DUNCAN — Yes, there were sticky notes last week, but over the course of a winter I’ve been stacking them up for insulation. So, here are a few more of the lil’ wonder notes that serve as my memory:

Among the pressing issues in our society, making English the official language of the U.S. is far down my priority list. In fact, last time I looked, it wasn’t even on my list.

I know there’s lots of strong sentiment out there favoring it, but I just think this whole idea of passing legislation to make English the “official” language is redundant.

It might be different if 33.3 percent of us spoke English, 33.3 percent of us spoke Lithuanian, 33.3 percent of us spoke Latin and .1 percent spoke through smoke signals. Perhaps then we’d need to fight it out over constitutionally sanctioning a language. (And if we’re acknowledging the first “North Americans,” the obvious winner would be smoke signals.)

But polls show that over 85 percent of American citizens, including an overwhelming majority of naturalized citizens, already consider English our “official” language.

Why get so stressed out?

- Public reaction to Ol’ Glory being burned by one of the Oakland Occupy group prompts this reminder from the ’60s protest days: Flag burning is a shallow statement because all it does is enrage people and they pay no attention to the point you’re trying to make.

- Factoid on Food Network recently noted in the USofA there are now more Chinese restaurants than Burger King, Wendy’s and McDonald’s locations combined.

- And speaking of food: In Medieval Europe, doctors blew powdered sugar into their patient’s eyes to cure impaired vision. Let me see: Combining sugar with the natural liquids in the eyes? Sounds like some of our ancestors walked around viewing the world through cotton candy.

- Whose cruel idea was it to put an “s” in the word “lisp”?

- “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” Aldous Huxley said it.

- What’s the speed of dark?

- A bachelor knows nothing is forever. You wash the dishes, and two weeks later you have to wash ’em again.

- There are bigger things in life than money. Like bills.

- “We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” The great American cartoonist Walt Kelly said it.

- If you’re solo on Valentine’s Day because of a good love gone bad, remember this: No matter how badly your heart is broken, the world does not stop for your grief.

- If you’ve been scared half to death twice, isn’t it all over?

- Saw a sign outside a local fast food joint that read: “Now taking serious applications.” OK, does that mean prior to then the restaurant had only accepted nonsensical or silly applications?

- The late Milton Burl, during a roast for the late Howard Cosell: “Why are we honoring this man? Have we run out of human beings?”

- What are you supposed to do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

- Spend some time reading newspaper stories from the first half of the 20th century, and it makes you wonder: So, when where these “good old days” so many seem to treasure?  

- Don’t be too eager to find out a secret — it could change your life forever.

- “If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.” Woody Allen said it.

- The active ingredient in popular cola drinks is phosphoric acid, which has a pH of 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about four days and can be used to leach calcium from bones, which some in the medical community believe is a major contributor to the increase in osteoporosis.

- Assumptions lead to stereotypes, and stereotypes are usually shallow and false views of reality.

- Behind every great man, there’s a woman rolling her eyes.

- A sign-off from Tommy Smothers: “When you don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s hard to know when you’re finished.”



jeff.kaley@duncanbanner.com

580-255-5354, Ext. 172