State Highways

I've decided I really like state highways. I prefer them to Interstates, US highways, and probably any other kind of long-distance road. Please note that this is no mere passing observation. I have chalked up a great deal of road time this summer, and I have driven on a great many roads. And I must say that state highways are by far the most pleasant. Now, I do have, right now in the back of my mind, a nagging urge to add a qualifier, so I will. State highways are not a pleasant affair if one is in a hurry to get somewhere. But I would venture to say that driving in general is not as pleasant when one is in a hurry. And it is also probably safe to say that when one is in a hurry, one doesn't care about the pleasantness of the drive. Hurrying, I suppose, is a part of life and cannot really be avoided completely. So hurry when you must. However, there is no sense in hurrying through a two or three day road trip. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be continuously in a hurry for two days straight. Conclusion: when you are taking a road trip, opt for the state highways.

In June, while traveling to a reunion, my family and I took "the back way" from Vandalia, Ohio to Logansport, Indiana, avoiding the interstate and using, instead, a number of winding, two-lane highways. It was wonderful! The wheat fields had turned golden already, and the corn was starting to grow, and there were old, old farm houses, red brick and really narrow, and fields of cows, too. Man, I loved it.

Also this summer, I drove from Midland to Austin, which is a long stretch of Texas with pretty much no cities in between. Towns, yes. Cities, no. I think I drove the whole way on Texas highways. And it was great! Who knew west Texas could be so green! Fields covered with a carpet of those cute, scrubby little trees. I also saw signs for some pretty great towns, like Knickerbocker, Salt Gap, Melvin, Hedwigs Hill and Oatmeal. Seriously.

In closing, you are missing out if you always take the interstate. Support your local state highways! :)

Good thoughts from good ol' Gilbert Keith

"In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, 'I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away.' To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: 'If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.'

This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense. The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep. It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street. Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody. And until we know what the reason was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable. It is extremely probable that we have overlooked some whole aspect of the question, if something set up by human beings like ourselves seems to be entirely meaningless and mysterious. There are reformers who get over this difficulty by assuming that all their fathers were fools; but if that be so, we can only say that folly appears to be a hereditary disease."

from the essay "The Drift from Domesticity" by G.K. Chesterton

I don't have anything worthy to add beneath these eloquently-put thoughts. Only that I like them. And I hope I remember them as I explore new ideas.

One is shocked! One raises the eyebrows!

I watched the first season of Jeeves and Wooster this week. I love it so much! The characters are well-played and likable, even though the plot sometimes borders on everything-goes-wrong-in-an-I-Love-Lucy(translate, "annoying!")-type-way. But it doesn't get to that annoying level. It achieves a precarious balance. It says a lot that I don't come away from the show hating Wooster like I do Lucy. Actually, I love Wooster! It doesn't hurt that he is played by a very young Hugh Laurie. It might also have something to do with his amazing vocabulary and enviable sentence structure :)

The stories are so entertaining, but I think I love the show so much because of the way they talk. Very English, very proper, and very like the way people talk in novels. Not new novels but old ones. I mean, it makes sense because the show is based on written short stories. I'm just saying that's what I like about it. Who says stuff like, "I shall go purchase the comestibles" in real life? No one. But I wish I did! Not all the time, of course :) But I wish I could pull out words like that when I wanted to. Words like, "remonstrate," "assiduity," and "imbroglio."

Check out these new words I've added to my vocabulary:

• sobriquet (n) - an affectionate or humorous nickname.
  
• opprobrious (adj) - Expressing contemptuous reproach; scornful or abusive.
• propinquity (n) - Proximity; nearness.
• concatenation (n) - A series or order of things depending on each other, as if linked together; a chain, a succession.

The Generally Ridiculous Exam

I took a practice GRE this morning.

I would like to rename a few of the sections to better inform the test-taker of the types of questions to be expected. I found the title "Reading Comprehension" not quite descriptive enough. I suggest the title "Are you smart enough to interpret an inane, halting, and poorly-written passage?". Maybe this really is a more accurate portrayal of one's intelligence. I mean, anyone can get the gist of a well-written paragraph, right? Maybe not-so-smart people can't extract any sense from poor writing, whereas smart people can come up with something. I hate to admit that they stumped me more often than not. But could there be a more painful way to test one's comprehension ability?!?

(As a side note, my vocab ego got bumped down a few notches when I couldn't identify whether or not "tonsorial" and "hair" shared the same relationship as "sartorial" and "apparel." They do.)

I also have an improvement for the section entitled "Problem Solving." I suggest the title "How many steps can we add to a problem before you give up and guess?" An example of what would follow:

Question1- Find the percent difference of Section X and Section Y in Graph A. Now multiply the percent by the total to get the actual number. Now find the ratio of this number to the number given in Graph B. But numbers aren't given in graph B, only percents, so you have to work out the numbers, given the percent difference between the two graphs.You have a minute and a half. Go!

Lovely! So have I told you how not-excited I am to take this thing tomorrow? But at least I won't ever have to do it again. No, not even if I bomb it tomorrow. I've decided that if I make a bad grade tomorrow, I'm going to move to Italy, become a tour guide, and make books in my spare time.

Immediacy: no delay

A few weeks ago, Grandmother asked me if I appreciated immediacy. I didn't understand what she was asking (is that a common way to use the word "immediacy" anyway?). But then she held up a scrap of paper, maybe it was even a napkin, not sure, and said, "This is what I wrote when your mother called to tell me about your birth." The paper had my name written on it, how many pounds I weighed, and the time I was born. I don't know if she had saved it purposefully or on accident, but she still had the paper she had written all my details on when I was born!

I'm not sure if I'd ever consciously labeled my appreciation of certain old things as an appreciation of immediacy (I'm also not sure if anyone but my grandmother uses that word that way), but I realized that is what I love about so many old things. Dressing up in the dress my mom wore to her rehearsal dinner. Walking down the street where Dante lived in Florence. Going to Civil War battlefields. Somehow, just being near something that was around when something historic happened makes one feel a little connected. Or at least it makes me feel that way. It's like it takes away the huge time delay that separates you from it.

Something cool I learned recently concerns this idea, as well. The hymn "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel" is an original Byzantine hymn. The words and music and all! That's why it sounds like an old monastic chant. Because it is. How amazing is that! We are singing the same hymn people sang 1200 years ago! What!? I love that!
(Just fyi, this information comes from Byron, who often shares random and little-known facts, so I can't tell you exactly where you could find this info in print :) But I believe him.)