Considering what Americans have been put through recently by the 112th Congress' stubborn, uncompromising conduct, many Americans were on the verge of throwing up our hands and saying, "A pox on both their houses! We've had it up to here!"
Way back in 1948, Harry Truman ran for re-election as president, seemingly against insurmountable odds favoring New York Gov. Thomas Dewey. Lagging pitifully in the polls, "Give 'em Hell Harry" hit the rails and crisscrossed the country lambasting "That do-nothing 80th Congress!"
Whoever, regardless of party affiliation, runs for president in 2012 might be wise to borrow Truman's winning campaign strategy blaming the nation's ills on "That do-nothing 112th Congress!"
During the standoff I concluded that come next election, the town buffoon from either party could run against almost any incumbent and win in a landslide. I'm not surprised that the song from the 1973 musical "A Little Night Music" kept resounding in my mind. You may remember Stephen Sondheim's refrain:
But where are the clowns
Quick, send in the clowns
Don't bother
They're here.
Honors bestowed
Within 24 hours of my lament that nobody had named anything for me, readers notified me that they had named four young dogwoods, a bluebird box and a cat in my honor.
Needless to say, that's enough to send anyone's undernourished sense of self-worth soaring!
In that column, I mistakenly identified Dr. Craig LeHoullier, co-developer of the Mr. Snow dwarf tomato as an N.C. State University retiree. Actually, he retired from Glaxo SmithKline. I apologize. He reports that the Dwarf Mr. Snow seeds have sold out, but will be available in seed catalogs for next year.
Tomato lovers are as loyal to their favorite varieties as basketball fans are to their alma maters.
I was a Big Boy devotee, but in recent years have switched allegiance to Purple Cherokee, Homestead and German Johnson - juicy, acid types.
One of my favorite moments at the farmers market occurred two summers ago when I was searching for German Johnsons. I approached a vegetable stand being tended by a teenage girl.
"What are these?" I asked, gesturing to the luscious-looking tomatoes on display.
With a look of utter incredulity and dismay, she said in wonderment, "Why, mister! They're 'maters!"
Putting pedal to metal
There are many good things to be said about Texas, our second-largest state. where the state legislature is in the process of raising the speed limits on some highways from an already racetrack speed of 80 to 85.
If Texas can't be the biggest, by dern it can be the fastest! What's the big hurry in the land of big hats for big egos, where apparently there is a need for an Indianapolis speedway for all motorists? Aren't Texans dying fast enough already?
Feel Good Monday
As you mail in your income taxes (this year's deadline is Monday!), I hope you remember that the IRS loves a cheerful giver.
But it isn't easy to give and grin when you realize how many fat cats aren't paying a penny in income taxes. Example: In 2010 General Electric Co., which reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion last year, owed the U.S. government no taxes.
The mouths of babes
The 4-year-old grandson of a Raleigh resident is sharp as a tack, a source of endless curiosity. While watching his mother nurse his baby brother, he peppers her with questions about body parts and their function. She, an educator, provides, in good taste, anatomically correct answers. She recently wondered if she should have been as explicit as she and the little boy were walking through Crabtree Mall.
As they passed a lingerie store featuring a huge display of bras in the window, the little boy exclaimed, "Mama! Look all those nipple catchers!" - a term he coined on his own.
