The stories or tidbits about The Wordwright which are planned for this section are being labeled VIGNETTES. With the usual reaching for the dictionary the definition of vignette comes in full view: 1) … illustration used on a page; 2) a picture…with no definite border…; 3) a short, delicate literary sketch. Yes, maybe, sort of – the Vignettes of The Wordwright will pretty much be “a picture…with no definite border but you may have to provide some pictures in your mind; snatches of my childhood or perhaps unfettered moments of later years. These vignettes decidedly will be “short” but the words delicate and literary might be harder to find or better described as number two: a picture with no definite border. Let’s face it though, it is hoped all three of the dictionary’s verities will give an honest picture of The Wordwright and the “chemicals of life” the Creator used in developing the fellow pictured in the masthead. Mostly it is hoped these vignettes will provide a feast of words, or perhaps something like a cud which can be recalled for further digestion later. The Wordwright wishes you well today in your visit.
If I were to type a four-letter word beginning with “S” and leave 3 “blank spaces” and add the word “HAPPENS” I would guestimate that no less than 90% of those who read this would know the word I have not spelled out. I am not accustomed to use such four-letter words so I didn’t spell it out; however, LIFE could well be used in place of that four-letter word.
And even then, if someone else laid that expression on me I think I would contest it with something like, “That could be true, e.g., LIFE HAPPENS, but by the same token (of things happening) I believe that WE ARE RESPONSIBLE for much of what goes on around us. The way we think. How we treat “spare time” or those free moments. What we read. Maybe even what we eat. The list could go on and you are probably just as capable as I to make a list of your own so let’s assume I have made my point.
John Lennon, one of the Beatles, once said, “Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans.” In this generation we have seen professional (salaried) and hourly workers reach a point in their lives when they finally were ready to retire and “all of a sudden” the company they worked for a good part of their lives went “belly up”. Strange, that all the plans they had made for retirement, and the money they had been promised to be laid aside and “taken care of” and even more, GROW larger, was now GONE but somehow the C.E.O. had conveniently been able to salvage a million or more for themselves! And the faithful, dedicated employee was now facing their retirement years WITH NOTHING (with the exception of Social Security). Can we honestly say, even with all this, that LIFE (just) HAPPENS? Our nation has taught us that “it will take care of us”. Many have allowed themselves to be duped, misled, convinced against our better judgment that SOMEONE ELSE knows better how to take care of us!
My interests in life, as I have found them have reaped rewards mostly in these days of retirement. There have been very few times in my retirement years that I could not find “something to do” or “how to make a dollar or two”. Notice I did not say HUNDRED$, THOU$AND$ or MILLION$, but an extra “dollar or two”. So I guess my advice today is to be frugal. How is it possible to be frugal in a time in history when there seems to be nothing in the market place that stays constant? Gasoline prices have been the biggest surprise recently and fluctuate for no apparent reason. I can be frugal because I know WHATEVER I do for myself (and by myself) is the (only) real way to be a responsible person. The late Linda Bowles once wrote something that may be a bit blunt but hits the nail right on the head:

“The task of weaning various people and groups from the national nipple will not be easy. The sounds of whines, bawls, screams and invective[ness] will fill the air as the agony of withdrawal pangs finds voice.”

Linda Bowles wrote that in “The Weaning Process,” Washington Times, December 20, 1994, pg A16. All I can add is, AMEN.
RECYCLING is nothing new to people my age (74) so when I drive down country roads or even certain city streets or on parking lots and see beverage cans littering the area I just consider it a few coins and casually pick them up and toss them into my trunk. Some country roads are more rewarding than most “in town” resources. Admittedly when I take my treasures to the junk yard I only make a few bucks but such an activity can be therapy — I can think of a lot of things while I am harvesting such resources. If I bother to smash the cans that is just another time to THINK. Aluminum is a far more rewarding material to bother with than steel — so look for any kind of aluminum. See an old junked storm door — check it out, is it aluminum? Got an old pressure cooker (or pots, pans) you quit using because you found better ways to cook? Check them out – get a small magnet and easily identify aluminum from steel (the magnet will “stick” on steel but not aluminum) – there you go. All steel parts need to be removed when you recycle aluminum (junk dealers like the metal “clean”) so that’s more time to THINK while you’re removing screws or manufactured steel parts. (Needless to say, but sanitation should not be ignored so wear gloves or use tongs to pick up some stuff and keep a good supply of small garbage bags in the trunk of your car. Have a supply of those towelettes handy too!)
I don’t have a pick-up truck but if you do, corrugated cardboard is a pretty decent resource to trade for cash. Check out your local junk yard or paper mill and get busy. You just might become a believer that LIFE doesn’t just HAPPEN! Besides that, you might just help your town look a bit tidier while you’re making an extra buck or two. #####