"U" is for Us

One of the musical groups I often heard on the radio, back in my high school days, was Herman's Hermits. I can even remember the songs they recorded that I didn't especially care for. (God forbid, I don't know how that's even possible, but I do.) 

One of their songs I liked okay -- written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens -- was the last of their career to make it into the Top 10: There's a Kind of Hush. 

The line that always seemed to stick in my mind was, "Just the two of us and nobody else in sight." Us is sort of like braids and beads -- they're meant to go together.  

Another song that made it into the Top 10 that year, written and performed by The Turtles, and becoming the launch pad to their success, was Happy Together. Enduring the test of time, it became our song -- my husband's and mine. 

Ben Javens, Illustrator

Our favorite verse, including the chorus:

Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together 

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life 

Neither of us enjoys watching Hollywood love stories though -- with the exception of an occasional romantic comedy. A bit strange? We simply feel we'll end up disappointed, because every time we've tried one, the film industry has seemed to come up short of -- us.

This year will mark our 25th Anniversary. It's rather exciting to think about! And, I have to admit, I'm almost narcissistic about this one, because it's all about -- us :~)

"M" is for Moose-face!

Note: Okay...this is a re-post, as some followers might have noticed. I have tweaked it ever so slightly to post it in the A to Z challenge, because I believe it's worth revisiting. I trust you'll enjoy it as much as I.

My husband and I had this happen in the first year of our marriage... about 25 years ago. I could swear he called me -- right out of the blue -- a moose-face. 

When I exclaimed, "What d'ya mean, I'm a moose-face!!" he couldn't figure out why I (that's right, I was supposed to be the culprit now) -- why I suddenly brought up the word moose-face.

"Moose-face?" he retorted, "Why'd you call me a moose-face!"

Quickly and vehemently I replied, "I didn't call you a moose-face! You're the one who called *me* one!!"

He yelled, "When did I ever call YOU a moose-face?!!"

Shocked at his question, I shouted back at him, "Just now!"

In disbelief he cried out, "I was only repeating what YOU said!"

It soon was like the old Abbott and Costello routine Who's on first? -- only with mega-volume, in a car parked next to a public park, and quite late at night.

But, in only a matter of another minute or two, we had completely stopped arguing and had begun to laugh sooo hard we were both crying -- trying desperately to catch our breaths. To this day, when that word pops up in conversation, we end up nearly ROFLOAO, even as do our friends who've heard us tell the story many times.

We never did figure out what word he actually said that night. It didn't seem to matter anymore. Funny how it often works out that way. And, we still cannot -- for the life of us -- recall what we were even arguing about in the first place. Does it matter?

It's nice, though, to remind myself of these things, because humor is good for the soul. It somehow relieves pressure and makes life a lot more worth living :~)

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine..."  ~Proverbs 17:22a

"K" is for K - an Affinity; a Kinship

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One thing I love about blogging is how much it helps to increase my understanding of words. As I write, I may have a certain word in mind that might be good to use, but I look it up in 3 or 4 sources first, just to be sure it'll say exactly what I want it to. 

Of course, then there's the possibility that a reader may not do the same, i.e. look it up, and just might have a different idea in mind when they read that word. To a certain extent, that's the chance a writer takes. But on the other hand, that's also part of the trust relationship between the one reading and the one writing, i.e. that the words were chosen to the best of that writer's ability in considering his or her audience. But isn't this true of all communications?

Language skills and our use of words should be, I would think, highly respected and guarded, as in protected or preserved. Hard to admit, but integrity in saying what is meant and meaning what one says, is almost a lost art in this day and time. It has become much more commonplace to read between the lines -- almost expected. If authors thought that way as they wrote, we probably wouldn't read books.

So...all of this being said, allow me to share a definition (or two) that I found today for the word, affinity:

1. A spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something, 
2. A similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship; a kinship.

I have a definite affinity with the letter K. You may think I say this simply because my name is Kathy. Aahh...true, but it goes much deeper since my given name was actually Mary Kathleen. You see, because my mom's name is Mary, and Junior doesn't work very well for a girl, they chose to shorten my middle name to Kathy, for...uhh...practical reasons?! That's okay. I finally made my own preferences official, causing a strong affinity for the name, M Kathy.

Etching in a Granite Monument

Another strong affinity is with my maiden last name -- Kalkman. It's German, meaning man who works with stone. This holds special interest to me, because my great grandfather started a monument business called Melrose Granite Company. Both my grandfather and my dad worked for Melrose, not as stoneworkers, but as sales reps for the business. That's a paradox to me, which intrigues me, which somehow causes a greater affinity to that name, which begins with...

Then I married Kelly, whose given name was actually Kevin, who has a brother and only sibling named Kerry. Go figure. You would tend to think I must have a thing for K's. 

 

And to think...I was almost going to write about kites today...of which I have absolutely no known affinity!