Rambling Thoughts on Public Speaking, Praying and the Naming of Hurricanes

I spent much of Friday night and Saturday outside, listening to local bands perform at the town’s summer festival. Much of the music was wonderful. There were, of course, the obligatory bad performers. This one woman looked like a reincarnation of Mamma Cass Elliot (of the Mammas and Papas). She sat through her whole set while she sang to recorded music. Her singing wasn’t bad, but I’d preferred to have listened to the CDs with vocals by the original artists. And then there were the high school head-bangers. They didn’t have a tune or a beat, but they had some real loud drums and amplifiers and diaphragms and vocal cords. Otherwise, the music was good. However, I got tired of each group’s introduction which included an advertisement for the sponsors followed by, "…without further ado." I’d preferred that they were introduced without any ado. And if we had to have ado, don’t end the ado with that little cliché for it sounds like I’m receiving a favor. The problem with ado is that it’s like dodo, a little stinks up the place.

Sage’s number one rule for public introductions: Don’t say, "without further ado."

Another pet peeve of mine is the overuse of the word "just" in prayers. It seems the more conservative the prayer, the more often the word "just" is used. I call these "justly prayers," and I bet God has a name for them too. "Lord, we just want to ask you for this…. And oh yeah Lord, we just want to ask you for that…" This prayer can also go, "Lord, we just want to thank you for…" Or, "Lord, we just praise you for…" Why not say, "God, we just want to ask you for a whole bunch of stuff and here it is:" The same could be used for praise and thanks.

Sage’s number one rule for prayers: Use just only if you have just one item to talk over with the Big Guy

We’ve seen the big one! My heart goes out to those folks down there in Mississippi and Louisiana. Gas is now outrageous. I knew it was going up. I’m not crazy enough to do something like stockpile gas, so I thought I would go out and buy all the hot sauce from my local grocer’s shelf. Ever seen where that stuff comes from? I haven’t yet heard a report on the condition of Tabasco’s operations, but a little speculation never hurt anyone. But then, I was reminded that when I came home from the Banana Republics last fall, I had a suitcase dedicated to hot sauce and coffee. The coffee is gone, but there are still close to a dozen varieties of hot sauce on my shelves. I'll hold off speculating on hot sauce futures. Anybody know if Southern Comfort is still brewed in New Orleans?

In addition to be sadden at the lost of life and the cost of doing living, I’m am gloomy cause another wonderful name is ruined. I like the name Katrina. I’d considered it, if I had another daughter. But not anymore. I’ve known a few Hazels in my life, but they’re all my mom’s age. Only someone suspected of child abuse would have named a girl Hazel after that 1954 hurricane, at least if they were from the East Coast. And I expect the name Camille has been used sparingly since 1968. And after 2005, there will be no more Katrinas. Leave it up to the National Hurricane Center to ruin another good name. Maybe the storms could be numbered instead of names (which would give the newscasters a real challenge in reporting the news). Hurricane number seven is now a category five and expected to hit the coast at six…