Are We On The Same Page? All Is Copacetic If We Should Be.

Have you noticed that the phrase, "Are we on the same page?", is being used an awful lot lately. I mean, I understand it... Are we in agreement? Is everything copacetic? (We said that in the 80's). It's a real word meaning, "just fine". So, being on the same page means, "we cool; we always cool".

I usually just tell whoever asks me if we are on the page, "Yeah, sure", just to get them to talk about something else.

I usually chose the page not taken... two books diverged in the woods and I chose the page not taken and that has made all the difference.

It reminds me of school days when, even then, I could tell that the teacher did not make a rigorous lesson plan. We would read the chapters aloud (NOT out loud, which should really be 'out loudly'...yeah, as an English minor, I can see what people want to hit me... hard.... in the face... with a shovel...)

At our class 40th Reunion, the senior class president said how torturous it was to listen to one classmate try to read the "Illiad" ... the kid was illiterate. He was a bully and called me names every day from 9:00 a.m. until 9:50 a.m. in Biology class. How could he come up with names EVERY day for our sophomore year, but could not read a word without the teacher helping him.

It was public humiliation and I could not be happy for him; even though he was mean. He needed a tutor and I've heard he has had a horrible life. Maybe it would have been a better life if he could have read the workd of Home aloud.

I like some words. Right now, my favorite words are: swath, temerity, nadir (the lowest of the low), flung, idyllic, ... Spelling is not my strong suit... and that reference is from playing cards, not 'Dress for Success'... strong suits are a different metaphor...

I think a phone call on the land line is similar to a telegram in years past... it's got to be bad news. Who died and here are the directions to the funeral... I don't like a land line phone but, what is one to do? You got to know the directions to the funeral.

I hate when people say, "The Viewing" regarding a funeral. The viewing is kind of hillbilly-ish... like you look to see if the corpse looks 'good'... NO, it doesn't ever... it is a corpse and viewing it crosses over to the 'being nosy' rather than 'caring for' gauntlet.

I like the thought of having a job entitled, Vice President of Red Tape. There is a lot of red tape and it sure does need my skills and leadership.

I recall as a child that the worse punishment after having a fight with my brother, was when my parents would make us hug. I had robbed our dog, Zero (Dad was mathematician) a bone... a threw it at my little brother, and his face started bleeding. I was shocked since I throw like a drunk chimpanzee....

Chewed on bones must cause more bleeding of children's faces than anything else... he looked like he had been shot in the face... I can't recall what he did to deserve it because the reasons why were probably in the thousands! In my mind anyway.....

My parents, rather than spanking me, told ME to go HUG my brother. We had never before; we have never since. But there, in the front yard on the St. Augustine grass that July, I had to hug my brother.

We were not on the same page. Then or now....

More things I like later.... Love to all and thank you for being my friend...