Messages of other months can be read by clicking HERE.
Clowns (09/08/01)
North Pole (09/08/05)
Cube Steak (09/08/10)
Invalid (09/08/14)
August (09/08/15)
”How are you?” (09/08/22)
“Last Word” Not Yet (09/08/26)
Frank(lin) (09/08/30)
Clowns (09/08/01)
Clowns were originally related to a circus. Their colorful garb and
make-up along with their actions and words are all aimed at stimulating
amusement and laughter in the minds of viewers. Japanese speakers of English
may find it difficult to distinguish “clown” and “crown,” but clowns do not
usually wear crowns. In the Penney Retirement Community where my wife and
I live, all residents are urged to freely offer their time and talents for
many different activities for the benefit of the community. One of the
ways to entertain others is by joining the group of clowns, which have a weekly
meeting and irregular performances which are not limited to the retirement
community. At the present time, there are 8 clowns (6 women and 2 men) in
this community of over 500 and my wife is one of them. Her clown name is “Smiley” and she wears a bright red suit and a tall red hat with
battery-powered blinking lights on her bright yellow curly wig. The bright red ball
attached to her nose stands out from her white-painted face. She carries
with her a puppet, called “Uncle Henry,” with long arms and long legs with
glasses on its round baldhead. She uses “Uncle Henry” as her ventriloquial
agent in personal conversations. The clowns as a group put on programs that
cause people to both laugh and think. At times, a clown may move around
the dining hall or an assisted living unit individually to inspire bright and
joyful reactions. Whether as a group or individually, the clowns add a
certain quality to the atmosphere of the community for which we are all
thankful. (1246)
- North Pole
(09/08/05)
There are a number of English words pronounced pol. The one spelled
p-o-l-l denotes “the number of votes cast or recorded” in an election.
One of those spelled p-o-l-e may signify “a long, relatively slender, and
generally rounded piece of wood or other material.” When spelled with a
capital P, it designates “a native or inhabitant of Poland.” But the “pole”
in today’s message signifies “the northern end of the earth’s axis of
rotation.” The North Pole was first reached on April 6, 1909 by the American
explorer Robert Edwin Peary. The Arctic Ocean, which surrounds the North Pole,
is the place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. Countries that
border the Arctic Ocean are: the United States (state of Alaska), Canada
(Queen Elizabeth Islands), Denmark (Greenland, the world’s largest island),
Norway and Russia. Since the region around the North Pole itself is frozen ice
the year round, there is very little to attract visitors, but 50 years ago
this week, on August 3, 1958, the first voyage beneath the North Pole was
made by an atomic-powered U. S. submarine. It was the first time that a ship
had reached the North Pole. For 96 hours it had cruised under the polar
ice cap, covering a distance of 2,900 kilometers. At times, the ice above
was 24 meters thick; the thinnest layer was over 3 meters thick. The
atomic-powered submarine, called the Nautilus, was the first naval vessel in the
world to be propelled by atomic power. Polar climate is characterized by
persistent cold weather, which is accompanied by continuous darkness in winter
and continuous daylight in summer. Wherever we live, we may find weather
conditions to complain about or to be thankful for. (1247)
- Cube Steak
(09/08/10)
As we grow older, to keep healthy, it is important not only to eat
healthy foods, but also to continue to exercise both our bodies and our minds.
In the Dining Hall in this retirement community, meals for residents are
available three times a day for breakfast, dinner and supper. My wife and I
usually eat our noon meal (dinner) there. There are different shapes and
sizes of tables for us to sit and eat with others we choose. We take a
number and after that number is called, we go to the steam table and indicate
the particular food we desire which is put on our plates by the kitchen staff
standing on the other side of the steam table. Looking at the menu that
is written on a sign behind that table, I sometimes make a comment regarding
it to cause others and myself to think about the meaning. Recently, when “cube steak” was on the menu, I jokingly asked if they had any “square steaks.” After returning home, I checked the dictionary to find the meaning of “cube” and “cube steak,” and this is what I found. When used in a
mathematical sense, “cube” is “a regular solid having six congruent square faces,”
but that is not the meaning here. A “cube steak” is “a thin slice of
beef made tender by cubing.” And in this case, the verb, “cube,” means “to
tenderize (meat) by breaking the fibers with superficial cuts in a pattern
of squares.” I do not recall having ever read or heard about the term “cube steak” previously and I am happy to be able to continue to exercise my
mind even when it becomes more difficult to exercise my body. (1248)
- Invalid
(09/08/14)
The irregularities in the spelling and pronunciation of certain words
in the English language have been noted many times in these messages, but
the focus of today's message is related to the completely different meaning of
two words having three syllables that are spelled the same but whose
meaning depends upon which of the first two syllables is emphasized. When you
read the title of this message, did you think it was related to a person or to
a thing? Did you put the emphasis on the first syllable or the second
syllable? When the first syllable is emphasized [IN-va-lid], the meaning is: “a chronically ill or disabled person.” When the second syllable is
emphasized [in-VAL-id], the meaning is: “not legally or factually valid; falsely
based or reasoned.” There are many residents in the United States of
America who have entered the country illegally. Whatever documents they may have
presented at the border were invalid, but most of them did not present any
documents. They simply sneaked into the country and may be deported to
their homeland if arrested. According to a recent newspaper article, an
invalid from a Latin American country was arrested and deported. I was
surprised to find in one of my reference books the statement “Every invalid is a
physician” listed as an ” Irish proverb.” It may be because I do not have any
Irish influence in my lineage or education that I do not understand the
meaning of that proverb. Do you understand its meaning? If you do and can
explain it to me, I would be grateful. (1249)
August (09/08/15)
It is not only the readers of these “Timely Words” messages that
learn something from them; their composer does also. After composing the
previous message relating to two words with the same spelling which differed in
meaning depending on which syllable was emphasized (“IN-val-id” or “in-VAL-id
”), I realized that the name of this month was another example of the same
fact. This 8th month of the year according to the Gregorian calendar is now
called “August” with emphasis on the first syllable of the name which
begins with a capital A. When the second syllable is emphasized, the word
means “inspiring awe or admiration; venerable for reasons of age or high rank.”
In the ancient Roman calendar, which began in March, the names of the
months were related to the number of the month, as in Japanese today. After
the name of the 5th month was changed to honor Julius Caesar, the name of the
6th month was changed to honor Caesar Augustus, and in order to avoid any
implication of subordination, an extra day was added to the month of August to
make it the same as July. In the New Testament Gospel of Luke, chapter 2
begins with these words: “In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.” It was for this
reason that Mary and Joseph went to the town of Bethlehem, where Jesus was
born. Traditional names for this month in different traditions include: “hot
month” (French),“harvest month” (Dutch) and “leaf month” (Japan, as leaves
begin to change color and fall). The month of August will bring different
kinds of memories depending on your culture and personal experiences, but
will you be august? (1250)
- ”How are you?”
(09/08/22)
“How are you?”
Most people do not think of the meaning of the words they commonly use in greetings. The English greeting, “Good morning,” literally has quite a different meaning than the Japanese greeting, “Ohayo gozaimasu.” And the meaning of “Sayonara” in Japanese is quite different from the English “Goodby” (an abbreviated form of “God be with you.”) The common English greetings “How do you do?” and “How are you?” originally meant, “How is your health?” Recently, I have been trying to remind those greeting me with those words by responding, “Not so good” or “Quite poor.” Many people do not listen to my answer or simply ignore it and continue their traditional responses. Although I am able to stand and walk using a walking stick or a walker, my balance and mobility are quite different than they used to be. And although I continue to enjoy composing these “Timely Words” messages, I am vexed by the pressure of composing a certain number each week. I am willing to continue composing messages at a more relaxed pace if the readers and Committee members do not disagree. In fact, recently, I juggled my messages a bit to adjust to my June and July schedule which included trips to Illinois and Michigan to attend meetings of (80) former missionaries to Japan and (48) of my family relatives and a recent visit by our son, his wife and son from Japan. I now feel the need to lessen the pressure and to compose messages simply at my convenience and hope that the readers and Committee members will not object. To those who greet me in the morning in Japanese, saying “It is [or “you are”] early,” I will reply in English: “God be with you.”
- “Last Word” Not Yet
(09/08/26)
According to my records, on January 1, 1979, I began a Japanese language telephone service from our church in the city of Takahama in Aichi Prefecture. Called Kyou no Messeji, a different, Bible-based 90-second recorded message could be heard every day whether or not anyone was in the church. After continuing that service for over a year, I realized that many Japanese students of English would be interested in hearing a short, interesting message by a native speaker of English at anytime, so on September 1, 1980, the “Daily Word” telephone service was begun from a special telephone in my home in Nagoya. It became a very popular service, so 3 years later, a second telephone was added to handle all the calls. In 1983, the two telephones were purchased by NTT and “Daily Word” became an NTT service, taped and transmitted on NTT equipment and eventually included in NTT’s CAPTAIN system on the Internet. The final “Daily Word” telephone message (#6290) was transmitted on February 28, 1999, preceding my return to the United States of America. In response to the request of “Daily Word” fans, I began a similar service in our retirement community in the state of Florida. The first “Timely Words“ message appeared on the Internet on September 1, 1999, and this message is #1252. As noted in the previous message, I plan to continue to contribute messages as I find time to do so, avoiding the feeling of pressure to compose certain messages by a certain date. I hope readers will continue to find them interesting, stimulating and invigorating. The term “last word” has a special meaning in English, but this is not yet the “last word” of “Timely Words.” (1252)
- Frank(lin)
(09/08/30)
In Japanese tradition, it is common to use Chinese characters for both
surnames and given names. Since Chinese characters are ideograms, the
names have meanings and parents seriously consider the meaning of the name they
give a newborn child. In so-called Western countries, many names have no
meaning and the name given a newborn child does not necessarily reflect the
hope of a parent. Most people do not know the meaning of their names even
if they have meaning. Although “frank” may mean “open and sincere in
expression; straightforward,” a man named “Frank” need not seek to manifest
the meaning of his name, which, in fact, may also be related to the weapon
used by a particular tribe or to the Latin word for “Frenchman.” It may also
be derived from the name of a famous Italian Christian in the 13th century:
St. Francis of Assisi. “Francis” is a male name. The female form is “
Frances,” and in 1938, St. Frances Cabrini became the first American citizen
to be proclaimed a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. “Franklin” may be
used either as a surname or a given name and two important names in
American history are Benjamin Franklin and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But there
is another significant “Franklin” in American history that few people in the
present day are acquainted with. From 1784-1788, a “state” with that
name was formed by citizens of what are now counties in eastern Tennessee,
which had been ceded by North Carolina to the United States. It elected a
governor, established courts, appointed magistrates, levied taxes and enacted
laws. A permanent constitution was adopted, but it was unable to secure
congressional recognition and passed out of existence when the terms of its
officers expired. At times it is difficult to be frank, but as Benjamin
Disraeli, the British politician and author, has written “There is no wisdom like
frankness,” (1253)