Candidate Phrases for forced retirement

Most of my candidates for immediate phrased in retirement derive from scream-inducing overuse or misuse in advertising. One that is currently grating on my ears and nerves is from the trailer for the movie "Grand Torino" describing Clint Eastwood's starring performance as "prime vintage." OK, I get they want to say that this role is in the style of early Eastwood yet not merely a stroll down nostalgia lane. Yes, Clint is still a gifted actor but prime vintage sounds like an oxymoron. The combination of terms seems to be putting two separately tasty ingredients into a gag-inducing stew.

A friend has a similar reaction to the beer commercials touting their product's "drinkability." As a former English teacher, she is a stickler for proper language. These ads irritate her but I hadn't particularly  noticed until she proposed her candidate for retirement in response to my rant. 

My guess is she - and every other self-respecting English and/or Journalism teacher - would join me in ranting long and loud about the overuse of a phrase in news writing which I just read again at the end of a post by an editor of a major newspaper: "Time will tell."  Well, duh....

Now we're really talking cliche and the reason cliches are cliches - because the point is obvious. In this case, two opposing views of a situation are discussed leading to the conclusion that both can't be true at the same time. More reporting, more information, more testimony will be required to make the judgment of which side is right/true/correct; therefore, "only time will tell."  Or will it? Does the truth always become public knowledge? Do conflicting opinions always find resolution or a court of last resort? Is history always the judge? Or can writers/reporters ever be so creative, so innovative, so industrious as to be able to avoid using cliches? Only  time will tell.

Night Lights

The sky is a dominant feature of the landscape in the southwest. So few days are cloudy that the absence of usually brilliant sunshine clouds my mood before I have consciously acknowledged the weather conditions. My daily activities move from room to room as I follow the light around the house. Living on the west side of the mountains, I'm rarely aware of sunrises, but every dusk is another opportunity to be enchanted by an evening sunset. This New Year's Eve the moon and Venus dueled for attention with earthbound holiday lights. The season of light is no competition for the daily sun and sky show.

Church: Past Tense

Broken. Empty. Abandoned.

Building. Institution. Community.

Past. Present. Future.

Symptom. Symbol.

Broken Body?

Empty Tomb?

Dead Church.

Can't get to the new without news of old passings

Of all the traditions observed at the end of the year, the one I'm finding most annoying this year is the listing of those who "left us" - as if a decision was made to deliberately travel solo to a distant destination - or whom "we lost" - as if the lives of the famous and accomplished are possessions. The recounting of "passings" and in memoriams did not seem any longer than other years or any more celebrated in its lives noted. Some people died "before their time" as if it's possible to die after our time much less to reach the point of perfection to die exactly at the right time. 

As I've watched and listened and read these necrology reports, this year my response has been lingering  sadness. Maybe because the times are sad, when we're grieving so many losses in the economy, the society, the community. Maybe because I'm reminded of my own mortality, of the decreasing amount of time left to fulfill dreams or notch accomplishments. 

I've always enjoyed reading biographies. As a child, I was enthralled with a series of books about inventors: Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Marie Curie. As a teen, I was fascinated with the lives of Presidents: Lincoln, Jackson, Jefferson. So few receive recognition or fame during their lifetimes - how sad that so many stories aren't told until after death. Of course, this is the whole premise of "It's a Wonderful Life" - to have the opportunity to review our life as others see it. And just when the reality of mortality is inescapable in year-end lists of the dead, the first day of a new year dawns on the scene with the gift of a clean slate, another opportunity to make a fresh start, to make changes, to finally get around to those good intentions and long list of resolutions. 

Happy New Year!