The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Page: 2 of 18
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2A
Carrollton Leader, The Colony Courier-Leader, Coppell Gazette, Southlake Times Wednesday, April 18,2012
stariocalnews.com
Voices
Euphemistically speaking
When I was growing up on
the Lower East Side of Man-
hattan, there was an area,
about half a mile downtown
from me, known as “The
Bowery.” One of the most ele-
gant areas of the city during
the 1800s, by 1900, the Bow-
ery devolved into low-rent
concert halls, flop houses,
beer gardens, brothels and
streets that became the liv-
ing quarters for hundreds of
people with no visible means
of support.
These days, people in
those circumstances are
called “homeless” or “tem-
porarily unsheltered.” In
those days they were known
as Bowery Bums. The word
bum simply refers to some-
one who refuses to work and
tries to live off of others.
Those who either chose, or
were thrust into such penury,
were also called beggars and
tramps. Such references
were made during a time in
our history when eu-
phemisms were rare.
Today, there are eu-
phemisms for just about
every activity that, if given
the specific title, would be
eymooners” television show,
introduced himself as “an en-
gineer in subterranean sani-
deemed offensive
to civil discourse,
also known as po-
lite conversation.
Hence, in a contin-
uing effort to
soften our lan-
guage and distort
reality, we find
words that make
usfeelbetter BOB WEIR
about who we are WEIR ONLY human
tation.”
Employees are
never fired from
their jobs; they
are “let go.”
When I was a
young lad, people
who were physi-
cally attracted to
the same sex
were known as
homosexuals.
TheColony .
Courier-Leader
Roger Will
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and how un-judgmental we
can be. Those who are ex-
tremely overweight are not
referred to as obese or fat.
Instead, a man would be
called heavy-set or husky,
while a woman would be full-
figured. People who used to
be called handicapped or
crippled are now labeled,
physically challenged.
• The famous comedian,
Henny Youngman, told a joke
about his brother-in-law who
claimed to be a diamond-cut-
ter. Later, it was learned that
he was in charge of mowing
the lawn at Yankee Stadium.
Ed Norton, the famous
sewer-worker from “The Hon-
Now, they are gays and les-
bians. The late English au-
thor, Quentin Crisp, who was
openly gay, was also very
open about the use of soft-
ened language. “Eu-
phemisms are not, as many
young people think, useless
verbiage for that which can
and should be said bluntly;
they are like secret agents on
a delicate mission; they must
airily pass by a stinking mess
with barely so much as a nod
of the head,” he said, adding,
“euphemisms are unpleasant
truths wearing diplomatic
cologne.” In days of yore, we
never even heard of someone
being able to change from
one sex to another, but when
it became surgically possible
it was called a sex change
operation. Soon, the term
was considered objection-
able, so it became “gender
reassignment.” Once upon a
time, if you supported taking
the life of a child in the
womb, you were pro-abor-
tion; if you didn’t, you were
anti-abortion. Now, you’re
classified pro-choice or pro-
life.
Someone who has died is
said to have passed away,
bought the farm, given up
the ghost, kicked the bucket,
or, as the great Shakespeare
wrote in Hamlet, “shuffled
off this mortal coil.” When
ending the life of a pet it’s
called “putting him/her to
sleep.” When the mob wants
to put someone to sleep, they
put a “contract” out on him.
The bad guys don’t get sent
to prison; they go to correc-
tional institutions. In mili-
tary terms, people and places
bombed out of existence
have been “marginalized.”
When innocent civilians are
killed during a war, it’s
known as “collateral dam-
age.” People who violate our
laws by sneaking across our
borders are no longer “illegal
aliens,/they are “undocu-
mented immigrants.”
When taxpayers became
aware of the term “ear-
marks,” which are pork bar-
rel projects intended to
benefit constituents of a
politician in return for their
political support, it became
an epithet for wasteful
spending. Therefore, it
needed a new name, so it
was magically transformed
into “legislatively directed
spending.”
All of the foregoing is
meant to be more than a lin-
guistic exercise; it’s about
questioning where we are as
a society. It’s about our re-
fusal to deal with reality, pre-
ferring instead to pretend
that what is happening be-
fore our eyes can be cre-
atively denied by the use of
more “tolerant” language. In
other words, if we can find a
comfortable substitute for
the truth, we can avoid fac-
ing it. This doesn’t make me
sick to my stomach; it makes
me lose my lunch.
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lony Courier-Leader are Copyright 2012 by Sl
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There on the concrete
patio, we lazied side by side.
My head on her chest, listen-
ing to a tired heartbeat,
counting every breath. Time
froze. I stroked that familiar
■ nose while hugging her so
E very tight. I wanted her to
2 know, truly sense love’s end-
g less depth. She’d given me
* that.
Against the cold
stone foundation,
the warmth of love
surfaced as we
snuggled together.
Gently — and yes
even humanly —
she moved her
paw, placing it
adoringly over my
arm as if holding
on tight. Maybe
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she was comforting me. Yet, I
was the one supposedly com-
forting her.
Sobbing, tears flowing
down, pooling on her flufly
black mane, I whispered her
name and pleaded too. “Angel
don’t go. Please don’t leave
me. There’s more than
enough, way too many of my
beloved canine kids already
gathered, waiting at the Rain-
bow Bridge.”
She exhaled, sounding her
hallmark sigh. “Darn Mom,
we all gotta go someday. It’s
part of living. We’ll both be
OK.”
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I
wanted to scream
This? This was the worst,
most dreaded, ulti-
mate heartbreak-
ing, turbulent of
emotional times
for a dog lover — a
pet lover of any
and every kind.
She was the
first born into our
. marriage. At 6
PATTI PFEIFFER weeks old, her
LIFE’S ATRip silky tongue
swathed my face. That exact
moment Angel earned her
name. The aroma, the sweet
simple smell of puppy breath.
Of course she captured my
heart. A border collie/lab
mix, chubby, even klutzy, her
runt label made even more
desirable, utterly irresistible
too.
Oh how did that time fly,
fleet away? All those 14.5
years ago. Up until just re-
cently I prayed Angel would
make it fit and healthy to the
milestone of 15. Now, my
prayer’s simply for another
day.
A retreat, a treasured
steal away, a revered relished
private time, last weekend, I
piled my ole doggy gal into
the vehicle and headed east
to the cabin, our escape for
quality get-lost time. We sat
on the porch watching birds
perch, peering at deer mean-
dering by, studying a can-
taloupe-colored setting sky,
gawking at its transformation
into burning orange then a
burgundy beauty.
Awesome. Magical. Truly a
dream. But in a somber,
melancholy way, it was a
nightmare in the making. We
tried to walk like we used to
and at least attempted a
hunt. There at her favorite
seeking-ground Angel stood
on the pavement, looking my
way, back toward the woods
then staring back at me while
longingly sorrowfully com-
manding her body to move,
begging me to succumb.
Her energy was zapped,
giving in to an aging body,
near final time, she wouldn’t
last.
At 70 pounds no way I
could carry her if she were to
collapse.
See PFEIFFER, Page 3A
Letter
t
Share your precious •
memories with the
grieving family at
www.starlocalnews.com/obits
972.398.4243
obituary@starlocalnews.com
■ City council
member makes
endorsements
It is election time again
and I am often asked, “Who
should I vote for?” My re-
sponse is to vote for the can-
didate who best represents
your core values.
I also recommend that
you look at a candidate’s
record as I believe in the no-
s tion that past behavior is
. the best indicator of future
behavior. Lastly, look at who
is supporting a candidate
and, if possible, why. It
seems nearly every time, the
next question is “Who do
you support?”
This year, there are three
candidates that I am en-
dorsing: Pat Fallon for State
Representative District 106,
Mike Truitt for Constable
Precinct 2, and Kirk
■ Mikulec for The Colony City
| Council Place 1.
When Pat Fallon ap-
™ proached me asking for my
vote, it was clear I was
meeting someone with
strong convictions that I
share — control govern-
ment spending, reduce
taxes, economic develop-
ment, smaller less-intrusive
I government, and jobs. Asa
council member for, Frisco,
Pat has a record that sup-
ports these convictions. In
short, he does not just say it,
he lives it. Saying you are a
conservative leader is not
enough, demonstrating that
you are is the key. Pat Fal-
lon is clearly a proven, con-
servative leader that I know
will serve the constituents
in District 106 well.
When Mike Truitt became
Constable for Precinct 2 in
2005, he came into a diffi-
cult situation due to circum-
stances caused by the
previous constable. Mike
knew that it would take sig-
nificant effort to bring back
credibility and trust to the
office. Mike did not run
from this, he embraced the
challenge and our precinct
is better for it. Mike has
brought and continues to
bring relentless integrity
and sense of community to
the office. It is a pleasure to
see Mike around the com-
munity at our special events
serving the residents of The
Colony. In my mind, Mike
has earned the privilege to
continue to serve as Consta-
ble for Precinct 2.
I know it is unusual for a
sitting council member to
position. Without question
Kirk Mikulec is that person.
I have had the honor to
serve with Kirk in two ca-
pacities; first on the Plan-
ning and Zoning
Commission and on the City
Council for three of his six
years representing Place 4.
Kirk is an extremely hard
worker and takes his role on
council seriously. He has
shared in the heavy lifting
and investment that has
been done during his tenure
on council; reel in spending,
reduce our debt, lower the
tax rate, and repair our in-
frastructure, including
streets, the police/jail build-
ing, and the public works
building. Economic growth
is extremely important. Kirk
understands the intricacies
in making The Colony com-
petitive in attracting new
businesses to our great city.
Kirk was on the leadership
team that was instrumental
in bringing the $1.5 billon
Nebraska Furniture Mart
development to our city. I
believe wholeheartedly that
Kirk is the best person to
serve as our Place 1 council
openly support a candidate representative.
for city council. However, I
It is my hope that you will
believe the circumstances join me in supporting these
are unique this year. With
the current Place 1 council
member choosing not to
run, it is imperative that we
have a proven leader in that
outstanding candidates,
Jeff Connelly,
The Colony
City Council, Place 3
CORRECTION
Getting it right
In a story published April ans, the commander of the
11, 2012, in The Colony
Courier-Reader about the
state'sdobless rate for veter-
local American Legion Post
was misidentified. Bob Bour-
bon is a former, commander
of the Post. The current com-
mander is Mike Miller.
The Courier-Leader apol-
ogizeg for the error. (
+
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Mann, Rick. The Colony Courier-Leader (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 18, 2012, newspaper, April 18, 2012; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1622178/m1/2/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Colony Public Library.