Columns

I'm always careful with language.

My thinking is there are so many worthwhile words to express thoughts that there is no need to resort to profanity.

So, imagine my surprise when my grandkids went running to their mother to say, "Nonna said a bad word."

The "bad word," I was told, was the word stupid.

"We don't use that word in this house," said my daughter, Andrea. "It's not nice to say someone is stupid."

We all remember the outrage against the Bush administration following Hurriane Katrina, and the damage done to New Orleans and surrounding areas. Critics argued that not enough was done to help bring the area back to normal, and the government was lax.

We'll see how this administration reacts to the devastation brought on by the huge oil slick that's wrecking the waters and coastline of Louisiana. This catastrophe could have longer-lasting effects than even Katrina.

There are plans to put a resort casino near the grounds of historic Gettysburg. I hope that doesn't happen.

In 1910, Halley's Comet caused a hysteria America had never before seen. The comet was named for British astronomer Edmond Halley, who was the first to determine its orbit and accurately predict its return to the Earth's night sky.

As Halley's approached the sun in 1910, astronomers announced that Earth would actually pass through its tail during May of that year. They suggested the possibility of some spectacular sunsets, which was innocent enough. Some doomsayers, however, had other opinions.

There's a funny song that goes something like, "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Away, ha-haaa."

Well, okay, the subject of that 1960s novelty song wasn't all that funny. It's about someone's slip into madness after suffering a loss.

The lesser-known sequel to it, "They're Coming to Get Me Again, Ha-haaa," is what comes to my mind this week.

Everywhere I turn, I'm told they're coming to get me.

They are silent and cunning, ready to strike in unsuspecting places.

They are hiding in my air conditioning ducts, ready to do me bodily harm.