The Writer's Life 9/13 - Splendiferous

Georgie Badiel, a model, grew up in Burkina Faso, a nation in African. Each morning she had to walk three miles to fetch clean water, which she carried on her head. 2500+ children die each year from the effects of contaminated water and poor sanitation - unimaginable in this day and age. She is doing something about it. She is heading a foundation that raises funds to build clean water wells. Kudos. Several years ago, in an op-ed piece, George Will suggested environmental alarmists would save many more people - and immediately - if they concentrated their efforts helping countries sanitize their water distribution. (Adapted from an article in the NY Post). Here is the lovely Badiel:

The Oxford English Dictionary, which contains 600,000 words, is updated every three months. Here are recent editions: Splendiferous, meaning full of or abounding in splendor: Yogalates, a fitness routine combining pilates exercises and the techniques of yoga: Moobs, unusually prominent breasts on a man; Westminster Bubble, insular British politicians and civil servants; "Gender-fluid," a person with an unfixed gender identity; YOLO, an acronym for "you only live once."

The Post's Weird But True column led me to a search about Belgians training eagles to take down illegal drones. Here's a one-minute video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5DEg2qZzkU

My thanks to the kind folks who bought, donated and swapped books today, especially the elderly gentleman who donated about 25 in Russian, many of which sold. Time flew, as business was a lot brisker than usual and conversation more interesting. Amalia has just returned from an all-expenses paid trip to her native Switzerland. She was interviewed for a documentary on Romansh, a Latin-based language that is becoming extinct. Her son, now middle aged, was once fluent in both it and the German spoken by the Swiss. When he was ten he told his mom he wanted, as an American, to speak English only. Sounds like someone I know regarding Italian... A gregarious retiree, who is always gallivanting about in the afternoon, conveyed his frustration at the interruption of his lifestyle brought by his wife's recent knee surgery. He's not getting around much. His grandmother, who lived to 106 on a farm in the USSR, once told him: "Sometimes you can't win, but you have to play." I was stunned I'd never heard that gem before. On his heels, Gene stopped by. I immediately relayed the quote to him. Delighted, he offered another. While deciding on the color scheme of his kitchen during post Hurricane Sandy remodeling, he argued with his wife. Later, while alone with the contractor, the guy said: "My grandmother once told me: 'Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?'"

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