Friday, June 24, 2011

Whatever happened to four-leaf clovers?

MOOR OR LESS

Whatever happened to four-leaf clovers?

Reflecting on 'Gunsmoke' and pronouncing names

Bill Moor Moor or Less

8:35 a.m. EDT, June 19, 2011

Idle thoughts while waiting for the next big Chicago Cubs’ winning streak:

    •    What do you think about our friends getting their van stolen out of their garage the night before they were to travel to Florida only to spot it themselves while driving up South Michigan Street on their return trip a week later?

    •    Wasn’t the passing of James Arness – Matt Dillon of “Gunsmoke” fame – yet another reminder to baby boomers like me that time continues to march on? And who else is still baffled by the fact that Matt was outdrawn by his opponent during the show’s opening scene (although his shot was apparently the truer one)?
    •    How frustrating is it to have the correct change counted out for the drive-through window and then one of the pennies suddenly rolls out of your hand and lands somewhere under your seat?
    •    Wouldn’t life be a little simpler if everyone always wore name tags plastered to their chests?
    •    Do kids ever look out a car window anymore or are they always entrenched in their video games or movie screens? Do they know that brown cows and red barns really do exist outside of storybooks?
    •    How come pants come with 30-inch and 32-inch inseams and I have a perfect 31?
    •    Did you realize that there are only 94 days before the end of the Chicago Cubs’ baseball season? (Not that I’m giving up or anything – yeah, right.)
    •    So do you think the sales of sweater vests plummeted after Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel had to resign?
    •    Would you believe that a certain someone wanted to throw out her large school bag just because a cricket had jumped inside it?
    •    How about Michael Jordan performing on the next “Dancing with the Stars?” Or even better, maybe Shania Twain?
    •    Heath Bar Blizzard or Chocolate Xtreme for your guilty pleasure?
    •    Does anybody else feel like “a knight without armor in a savage land” when they surf the Web or try to navigate Facebook? (And what old cowboy show did that line come from?)
    •    When is the last time you found a four-leaf clover? Don’t some people just seem to have a knack at that?
    •    Isn’t it a little humbling when your 7-year-old granddaughter beats you in checkers and you didn’t even go easy on her?
    •    Do you think that Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly has it figured out for next season?
    •    Do you think it will take people as long to figure out how to pronounce Buttigieg as it did to master Luecke? That is if Pete Buttigieg gets elected, right?
    •    John Weiner, the New York congressman? Did he really have to draw attention to himself in a humiliating fashion to get a little name recognition?
    •    How come I would probably have an easier time gulping down a spider than having to walk through one of its semi-invisible webs hanging in a doorway?
    •    Who else doesn’t have the patience for crossword puzzles?
    •    Isn’t it kind of eye-opening to have out-of-towners visiting and realize that we do have some pretty neat things in our city when we show them around?
    •    Wouldn’t you agree that women understand fantasy football and baseball drafts about as much as men grasp the importance of a wedding shower? And while we’re on that subject, young couples who are the recipients of those showers usually aren’t the ones who really need all those gifts, wouldn’t you agree?

Bill Moor writes a weekly column for Community. Contact him at ern14est@yahoo.com.

Copyright © 2011, South Bend Tribune

sbt-whatever-happened-to-fourleaf-clovers-20110619

FredMy at 6:55 AM June 22, 2011

"When is the last time you found a four-leaf clover? Don’t some people just seem to have a knack at that?"

It's been a while since I found one, but I used to have the knack for it.  Maybe I do need bifocals.  The trick is pattern recognition: you gotta train your eye to jump to the "one of these things just doesn't belong."  It's that old 90-degree angle between the leaves, not the common-joe 120 degrees.

And did you know the clovers turn during the day?  On a bright sunny morning, they'll all be facing the east.  And late in the afternoon, facing west. 

SBNewbie at 1:50 PM June 21, 2011

Well, Bill, apparently Congressman Weiner's bid for name recognition didn't work with you:  his first name is Anthony, not John.

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