Donner und Blitzen!

No, I am not referring to two of Santa's reindeer, nor uttering a mild imprecation in German. Thunder and lightning sound better to my ears in German, and this is a report of an unusual happening in Berkeley. I grew up frequently hearing thunder and lightning in the UK, and they are a common occurrence, usually in the afternoon when we are staying at our place in Colorado. I remember being shown, as a child, the function of a lightning conductor, and I was very glad that our Berkeley home is equipped with one. The lightning actually struck our house, and someone working at a computer in my office observed a blue flash appearing on my computer screen. I was relieved to find out that everything was still working when I next went online. "Blitz" is most familiar from its use in the word "blitzkrieg". I and my fellow countrymen became very familiar with that term: the German invasion of Poland and Denmark were certainly examples of lightning warfare. Defeat did not come so rapidly in Norway or the Low Countries, nor did the Nazis succeed in Hitler's plans to invade Britain. The German aerial warfare on London and elsewhere in the British Isles began in 1940. It was anything but a lightning success for the Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, the term "the Blitz" became embedded in the English language, referring to the years of aerial attacks.

Millionaire

I recently finished the latest book by Laurie R. King: The Bones of Paris. There was mention of a popular park, the Bois de Boulogne. It reminded me of a song, which was popular when I was a child, which went something like this: He walks along the Bois de Boulogne with an independent air you can hear the crowds declare he must be a millionaire! He's the man that broke the bank at Monte Carlo I also remember that when I was at a farewell gathering of business friends before leaving for the United States in the fall of 1957, someone suggested jokingly that they would expect to hear from me when I had earned my first million dollars! By comparison with my earnings in the UK, my remuneration for my first job ($375 a month) seemed generous- and this was despite having achieved a rare distinction at the Royal Insurance company of having my salary doubled a few years earlier. In those days, American millionaires were probably mostly- if not all- in the top 1% of earners. Times change, and nowadays one has to become a billionaire to be considered really rich! Originally, one was considered a millionaire if ones total assets, including one's equity in a residence, totaled a million dollars. If we continued to use that yardstick, a significant proportion of Americans who own their own homes would qualify. I think it is time to limit the term to the fortunate folk who have an annual income of one million dollars. I certainly would not qualify under that definition!

"Off of"

I believe this combination of two prepositions is unique to American speech. Why is that second word needed? If a man fell off his horse, why report that he fell "off of" his horse?

Ethnic Russians

It is easy to understand why Putin brought about the events which have resulted in the Crimea apparently on its way to become part of Russia once again. In the middle of the 19th century, Russia lost the Crimean War to the combined forces of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. That episode from so long ago is still an unhappy memory for many Russians. With Russian troops massed along the Ukrainian border, Putin is now promising to "protect" ethnic Russians living in such countries as Latvia, Belarus, Poland, and Moldova, as well as Ukraine. This results in destabilizing most of the European countries on Russia's borders. Although I do not expect a major war to break out, it is possible that we shall see parts of eastern and southern Ukraine swallowed up by the big, bad, bullying, Bear. What we don't hear is any cries for help from the sizable Russian minorities in these countries. I think that most such inhabitants are more comfortable staying in these peaceful and relatively moderate nations. I do not expect any clamor for these minorities to be "rescued" by forming part of Russia's repressive regime.

Climbing

I was an avid tree-climber as a boy. Although we had a large garden at Dovers, the family home, there weren't many suitable trees for climbing. However, there were wonderful opportunities at my prep school, Port Regis. I formed a "Tree Climbing Club", and taught many other boys the best routes. In my mid-twenties, living in the Wirral peninsula of Cheshire. I enjoyed solo climbing in the mountains of North Wales. What I was doing would be called "bouldering" by Shannon these days. I barely remember climbing with others on a rope, although I probably did this a few times. These memories surfaced recently as a result of news accounts of the damage being done by climbers insisting on conquering Everest, the world's highest mountain. The days of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who accompanied him on his historic conquest of the mountain, are long over. Hundreds of climbers from various countries have made the ascent, usually leaving a lot of debris behind them, including mounds of excrement. Some clean-up has taken place, but the mountain is still littered with debris. Recently, four corpses were removed from the mountain, victims of failed attempts to reach the summit. It is not cheap to climb Everest. I saw an estimate of the range between $30,000 and $120,000 as the cost for an American team to purchase, transport, and use the equipment needed. Part of the cost is needed to purchase a permit from the state of Nepal. Suggestions have been made to eliminate or (more likely) curtail the number of climbers, but apparently this would have a major effect on the Nepalese economy. There are many other mountains in the Himalayas which would challenge mountaineers, such as K2 and Kanchenjunga, and it would be desirable to divert most future climbers to one of these challenges. However, I don't think that any action would prevent those who are determined enough - and wealthy enough - to attempt an ascent of Everest. Perhaps we should rename that mountain "Neverest".

The US has eliminated most racist nicknames, but one example remains: the Washington Redskins. The team owner (Dan Snyder) says he will never change the name. There will be continuing pressure for him to do so. We have "Giants" in baseball and football as well, so we could just as well use the name "Washington Capitals", despite it being the name of an ice hockey franchise. We could use "Senators", no longer used for the capital's baseball team.An alternative would be "Washington Redwings", despite another ice hockey team, the Detroit Red Wings. "Red socks" would upset the Boston Red Sox. "Red Legs" doesn't sound great, and I don't think that the "Washington Irvings" would fly. I believe that there should be a contest to come up with a new name. Maybe we could consider three options, and allow the fans to choose a favorite. I know a professor who specializes in Sports Marketing, and I think I'll seek his advice.

31 missed calls

We have 3 separate phones for the single landline in our Berkeley home. The main phone is in the kitchen, but there are also phones in the office space in Barbara's room. and in my office. Few calls on this line are for me, as most friends know that I have a personal cell phone, which I carry around. Often, when Barbara is out, I can't reach the landline in time to answer it..That's why we pay a little extra for an answering service. We both make charitable contributions, but Barbara is ahead of me in giving to political causes. Many of the recipients of her bounty exchange names and phone numbers for what I call their "sucker lists". Most of those who solicit donations from Barbara don't leave messages: they hang up and make their "pitch" at a later time. The phone in my office shows the number of unanswered calls: currently, it shows 31.I have no idea how to erase this statistic--perhaps it deletes a missed call after a month. I admire the technology, but I dislike it. I can't see that the number of unanswered calls is of any relevance to us. Not only is the information unnecessary, but also there's an implication of negligence on our part. How could we be so lazy as not to answer these 31 calls--most of which were probably to ask Barbara for money?