Ode to Erika

Dedicated to my most faithful reader...






We met while making mochas at the 'Bucks. She seemed nice at first...















Then she opened her mouth...
to share with me her wit and humor. Quickly, I loved her even more.








Sometimes she was a little inappropriate at work. (But truthfully we all were, because that was how we kept ourselves sane.)













We became "fast Frappucino friends".









(Both being lactose intolerant, we should have been "soy friends"... but... well we LOVE those disgusting drinks... with EXTRA caramel.)







In time the Starbucks routine started to drive us mad...
and we began getting a little stir crazy.












Love and Kisses to Erika!!!
One faithful reader of this blog who brings me much joy and gladness.







I owe you an illegal Frappucino sometime very soon!!!

Viva Mexico

Some recent remodeling in our house called for a trip to Mexico... and since my mother and I LOVE adventures, we were the girls for the job! One week ago today, mom and I packed up our purses with bottled water and small change and started heading south on the I-5.

As we reached Solana Beach (one city south!) my aunt called to chat.
The conversation went something like this:
Me: "Hi Aunt Mindy! Come to Mexico with us."
Aunt Mindy: "I don't think you want an old lady ruining your fun, but thanks."
Me: "Well it's my mom and I... so I don't think another old lady will be a problem."
Aunt Mindy: "What are you doing?"
Me: "We're going shopping, to eat lobster and drink margaritas."
Aunt Mindy: "Okay I'm in."

and so we talked her into joining our posse...
After an afternoon of poorly negotiating for blankets (my mother has NO idea how to say "No"), we ventured forth for lobster and margaritas...


Get a couple drinks in me and I'm ready for love.

Panchito and I hit it off right away. ;)

lovely

Why Are We Friends???

Because I'm a freak and she is entertained by me...
more pics and stories to come soon from Jayma and my grand adventure in San Francisco.

Grant's Response

Alas, no, Melissa, it's not right.

It's not an acronym at all. In fact, there is no record of an acronym
from before about 1900, so you can be sure that if someone claims
that a word with a long history is one, that it isn't. I'm using the
strict definition of "acronym," by the way, meaning that the letters
that stand for each word in the phrase are pronounced as a word and
not spelled out. Otherwise, you could count SPQR and perhaps ICHTHUS,
which I am just counting as initialisms.

According to my reference books, "news" is from the Middle English
"newes," the plural of "newe" meaning "new thing." That in turn is
from the Old English "niwe" or "neowe" (the vowels following each "n"
are long). Even further back, the same root shows up in Old Norse, in
Greek, and, originally, in the Latin "novus," which, of course, just
means "new."

So, it's probably best to keep that book in the bathroom and use it
for bum-fodder. :)

By the way, be sure to join our new email list to get our latest news
about new shows:

http://www.waywordradio.org/?page_id=3

Now you've got me singing that song from the Bob Hope movie "The
Paleface": East is east and west is west...buttons and bows, dah di
dah...


Grant Barrett
Co-host, "A Way with Words"
http://waywordradio.org

True Confessions

Below is a copy of an email I sent this evening to A Way With Words, a local public radio program that discusses the English language. I will update you as soon as I hear back... enquiring minds want to know!


I was recently reading (on the toilet) from a book titled Trivia for the Toilet and came across something that didn't settle well with me:

"The word "news" came from the first letters of the words North, East, West, and South. This was because information was being gathered from all different directions."

Is this true? I will, of course, trust your judgment.

Thank you.

Melissa Gaare
Encinitas, CA


*A special tidbit for my readers only*

"Ough" can be pronounced in eight different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A tough, dough-faced ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully."