most memorable novel I've read in my adult life. Irving is a phenomenal writer who is best known as the author of "The Autobiography of Howard Hughes." Irving's manuscript fooled every expert who examined it for authenticity, and it was only exposed as a hoax when Hughes held his first press conference (via telephone) in almost two decades to denounce it as a fake. That was also Hughes' last press conference.

-- Posted by FJGuy on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 12:44 PM
Well, so how do we know that his Tom Mix story is true?? However, I shall take your word on this one, FJ, and I'll order the novel off Amazon.com! Thanks for the heads up!

-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 1:10 PM
GL, "Tom Mix and Pancho Villa" is a novel, but it is loosely based on Tom Mix's life, and you sure wish it was true!! The book is out of print, but I checked and Amazon has used copies available for under $10. There are two reviews listed and they both echo my assessment. One reviewer wrote, "This is probably the finest relatively-unknown novel ever published in the USA." The other reviewer wrote, "Probably the greatest western written."

-- Posted by FJGuy on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 1:57 PM
GL - yes, I'm still from NZ.

I can't offer much on the Obama/Obamar item as both seem to be used here. I watched our TV newsreaders to try for some clarity but they, as usual, are less than helpful. (They brought us "weatha pitcher" and refer to our country as "New Zild").

What is a "kicker" please? (You've got a few quaint expressions of your own I suspect).

Thank goodness I mentioned only Tom Mix and not Gabby Hayes, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry et al. Lord knows where this "r mystery" would have ended up ! I do enjoy the manner in which we manage to get off track and look forward to seeing what deviations you can conjure up next.

Cheers

-- Posted by wartz on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 7:39 PM
Wartz, you neglected to mention the "King" of silent westerns, William S. Hart. If you are ever in the LA area his home in Newhall is a very interesting museum, http://www.friendsofhartpark.org/museum.asp

-- Posted by FJGuy on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 8:02 PM
FJ Guy

Thanks for that. Yes, an oversight on my part re William Hart and thanks for the website information.

We have a local TV channel which is largely supressed by the bigger players, so no current news or films. They do manage to show some really old stuff including Hart, Cassidy, (is he David's father?), Cagney, Bogarde, Wayne and many more. Quite often the older films are far more entertaining than the current rubbish !

-- Posted by wartz on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 9:19 PM
MD, I have to do this for the "cause celebre", for those of us who possess surnames from "la langue francais", Dr. G's disregard for the "petite" in your surname might approach the pardonable, but for his otherwise extraordinarily exposure to the "unpardonable".....his response should have been prefaced with "Madamoiselle "Day-journet...(emphasis on the end of the "et" being in a sound of "eh", very short), and stopped, as opposed to what he subjected you to in the moment as "DayJournay" which was incorrect!! I have broken down French from eighteenth century documents of my family members, and folks, Setzer gave me an F!!!!!

I still graduated!! Vive la France, and to all of

the families in Stoddard County who derive from the early French, Entrons!!! My great-grandfather came to the States just in time to learn English, saddle a horse with Grant out of Camp Cairo, and root out the rebs down through New Orleans, then come home to make a family, ma famille est Francaise!!..J't'ador Amerique!! Grauel needed a course in French!! Regards to all in the Bootheel, as I could not let this opportunity pass as I spent half an hour going through an old Sagamore to see if anyone in this blogosphere fit with what I'd seen!!! LOL to All....kkcaver

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 9:22 PM

Madeline Dejournett's response:
Kk, thanks for the French lesson. And I thought Dr. Grauel could do no wrong!
I already have all my high school yearbooks down here by the computer for my discussions with Gonenow and Lovebooks; now I guess I'll have to go up and get those heavy Sagamores to check my memory about my college professors!
Yes, Parmely taught the mythgology, I thought it was Trombetta, but Lord save us she was a force of nature in speech and drama, and what a force of nature she WAS!! The woman was HOT, and this was in "67!!!

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 9:28 PM

Madeline Dejournett's response:
You must be calling Trombetta "hot"; you could NOT be referring to Parmely! I went upstairs to check my Sagamores, only to find that I've put them somewhere mysterious. I can't find them. I surely didn't throw them away: I saw them just a few months ago!
I don't remember Trombetta, but now I'm curious! I'll look for the Sagamores when it's daylight...
Wartz, I had to go back to see where I used the word "kicker"! Since I wasn't sure of its exact meaning, I checked an online historical dictionary & found that "kicker" refers to a "sudden twist or pitfall." The word seems to have originated in the 1970's.

I think it's fun to follow a train of thought in all its variations.

Now, Gabby Hayes - well known in New Zild?! That IS a kicker! I grew up in the Gene Autrey era and remember when my dad said, "We're going to the movies to see a new cowboy - His name is Roy Rogers!"

-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Feb 9, 2009, at 9:37 PM
caver, strange as it may seem--Miss Setzer probably didn't GIVE you an F. You probably earned that F fair and square. I'm not saying that you didn't know your stuff--but perhaps you didn't show the effort required to earn a higher grade. She was an amazing woman--how she managed all that she did is nothing less than awesome. It's hard enough to face a class full of teenagers when the teacher can SEE what they're up to. The courage she had in facing them blindly is nothing less than remarkable. The accident that caused her death is deeply regrettable. Her life was an example of courage, compassion, and extreme intelligence. Not only was she blind, she taught TWO foreign languages. Most of us do well to understand our native language, English. Teaching both Spanish and French? Blind? Let's recognize her for that, and let's admit that sometimes we deserve what we get. Don't forget, you've already admitted who you are. I remember you, though you were ahead of me in school.

-- Posted by GONENOW on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 8:42 AM
GN,I stand humbled and do recognize that Ms. Setzer was an icon of courage, determination and great talent, and as for your analysis, you are too correct!! I didn't have to have the grade and my exposure to the language led to my, in later times, getting my tookus dragged through six hours of instruction at Mesa Comm. College in AZ, which I performed well in, getting B's in both levels. But now my curiosity is piqued as to YOUR I.D.?? MD, yes I was referring to THE Mary Ann Trombetta, though Mrs. Geneva Parmely was a nice lady, she was a bit pixillated!! and Dr Grauel loved his pipe. Later to all, kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 11:31 AM
caver, I don't think you'll guess me in a million years. Some of your HS buddies might figure it out--I was a very good friend to a few of them. You didn't attend DHS all four years, did you? Though you'd know me if I TOLD you, I don't think you'll ever guess. Do you know who lovebooks is? Just curious, ya know.

Thanks for not taking the Marcia Setzer "F" observation as offensive. I certainly didn't intend it that way. People who have read my comments might realize that I was not the model student at all times. I think that helped me to be a better teacher. I know what the jokesters are up to--I might have been one who thought they were funny in HS. Though I wasn't disrespectful, I couldn't ever resist something that was funny--still can't. I guess my call name could have been "still laughing".

See you online!

-- Posted by GONENOW on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 12:46 PM
Ohhhhhhhhhh, I LOVE this conversation!!! Don't reveal your identity yet, gonenow! Make him try to guess! Hehe! I don't think he and lovebooks have had a direct conversation, yet. She may not have been on whichever blog it was when he revealed his real identity.

I also like it when we can be honest with each other and not take offense.

I don't remember Geneva Parmely being exactly "nice," but she was definitely an original! She loved to shock us. I remember the day she took a hard look at our class and informed us not to assume that she'd never had sex!! Whew! Did it get quiet!! Of course, as we left the room, we could hardly wait to giggle over it!

-- Posted by goat lady on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 1:47 PM
The spinster I had at SEMO was Miss Harris, who taught Sociology. She was quite unique also, but for the most part she bored us through the social classes. I know she was nearly 100! She had to be.

This makes me wonder if my students think I'm 100! I do have one student who sometimes kids me by calling me Grandma. As long as we all know we're just having fun, I don't care what they call me. Maybe it makes somebody else pay attention. I guess I could get back on topic by saying he called me Grandmar. Ha!

-- Posted by GONENOW on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 2:48 PM
It occurred to me that Limeys aren't the only ones that add an "r" to some words. Many people raised in Washington state pronounce it Warshington.

-- Posted by FJGuy on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 4:03 PM
When I was a kid, we always pronounced it "warsh." I also remember pronouncing "pinch" "peench"!

-- Posted by goat lady on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 6:13 PM
Folks, you know you're from Southeast Missouri if you say "warsh", instead of "wash"!! My friends up here on the border tell me I'm a Yankee for pronouncing the name of our fair state as "Missourieee!!", well gang I'm from Missouri, and that is with a long "i"(eee)!!Got it?? Fine. Been that way from day one, and no Jayhawker is going to change my thought on the matter. They can just put their rebel yell on hold, cause I know who burnt Lawrence!! Great-Grandpa helped Grant at Belmont, and got "hisself" a rebel prisoner to show for it.

GN, you are a riddle, wrapped within an enigma, HOWEVER, I am rebooting my brain as to whom among the frosh or sophomores was intelligent enough to have placed themselves into a foreign language class at that tender age and only one name comes to mind, who might recall what a cretin I might have seemed at the time, but her name is locked within the "65 Reveille, for the time being!! Her grandfather was an ardent conservationist and bequeathed a large tract of land west of Bernie to the preservation of wetlands and waterfowl habitat, now known as Otter Slough State Wildlife Refuge(sic).N'est ce pas, mon petit?? This is a real stab at the dark aura of time, and her face was only recalled when I recouped the old yearbook from my host of antiquities, such as also, my '67 Sagamore.....if that is you, GN, then I stand before one whose family has added to the richness of our State, and will proceed accordingly, HOWEVER, IF I BE IN ERROR!!!, then I shall pursue those veins of my memories which might lead me back to hallways of long ago, and pursue you as a "Will O' the Wisp", for whom these years have only begun to open among us, and my thoughts will turn to your aura as the stars turn into the galaxies of the ages. LOL, folks..kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Tue, Feb 10, 2009, at 10:31 PM
Wow, caver, maybe you should have a blog site all your own! I never thought any of those ruffians who graduated from Dexter could write like that! I look through the old yearbooks - and most of those guys look like a bunch of simpletons!! Haha! Well, we girls look pretty backwards by today's standards, too, I guess!

You and gonenow are both too young for me to find in my old Reveilles...

-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Feb 11, 2009, at 9:08 AM
KK--sorry, you've got someone else in mind. I didn't say I was in a foreign language class with you...I just said that I remember you. My dear dad was a respected man in the community, but he wasn't a large land-owner. I'll stop now. Why give away too much at one post? I'd have to get my thesaurus to compete with your vocabulary choices. By the way, weren't you in Post 200?? I was an honorary member...

-- Posted by GONENOW on Wed, Feb 11, 2009, at 10:14 AM
Let's see, what is a "kicker?"

"Now isn't that a kicker?" I think in this context it would mean, "Isn't that an interesting thought?" or "Isn't that ironic?" Literally, I imagine it comes from something like a knee slapper because something is so funny. A kicker would be something that kicked you?

Our New Zealand buddy wanted to know!

-- Posted by lovebooks on Wed, Feb 11, 2009, at 10:52 AM
lovebooks, thanks for a funny memory. Growing up, one of our family jokes was about a country aunt who would exclaim, "Well, aint that a knee-slapper!" We thought that expression was a knee-slapper in itself!

-- Posted by GONENOW on Wed, Feb 11, 2009, at 4:06 PM
GoneNow, and LoveBooks, You both have me most intrigued!!and at a loss...(I'm curious, but not manic) AND THAT IS A KNEE-SLAPPER!! I can attest that at the best level,both young women were at LEAST two years behind me at DHS....HOWEVER...there are, and NO I was not in Explorer Post 200, and I only attended DHS for TWO years, 1964-1965, junior and senior year..... There were young ladies in OUR high school population who were among the cutest girls I had ever seen... BAR NONE!!! I really don't care what someone else says, LADIES, the classes in DHS,'64 through 68-69, outperformed, in vision, every class subsequent to them...and that includes a first cousin of mine, and she's still cute!! I can examine the Reveille for years, and with hints on our blogging I might deduce the identity of my compatriots and yourselves ,however, it serves not the greater good, nor the intelligence necessary for our future existence, SO, I will exit stage right, and give you the openings necessary for your access to the future.....kk..

O' Mother Earth, O' Father God, We here thank you for this Rock we've trod,

And living among these Stones are We, the Children of that Destiny,

Which You have deemed for Us.....kkr(c)02/13/09

Peace, Be Among you all.....kkr

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, at 8:09 PM
Well, that's a cryptic note to end on... What do you make of that, GN? You had him pegged all right - didn't attend DHS all four years, I believe you said. I don't believe he learned that vocabulary at the ole Alma Mater, though!

-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, at 10:13 PM
Knowing how to properly use vocabulary comes from reading, I do believe. It is only then that we realize we KNOW lots of words that we never knew we know. You know what's so funny about what I just said? I received a Valentine from a student today who said that she had never had a teacher who expressed herself so well. Wouldn't she just have to take that back if she read this? Maybe she won't--ha!

KK, thanks for the compliments on behalf of our DHS girls. We did have a bevy of beauties. I imagine they still do, but I haven't been there in a long time. Girls in our high school wear so much make-up that the true beauty is hidden for most of them. Times have changed--guess that's to be expected. It's about time for the fashion experts to swing back to the natural look again.

You would know me, KK, but I won't tell who I am. You'd also know lovebooks...and I'll bet she doesn't tell either. Keep the language lessons coming. Even though I teach it, I tend to use the same old words repeatedly.

-- Posted by GONENOW on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 4:24 PM
GN and LoveBooks,

Both lovely lasses, I'd warrant no less. GN, you are correct in your analysis of that fountain, from whence springs the gift of proper vernacular, and I do cherish the ability to read, parse, dissect and appreciate proper usage of our native tongue, such as it differs from the Queen's English!!! I can, at will, lapse into the regional idiom(s) of my upbringing, both in voice and in type, however, I shall endeavor to commit neither sin in this medium, as I now have garnered yet another clue as to your mysterious self. I may be employing covert methods in future, but for now I shall content myself to musings on Madeline's blogosphere!! (My apologies for the "cryptic" nature of my last post, I was being interrupted at the most inopportune moments.) Good evening, Silent DHS Ladies!!!.kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 5:10 PM
Hello Bloggers!

Coming to you from the beach at Cozumel...my hubby took me away from it all and we arrived this afternoon. It was so neat to jump online and see my blogging buddies trying to figure out who GN and I are! Actually, I'm not nearly as mysterious as Gonenow is...but it's still fun. And kk, if you were at DHS during 64-65, you knew my brother, Paul.

How's that?

From the surf of Mexico, adios, amigos.

-- Posted by lovebooks on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 8:50 PM
My Used-to-Be-Neighbor!!, LoveBooks!!!??? I surmise that you are, (unless your are the older sis, who I did not know personally, but at this juncture I KNOW it's NoNo!!), I remember some of those summer evenings on South Locust Street (my corner), the backyards adjoined, and I remember your brother fondly as a good dude, May God rest him well, also as well, do I remember your father, as my father was police judge in Bernie for a few years while I was growing up. I knew I could flag that car down in a heart beat and know I had the best that Missouri had on the road, included in that number were Crites, Enderle, Hopkins, Montgomery, Burnham, and countless others of that Blue Line who still serve the people of Missouri every day, ....have I scratched any memory pockets YET???!!! I think that the number on the car was 248??(maybe 226??) I remember the bird dog run and the big grape vines in your back yard, that should produce some tingles, BUT if you are not NoNo, let me know, 'cause I've some research to do on what your big sis's name is and DHS year. Drink a Superior (beer) for me, if you can find one that far south, Have fun in COZ, Via Con Dios, Mi Amiga!! Take care and Regards to the family, NoNo.....kkr

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 10:22 PM
LoveBooks, I'm still at work on Goat Lady and Gone Now, and they are going to present challenges which will require skullduggery???!!!

Now that I have their attention, be forewarned, I shall continue this quest to its' best, convivial, and most salubrious conclusion, or the rib dinners at the Log are on me......note, that I did not specify a time, date or limit in this pursuit, so ladies, it is ON!!! Later and best to you all, kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 11:09 PM
KK, You won't have to make that trip anytime soon. It's a long way from where either of us are to meet for ribs. I don't think you'll ever in a million years figure me out--unless lovebooks tells you. Ha! Right now, I'm not sure she knows either. I thought she did, at one time. She is in a beautiful place right now. Too bad we can't all meet in Cozumel. Goat Lady probably wouldn't complain about that either.

-- Posted by GONENOW on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 8:56 AM
For heavens' sake. Am I losing it? kkcaver47....everything you say is right on (although my dad's number was 115)...the only thing I can think of was this question...did you have a hobby of tumbling rocks on your back porch?

And no, I haven't figured out who Gonenow is, but when I do, we're getting together FER SHURE.

I can't believe I am floating on a hammock and worrying about you guys! I'm looking out at these turquoise waters and trying to figure out who KK is!!! Madness.

From the shores of Cozumel...

-- Posted by lovebooks on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 9:27 AM
LoveBooks, The memories are full, but forgive me for forgetting 115, WOW!!(CRS disease), you'll figure that one out!! Yes, I did have a rock tumbler on the back porch, and we had a collie, your Dad had bird dog(s), and Gene Kirby was another neighbor, and I have a younger brother, who just married off the next in a line of NINE offspring, he and Patti have two still at home, the youngest is in FFA and Megan has two goat kids as her project.(ATTN Goat Lady,I don't know if they are "weathers" or not.) I teased Bro. about not having to cut his Arizona lawn, but he says the goats eat the leaves on the citrus trees!!! Madness, my dear, should be appreciated in many ways, it may also be a fertile loam for tilling the fields of the future. Stay happy young lady, smell the blossoms which are there for you, and stay in touch....We have a project and her nom de plume is GONENOW!!!(and don't worry so much, it might give you a wrinkle!!!, just enjoy that gorgeous Mexican weather!! and don't forget about the Superior beer!!) Best to all, kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 11:26 AM
lovebooks, forget about us until you get back to civilization. You can have a beer for KK, but have some flan for me. Go to an "all you can eat flan bar." Ha! I went to a banquet in Acapulco once, and all I ate was flan! (lots of it though) Enjoy your time. I'm trying to figure out who your husband is. Is Sue your sister-in-law? Hmmmm...

-- Posted by GONENOW on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 12:27 PM
GoneNow, You like egg custard?? As it is prepared and delivered in the Mexican tradition??? You bet your sweet bootie, that stuff is out of sight!!! It's just Grandma's custard pie, with NO CRUST, and prepared (like creme Brulee), with a reduction of brandy/rum as a simple syrup, in a cook-on, or over-add in service, and My Dear it is DIVINE!!! For all you blogophiles, if there exists, in your vicinity, a restaurant serving AUTHENTIC Mexican cuisine, then THEY WILL HAVE FLAN as a dessert!! I have friends up here, who are from Arandas, Jalisco,(the heart of Tequila country) and the food is TO DIE FOR!!! The family name is Ornelas, and the spot is on State Avenue in KCKS!!(Taqueria Arandas), an old IHOP that was thankfully converted for better uses), I recommend the lengua with mixed green and red sauce with rice and beans or be adventurous and do the Alhambres!!!! Folks, when our southern cousins came north, they brought with them a culture of food, and a culture of promise which had been removed in earlier years, and my friends are among the finest people I have ever met.....GN, EAT THE FLAN and ENJOY!!LoveBooks, Be well and Be Alive, and as Always, Mi Amiga, I am, your Amigo!! KK

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 8:33 PM
KKR, I remember you guys! I remember when you all put some new rocks in the tumbler and it just seemed like it would be an eternity before they were polished. Gene is still around.

Gonenow, you are so right on with me, but I can't figure you out. That flan you ate must have given you super powers!

Marcia Setzer story: When I was in her Spanish class, a rite of passage was to crawl out the window. We all decided we would draw straws and just send one person out. Jeff Cox actually "won" but he couldn't get through the window, so it fell to me (and I wasn't the type to misbehave). But I did it. I had on a bright orange shift dress with a bright yellow collar (very chic). Anyway, several days later we were rehearsing for a skit for "Spanish Day." I was playing the part of a tourist. Mrs. Setzer said, "N..you need to wear something bright and cheerful...how about your orange shift with the yellow collar?"

BUSTED.

Ate dinner in San Miguel tonight and walked around the plaza...so from the shores of Cozumel...

-- Posted by lovebooks on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 8:36 PM
NoNo,

So glad you got away from it all!!! Enjoy!!!

Will talk to you when we both get back to D-town. I got away also, all the way to Springfield MO. Ha!

-- Posted by genbug on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 9:03 PM
LB,I still have a moss agate that came out of that load, it's my pet rock/worry stone..AND ****, girl I cannot in my wildest imagine you crawling out of a window, in a shift!!!The groundhogs must have had a field day!!Girl, that is a hoot, and Setzer had you NAILED!! (We did't have that participatory ritual when I was in her French course, WHAT CHANGED??) Yes, Gene and Kathy are still living the dream, and are quite happy. I stopped by a few years back when I went down for my Mom's family reunion, you should have seen Gene's face when he opened the door!! I hadn't been down for a LONGTIME, and just happened by their place and said AHA!! But, I ramble on, Be Well, Peace Be AMONG YOU ALL, Enjoy the Beach, Mi Amiga, kkr

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 9:15 PM
GenBug, Whence Came You?? Do I have yet another mystery to unfold, or search out?? I can remember several young ladies who were close to LB, and this only adds spice to the chase, although I will have to acquire several years of old Re ille's to complete the search...just a passing fancy??? (and I must apologize for rolling out your childhood nickname LB) Be Well, kkr

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 10:18 PM
Dear Madeline, This blog has opened doors which I had never seen, and in adding to our conversations I have found some visions of my past which are most welcome. Please continue, for us, this opportunity to examine our places in this place, or these places, and, most certainly, please accept our infinite gratitude for your opening of these doors!! You are one H--- of a Lady, and I remain, kkr

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sat, Feb 14, 2009, at 10:26 PM
Lovebooks, enjoy the beer and the flan and the lovely sunsets, saltwater between your toes and sand in your sandals. I could sure use a Caribbean trip. A Florida beach would do the trick, too.

KK, I thought you lived in the woods by hwy25 south of town. Am I having memory fuzz? Maybe so!

LB--maybe Teachout ratted you out on the window escape. What a hoot! As thin as JCox was, I'm surprised he couldn't fit in between the windows. Maybe he was just afraid of getting caught. If I'm right about Sue--tell her she must join us on our meeting someday. I'd love to see her and catch up. Just tell her it is your unknown blogging friend, who was her friend a long time ago.

I kinda miss you, GoatLady. Join us again soon. We're trying to keep things going. I'm still thinkng about you, too, Genbug. Why don't you just give us some more hints?

-- Posted by GONENOW on Sun, Feb 15, 2009, at 9:00 AM
GoneNow, Your memory is intact, we lived in town on South Locust while the new house was being built and that's where I knew LB and her brother from, besides her Bro. was a classmate of mine. I must toddle off, ladies, be well, LB, GenBug, GL, et al, until later...kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sun, Feb 15, 2009, at 9:41 AM
WOW! I just got back (yes, genbug - we probably passed each other on Hiwy 60 around Van Buren today!!!) ---- and here the blog has taken off and skyrocketed while I was gone!!

KK --- Gonenow and I have not figured out who genbug is, but her younger sister was in the class (1960) that started all this hoopla! We are trying to figure out who the "laugher" was in that class! (Besides me!)

I don't know if Lovebooks has noticed Genbug yet; I don't recall any specific conversations between them. I can't believe that she's checking the blogs from the beaches in Mexico!!! Hahaha!

I was going to ask what "flan" was - but you answered it!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sun, Feb 15, 2009, at 6:37 PM
The crazy thing is...I know who Genbug is. She's one of my favorite people and she had a way of coaxing me into adopting our church Web site to take care of!

I'm sitting on the beach watching a new bride and groom have their pictures taken. We watched the wedding earlier.

Still don't know who GN is.

-- Posted by lovebooks on Mon, Feb 16, 2009, at 12:07 PM
Lovebooks--Gonenow is JEALOUS! That's who I am. Oh to be on the beach sharing the romance of a beach wedding, even from a distance. If you told me you only had flan for lunch--I'd come after you. Haha! Don't try me.

-- Posted by GONENOW on Mon, Feb 16, 2009, at 2:54 PM
Well, good. You deserve not to know who gonenow is! We are all jealous of you, as we continue through this cold, clammy Missouri winter! (Well, not GN...She doesn't live in MO.) I close my eyes and try to pretend what a warm sun would feel like on my face - and warm sand between my toes!!

-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Feb 16, 2009, at 9:22 PM
Oh, to be in Sonora, now that winter is here!! Got to toddle just now, but you ladies will keep the blogosphere heated up, what with tales of beaches, surf, sand, etc. I shall be about.....later kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Tue, Feb 17, 2009, at 8:53 AM
GL, It gives me great pleasure to try and get this blog back to the original topic. Away back on 2/9/2009 you asked me how we would pronounce Obama, maybe with an "r" on the end.

I have been listening very carefully to both radio and TV and find there is a further issue namely, people both here and in the US pronounce Obama as "Obarmar". Given the spelling, I would have thought that it should be pronounced O/bam/a with the "bam" pronounced as in "Sam" or "ram", (to give it a goat flavour, sorry).

What do you think?

-- Posted by wartz on Wed, Feb 18, 2009, at 2:15 AM
Oh, my! Such food for thought! I'm so happy to have the topic revived!

I guess 2:15 a.m. is more like 2:15 p.m., New Zealand time, isn't it? Funny living at the bottom of the world... (or do you consider it the "top"? Maybe we're the ones who are upside down!!)

I admit that I haven't heard our new president's name prounounced "Obarmar"! I find that interesting, and I'm frustrated that I can't get a channel which funnels in such news from the outside world!

I always prefer the "auh" sound over the "aaah" sound! We hear too much of the flat "aaaaaah's" here in Southeast Missouri, as it is!

Is it New Zealanders who are pronouncing it "Obarmar"?

-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Feb 18, 2009, at 10:08 AM
GL; I think we are about 5 hours behind Missouri or 19 hours ahead. I'm never sure about the days - dare I suggest you are a day behind us?

I have not seen a globe of the world showing us at the top so assume that is the reason we are all hanging on for grim death !

We should now abandon the argument about Obarmar vs Obama. Obarmar is common here and tonight I heard a BBC announcer also pronounce it in this manner. I've not heard an American announcer at all today so the jury is out on that.There are just too many differences, all legitimate in their own right. For instance, we would pronounce "fast" as "farst".

It's only a matter of time before a discussion arises about our differences in spelling e.g. humor/humour. labor/labour, organise/organize.

Keep smiling and cheers.

-- Posted by wartz on Thu, Feb 19, 2009, at 2:47 AM
Oh, I much prefer most of the British spellings! They're so colourful! Haha! The Spell Check underlined colour in red! Haha! I'll do it again! Colour! Hehe! I don't know if "theatre" is British, but I prefer it over "theater." No red squiggly lines on that one. Must not be British.

Okay, okay, I admit to being an Anglophile! It's the influence of all that English history and literature that I've had to read over the years. Of course, when one reads American history, it's difficult to remain an Anglophile, I fear. Those vile redcoats don't come off as very attractive in our history textbooks!

So, answer me this: If Australia was originally created as a penal colony (T or F), what are the origins of New Zealand??

-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Feb 19, 2009, at 4:00 PM
GL; NZ was originally populated by the native Maori who arrived here around 1300AD. It is thought they came from East Asia via the Pacific Islands with some groups drifting north to Hawaii.

The white man arrived in the early 1800s from Britain and set about grabbing land as only the white man can do by trading blankets, beads and guns. (This may ring a bell in your country perhaps?) These people then brought out shiploads of people from Britain mostly to work the land and eventually buy plots for themselves. We were not blessed with convicts as happened in Australia.

A good source of information is Wikipedia, enter "New Zealand Colonisation" which offers loads of offshoots. There, another day wasted ! Cheers

-- Posted by wartz on Fri, Feb 20, 2009, at 2:51 AM
Ah, another British spelling! "Colonisation"!

Well, the British were Empire Builders, so we have that in common, I would say.

Is New Zealand as beautiful as it looks in "Lord of the Rings"???

-- Posted by goat lady on Fri, Feb 20, 2009, at 1:39 PM
GoatLady, GoneNow, GenBug, LoveBooks....Dear Ladies, YES, New Zealand is a monument to that spectacle of vision(s), from the mountains, to the fjords, and to the interior,(what there is of it), our compatriot, WARTZ, resides in one of the most beautiful localities on this Earth, and may God, the Queen, and the people of NZ ever keep it so!!! I must leave you now, but stay attached to our blogosphere, as I know one, shall I eventually describe ALL..,.albeit at your pleasure...kk

-- Posted by kkcaver47 on Fri, Feb 20, 2009, at 6:50 PM
Nice words KK, thank you.

GL; I've not seen all of "Lord of the Rings" but the colours in the film seem a little artificial to me. Perhaps the film maker, Peter Jackson, had the advantage of lens filters. For all that, the grass is quite green here and I'm talking about the stuff that goats chew and not that other stuff.

Cheers

-- Posted by wartz on Sat, Feb 21, 2009, at 2:36 AM
I suspected that. The green was unbelievably vivid! Fascinating subject!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sun, Feb 22, 2009, at 8:00 AM
My granddaughter was in New Zealand, in November of 2004, for a week. She toured with the Global Student Leaders from the university she attended. She took lots of pictures, the grass and flowers were such vivid colors. Just beautiful!!!!

She also spent a week in Australia.

-- Posted by genbug on Mon, Feb 23, 2009, at 10:09 PM
KK, you would need some really old Reveilles if you tried to ID me. The only way I could ID any of you would be to do some research, which I love to do (hence my user name). My kids are all DHS grads but they are younger than you all.

Lovebooks, I was sitting at the table with JR and JF, at the dinner after church Sunday. They started talking about teachers and they both told some memories of Dale Teachout---you should have heard them!

LB, you are doing a fantastic job with the church website!!!

-- Posted by genbug on Mon, Feb 23, 2009, at 10:39 PM

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