Pee is a full fledged "P" Word

P words are among my favorite words. There are probably more great P words than any other letter. You can turn almost anything into a great string of P's. For instance, when I worked in the loan business decades ago, there was a general rule of thumb that had been handed down from one generation to the next, that you never loaned money to anyone who's profession started with a P. They were professions that were considered at high risk to default on a loan, each for its own reason. The the seven dreaded P's were; Police, Politicians, Preachers, Painters, Plumbers, Prostitutes, Physicians, and an eighth that I added, Psychologist. The theory was Police viewed a loan as a payoff for a favor, trying to collect it invited trouble, Politicians for the same reason.

Preachers evolved from Politicians and viewed a loan as a donation, while Painters and Plumbers were generally irresponsible inebriates. Prostitutes were considered poor risks because all of their money went to their Pimps (a class that never needed a loan). Physicians of course with the money they made, and still needed a loan, had a problem such as an addiction to gambling, Prostitutes or Pharmaceuticals. The eighth one that I added to the list, Psychologist, was added because I found that Psychologists were generally people who were messed up mentally, and studied psychology in attempting a self cure. Of course the ones that were unsuccessful in fixing themselves, kept studying until they had a degree in psychology and hence became full-fledged licensed and dysfunctional Psychologists.

Now if you examine this list carefully, you will see that there are other equally descriptive terms for most of these P words, such as Law Enforcement Officer, (Politicians let's face it, are just Politicians), Ministers, (Painters and Plumbers today aren't inebriates but millionaires), Whores, Medical Doctors, and Nut Cases (or maybe Psychologists does sound more politically correct). The point is you can take almost any kind of generic list and convert it to a neat P list.

I have an organizational P list also. My organizational P list is a bit more "positive" (a nice P word) than the "do not loan to" P list. It goes: People, Plant, Pesos, Purpose, Plan, Process, Procedure, Performance, Production, Price, Profit, and Place. Some of those are self explanatory and some need minor interpretation, but I won't explain each of those key elements here. The point is there is a wide range of really neat P words that can be used to build neat lists.

Do you have a favorite P list? Someone once sent me a list titled "Public Places I have Pee'd". That one was a little off color and impolite, not to mention plainly perverted, but you come to expect a certain amount of edgy material like that here beneath the Carolina moon.

I'm out of town for the remainder of the week and net access is spoty at best, but next week we tackle Q. Oh joy!

Dread

"O" Word Trancended

I suppose I’m not totally ready to move on to the P word with full force. So, today I decided to transcend from the O to the P and to also offer up a little contrast to those who didn’t find the light of inspiration and encouragement in yesterday’s post. The critter pictured above is an Opossum. Opossum is obviously an “O” word. But, the way most Americans pronounce it is possum, and that pronunciation is the one that counts because the Opossum is a North American marsupial, and no matter its official name, as Miss N is fond of saying, “It is what it is.”

So today we transcend from the O to the P with Opossum, or Possum, which are respectively O and P words. Now for you complainers that my posts of late haven’t been inspiring, just go back and read the most recent ones. Compared to this post I think you will find hidden inspiration that you overlooked the first time around. I do have a few interesting stories I could tell about Opossums/Possums, but having accomplished the purpose of today’s post, I’ll save those for another day of inspiration and encouragement.

Now go out there and show the world what you’re made of, just like a possum would! Where else will you find inspiration like this, but beneath the Carolina moon?

Dread

O is the "O" Word

Today’s O word, some may argue is a letter and not a word. I beg to differ. Well actually I don’t beg to differ, I have decided to differ, and darn well will if I choose. Here beneath the Carolina Moon the letter O is a word. It’s my blog rule and I’m not changing it. O can be Oh or it can just be O. Oh is more like “ouch”, or “oh yeah that’s nice”. O can be a name or initial, as I mention a little later, or it can be like the big O; once again, as in “oh yeah that’s nice”.

There used to be a tire store around here named the Big O Tire Store. No, it really doesn’t make sense at all, but here beneath the Carolina moon, we have stuff like that. Rest assured, once upon a time it made perfect sense to someone in some way that is now lost to history. But that’s not the kind of O I’m writing about today.

Today I am writing about William Sydney Porter who was a draftsman by trade. That’s his picture at the top of this post. This picture was taken in 1909, the year before he died of cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, and an enlarged heart. He died at the age of forty-seven. Mr. Porter only gave one interview in his life, and I suppose for a draftsman that’s doing pretty good, to even get one media interview and your picture published. But Mr. Porter had a few secrets, a prison experience being one of them, and another life that he lived as an O.

Now some will argue that it was a letter O as an initial. But an initial has to stand for something and this O stood for nothing; it was just an O. So I say it was the word O. Mr. William Sydney Porter was none other than the famous author, O. Henry. And, where I come from, that kind of O is a word. It’s a big word. It isn’t the big O, but it’s O. It’s a big O, but not “the big O”. What’s that you say? Oh?

Mr. Porter, or O. Henry, was born in Greensboro North Carolina. Yes, beneath the Carolina moon. And, that is today’s O.

Dread

The Divine Miss N is a “N” Word

On the last run through the alphabet, Miss N was the “N” word, but so what? As far as I’m concerned, she’s the best “N” word in my vocabulary. Since I couldn’t think of a better “N” word if I thought on it for a thousand years, I’m using her as my “N” word again. That’s the way it is here beneath the Carolina moon; we often repeat ourselves, especially if we find something that’s just so good it bears repeating.

I’m absolutely crazy in love with the Divine Miss N. She makes my mornings worth waking up to, my workday worth enduring, and my evenings totally divine. And that’s just three of the divinely beautiful things about her. On my next pass through the alphabet I’ll reveal a little more of the wow woman. If I told you everything about her all at once, it would overwhelm you, and besides I don’t need the competition she most assuredly would then attract.

I would have had a horrible time making it through this recent move without Miss N. But, even with all the turmoil, she has been, and continues to be, the peace that answers my prayers. The fact is that she's bashful about her picture, hence the back of head shot above. I must grant her that one eccentricity, because I am a man of many (eccentricities; not personalities. I'm not that nutty!). But around here, everyone has at least one. I live beneath the Carolina moon and am loved by the Divine Miss N. How blessed can one man be?

Dread

Moved is a "M" Word

While there have been many things in life that have moved me emotionally, over the past two weeks I have physically moved. That is, as they say in New Zealand, I've moved house. Many of the good folks that are linked over there ----> have also moved house during the past few years. Now, I add my move to the list. I have also began to move on with the rest of my life after a particularly rough and turbulent time. Also the many blessings that have come into my life in recent months have moved me deeply. So, I have been moved three different ways.

I can't resist the pun, but nothing stands without being moved, here beneath the Carolina moon. Now hopefully I will find a little time to move on with more frequent updates to the blog.

Dread