Robert Skoglund
Rants for The humble Farmer Radio Program May 12, 2006
1. Time spent looking for lost items is never wasted time. The other day when I was looking for a CD I turned the place upside down without finding it. But I did find 200 Spanish flash cards that I’ve been missing for two weeks.
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2. Listen closely, and you will learn how not to do it. When I asked my computer guru what he liked, he said porterhouse steak. Marsha went to the market, and when she came home, after ensuring a comfortable retirement for two ranchers in Montana, I went into my storage shed and dug out a gas grill. It had rusted out and broke in two when I picked it up so I threw it aside and dug out another gas grill. Two small school desks were on top of it so I brought one of them into the house for the grandchildren. Do you find surprises in your storage shed if you only look in there once a year? Carpenter ants had invaded our fir tree friend, John Longwood, and there was a 10 inch pile of fine sawdust between his legs. Anyway, I dragged the grill up to the driveway, hooked up a gas bottle and touched her off. Bad plan. First you take it all apart and clean out generations of little smiling mouse skulls and everything else that has collected and been left behind. And even after taking the grill apart, washing it out and putting it back together --- well, be prepared for a unique experience when you warm up those little volcanic rocks in your grill after they have soaked in mouse urine for 12 years. Then, leaving nothing to chance, I emailed my friend Nick Diller in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to find out how to use a grill. Griller Diller, as he is called, is one of the world’s leading experts on grilling everything but hardened criminals, and he sent me 123 pages of his book, asking for nothing in return but a Norbert Twichell T shirt. Yes. Griller Diller sent me comprehensive directions on how to use a grill, but --- no where did I read that the dripping juice would catch on fire --- so I followed the directions and stood there like a nummy and watched the meat burn to a crisp.
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3. Perhaps you will tell me -- what is the matter with me? Can you believe that I don’t give a rat’s rear end about where Tom Cruise is or what he is doing? I have never seen the TV program that loves Raymond and I would rather take a beating than watch a baseball, football or basketball game. I would rather watch a baseball game than American Idol. I can’t get excited about programs that feature crime scene investigations because we see more and more people on TV nowadays who are not breathing. They probably work cheap. I don’t dance, I don’t ski, I don’t go on picnics, I don’t braid rugs and I don’t go hunting. Although I once had to conduct Beethoven’s 9th Symphony I don’t care for concerts. So, if you are hearing my voice for the first time, because there is only one thing left for most any American citizen, you probably think you know how I get through the evenings. But you are wrong: I don’t drink and I never did. I’m humble@humblefarmer.com How has the cream of what American culture has to offer passed me by? Am I driven by environment or genes? What do you do to enrich your life and how might I profit by your example? Please remember that I would find the social life of a cave dwelling monk to be an intolerable whirlwind.
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4. Did you hear Fred Nutter unload his opinion on TV the other day? I only heard part of what he said, but it seems that he is distressed that people sometimes have to stand in line for two hours to get a driver’s license or register a car. Thirty years ago you might remember that we were continually shown pictures of Russians standing in line as evidence that the system in the Soviet Union didn’t work and was on the verge of collapse. But I thought we sometimes have to stand in line for two hours at state license bureaus because the state is trying to save money by cutting back on unnecessary services. And you can live with that, can’t you? But, I think I heard Fred Nutter say --- are you listening to this? --- the state is about to hire four people to investigate state owned trails for those little four wheel vehicles that children are always crashing into trees. I hope you will correct me and tell me that I really didn’t hear what I think I heard. For years I always defended my many friends in our legislature because I honestly thought that they were doing their best. But --- if it is true that they are considering hiring four people to investigate making trails for four wheelers, perhaps you and I should strongly suggest that they get back to helping the widowed and fatherless.
+
5. I told my brother Jim that Fred Nutter talked about the 2 hour wait you get on certain days when you want to renew your driver’s license or register your car. You might know that my brother Jim has the ability to come up with common sense answers to problems that baffle experts. Listen. My brother told me to write Matt Dunlap, the Secretary of State, and suggest that he install an EZ pass lane in the registration offices, where, by paying an extra $2 you could walk right through.
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6. When I heard Fred Nutter’s comment on how long it sometimes takes to get your car registered, I whisked out an email, outlining what I thought were Mr. Nutter’s concerns, to some of our more effective legislators. I was pleased when many of my legislator friends emailed me a response, but when I read them I was amazed that anything gets done in Augusta at all. A few knew exactly what had happened, a few raised eyebrows and said they’d find out what had happened, and others, with an alacrity usually only found on the national level, said they couldn’t do a thing because their hands were tied and it was the fault of the other party. A state senator once told me that Dr. Spooner would have described the helpless ones as “Shining Wits.” This little project has given me a new respect for lobbyists. Lobbyists are necessary because one person can’t know everything and all legislators know is what they read, see on television, hear on the radio or are told by someone who explains the situation while standing in the hallowed halls in Augusta. No matter what your legislative goal, be it increasing health insurance premiums or releasing an innocent man from prison, you must present your case to each individual legislator. If you take the time to quietly explain the situation over and over, legislators will vote on the basis of the information you have given them --- as is proven by our constantly increasing insurance premiums. So don’t give up. Legislators want to hear from you so their vote can be based on an educated decision. I was pleased to discover I have so many friends in Augusta. Because of the importance of Fred Nutter’s commentary, and because the Secretary of State wants you to know what’s going on, he called me to clarify matters, and when Marsha handed me the phone his first breathless words were, ‘Was that The Almost Perfect Woman?”
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7. Thank you for listening. Here’s a letter from Representative Thom Watson, who explains the ATV situation --- just for you.
Hello, Mr. Skoglund, and thanks for writing -
I heard the same Nutter op-ed on NBC this morning. I do not know about the Secretary of State's problems, but I do know something about the "four new hires" Mr. Nutter complains about.
Those positions were made available through a bill heard recently by the IF&W Committee, of which I am House Chair. The positions are part-time within the Department of Conservation, and are intended to provide support from the Department to local ATV clubs from around the state who are trying to establish ATV trails in various areas. Last year we raised the registration fees on these machines, and have devoted a good bit of that registration money to the ATV Trail effort -- in part, to give these residents and tourists safe places to ride without causing undue landowner distress.
There was enough money from the increased ATV registrations to fund the four part-timers in DOC completely -- this is not a "new" drain on the General Fund, because the ATV money is dedicated to doing just this sort of thing. ATV riders and owners are footing this bill, and asked for the new positions through the State's All Terrain Vehicle Trails Advisory Board.
Linking these ATV positions with the Secretary of State's computer problems makes no sense at all.
Thanks again for writing,
Thom Watson
Rep. House District 62 (Bath)
So. It seems that I threw my hands in the air and gnashed my teeth for nothing. The ATV people are footing the bill for their 4 part time people. You and I are not paying them, and they are going to give our ATV friends their own trails so they won’t be grinding up your fields and forests. So I’m happy and you and Fred Nutter should be happy. I’m humble@humblefarmer.com and I’d like to hear from you -- even if you are not in the legislature. Do you believe what you read in the papers, see on television or hear on the radio? Or do you think that sometimes there might be another side to the story? And why do you suppose all those legislators wrote to tell me how much they enjoy this program? How much you want to bet they’re all hoping my wife will let me reinstate my annual lobster picnic.
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8. Hey Humble I work as a police officer. If my shift 'aligns' with your show, I'll often listen when I'm on patrol. I especially appreciate you. Do people really occasionally sometimes just stop in for supper? Best, Representative Chris
Thank you, Chris. Do people really occasionally sometimes just stop in for supper?
Yes, but only if they have an inordinately high IQ and an adventuresome palate. The only one I can think of who stopped in for dinner all last year was a retired professor of Philosophy from Colby and his wife. I warmed up some apple dumplings in the microwave. Another family from Camden stopped in for supper, but they brought food to make sure they would, indeed, get something decent to eat and even then, they called ahead.
You must certainly realize that nobody in this world has time to do anything. You’re a policeman, and you must know that even when a man is breaking down the back door to a beer store with an axe, he regrets that he can’t also be at home spending quality time with his children. This probably brings to your mind Damon Runyon's short story 'Butch Minds the Baby,’ in which a multi-tasking family man takes his baby with him when he goes out to blow a safe. I’m like Butch. Give me free tickets to the movies every night of the week and a nightly $20 gift certificate so I could revel at most any restaurant within 10 miles, and seven nights of the week I’d prefer to stay home.
Tim Sample, who is very smart, and who wants me to tell you that he was born in Maine, knew this about people when he put a brass plaque on his door that said something like, “Admission by appointment only.” You see, Tim Sample who was born in Maine knew that nobody has time to visit anybody, so he beat all these people who weren’t going to visit him to the punch by putting this very funny sign on his door that told them to go away. It was the epitome of dry humor. And, of course, I’m so numb that I didn’t get it until I just took time to think about it now.
I, on the other hand, invite people to my home. You see, it really doesn’t make any difference if you invite people to your home or if you put up a chain link fence and “beware of the dog” sign, because nobody is going to visit you anyway. People live their lives looking at the clock, watching the hands spin around, as they rend their garments and cry that they don’t seem to be getting anything done. Because there is no time to do anything. And when you do finish a project, you toss and turn in bed that night because you only got it done by putting off some other terrible chore that really should have been done.
I’m not saying that I don’t have visitors. Throughout the summer hundreds of cars raise a dust in my dooryard, but people leave without even getting out. This puts them in the same category as our friends who tour five European countries in three days. They can say that they were there but it was no more than a tiresome bother.
And, when it comes right down to it, would anyone in his right mind stop in to take pot luck with a man who thinks that the art of conversation is the ability to talk about himself? What in the world could they expect to get out of it? And suppose they didn’t like Marsha’s cooking. Because my friends are cultured people they would have to pretend that they liked roast chicken with cranberry sauce and fresh asparagus and would have to try just a bit. Of course, at your house I’d be honest and wouldn’t pretend to like any strange and mysterious items put before me. If it isn’t something my mother served every day in 1939, I don’t want it. I was invited to a friend’s house one night and when she heaped my plate with some veggies that would burn the tonsils out of an El Paso lawman, I simply squirmed and looked at my plate until it was time to go home.
By the way, Chris. Years ago when Bill Bryant was up in Houlton with --- is it Troop F? --- I used to mention that a friend of mine was sitting beneath the blue light on his car enjoying this program while watching for speeders. And if he had to shut off his favorite program to attend to business, it made him ugly and he wasn’t about to give warnings. Now that I know you will be listening, I’m encouraged to mention it again.
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9. In the May issue of Portland magazine, there is an article that compares Manchester, NH and Portland, Maine. Under Bragging Rights, it says:
“The cultural breakdown goes a little like this: Portland has Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Manchester claims Robert Frost (who farmed in nearby Derry for a time). To our Bob Marley, Tim Sample and Robert Skoglund, they answer with Adam Sandler and Sarah Silverman.”
I was overwhelmed with this undeserved honor of being mentioned in the same breath with Tim Sample who was born in Maine and immediately got off an email to thank Amy Barnett, editor of Portland magazine.
Meanwhile, I am also communicating by email with my niece Amy in Portland, Oregon who is planning to freeze to death 150 or so people at a June wedding party lobster cookout down on some beach in Pemaquid. I have offered to help Amy because Roan Buck and I have fed hundreds of people at my famous lobster picnics.
This morning I got a letter back from Amy Barnett at Portland magazine that returned my email letter and said simply, “Huh?”
The letter intended for my niece Amy in Portland Oregon that went to editor Amy in Portland, Maine said:
“Hi Amy,
Exactly which part of Pemaquid are we going to? I might go down to get a look at the lay of the land if you can give me precise directions. How do I find the parking lot?
I have faith in you and think that this will go very well for a first time through. Everyone will have an unforgettable good time.”
+
10. You will remember the Harvard girl who copied another novel into her novel. I mentioned that I think she is cursed with a high IQ. Larry writes: humble: I knew a guy with perfect recall. You could specify the page and Jim would read verbatim from that page since it was recorded in his memory. I thought it a terrible curse. He was at a great disadvantage when taking essay exams since he had to reread the text in his head before making any comment. The Harvard wunderkind who wrote her book (How Mehta Got Kissed and Got a Life or something like that) was found to have 40 some plagiarized sections in her book that were nearly identical to some other book she had read and enjoyed. But, it's hard to imagine a Harvard student not knowing that using words from another text in her novel was wrong. Perhaps like my friend Jim, previous texts flowed from memory and she didn't stop to give attribution. Fatal error. But, it doesn't sound conscious since it's so easy to check with computers. Larry DeBlois, retired high school English teacher
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11. You probably heard about the man who has been trapped at Charles de Gaulle Airport since 1988. His passport got messed up so he can’t enter France and yet he is unable to leave it. It was written up in the newspaper because the reporter thought it was such a strange and unusual thing. But if you compare this unfortunate fellow to a man who doesn’t get along with his wife, yet has six kids so they can’t afford a divorce, we could probably find several hundred similar cases right here in Maine.
1. Time spent looking for lost items is never wasted time. The other day when I was looking for a CD I turned the place upside down without finding it. But I did find 200 Spanish flash cards that I’ve been missing for two weeks.
+
2. Listen closely, and you will learn how not to do it. When I asked my computer guru what he liked, he said porterhouse steak. Marsha went to the market, and when she came home, after ensuring a comfortable retirement for two ranchers in Montana, I went into my storage shed and dug out a gas grill. It had rusted out and broke in two when I picked it up so I threw it aside and dug out another gas grill. Two small school desks were on top of it so I brought one of them into the house for the grandchildren. Do you find surprises in your storage shed if you only look in there once a year? Carpenter ants had invaded our fir tree friend, John Longwood, and there was a 10 inch pile of fine sawdust between his legs. Anyway, I dragged the grill up to the driveway, hooked up a gas bottle and touched her off. Bad plan. First you take it all apart and clean out generations of little smiling mouse skulls and everything else that has collected and been left behind. And even after taking the grill apart, washing it out and putting it back together --- well, be prepared for a unique experience when you warm up those little volcanic rocks in your grill after they have soaked in mouse urine for 12 years. Then, leaving nothing to chance, I emailed my friend Nick Diller in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to find out how to use a grill. Griller Diller, as he is called, is one of the world’s leading experts on grilling everything but hardened criminals, and he sent me 123 pages of his book, asking for nothing in return but a Norbert Twichell T shirt. Yes. Griller Diller sent me comprehensive directions on how to use a grill, but --- no where did I read that the dripping juice would catch on fire --- so I followed the directions and stood there like a nummy and watched the meat burn to a crisp.
+
3. Perhaps you will tell me -- what is the matter with me? Can you believe that I don’t give a rat’s rear end about where Tom Cruise is or what he is doing? I have never seen the TV program that loves Raymond and I would rather take a beating than watch a baseball, football or basketball game. I would rather watch a baseball game than American Idol. I can’t get excited about programs that feature crime scene investigations because we see more and more people on TV nowadays who are not breathing. They probably work cheap. I don’t dance, I don’t ski, I don’t go on picnics, I don’t braid rugs and I don’t go hunting. Although I once had to conduct Beethoven’s 9th Symphony I don’t care for concerts. So, if you are hearing my voice for the first time, because there is only one thing left for most any American citizen, you probably think you know how I get through the evenings. But you are wrong: I don’t drink and I never did. I’m humble@humblefarmer.com How has the cream of what American culture has to offer passed me by? Am I driven by environment or genes? What do you do to enrich your life and how might I profit by your example? Please remember that I would find the social life of a cave dwelling monk to be an intolerable whirlwind.
+
4. Did you hear Fred Nutter unload his opinion on TV the other day? I only heard part of what he said, but it seems that he is distressed that people sometimes have to stand in line for two hours to get a driver’s license or register a car. Thirty years ago you might remember that we were continually shown pictures of Russians standing in line as evidence that the system in the Soviet Union didn’t work and was on the verge of collapse. But I thought we sometimes have to stand in line for two hours at state license bureaus because the state is trying to save money by cutting back on unnecessary services. And you can live with that, can’t you? But, I think I heard Fred Nutter say --- are you listening to this? --- the state is about to hire four people to investigate state owned trails for those little four wheel vehicles that children are always crashing into trees. I hope you will correct me and tell me that I really didn’t hear what I think I heard. For years I always defended my many friends in our legislature because I honestly thought that they were doing their best. But --- if it is true that they are considering hiring four people to investigate making trails for four wheelers, perhaps you and I should strongly suggest that they get back to helping the widowed and fatherless.
+
5. I told my brother Jim that Fred Nutter talked about the 2 hour wait you get on certain days when you want to renew your driver’s license or register your car. You might know that my brother Jim has the ability to come up with common sense answers to problems that baffle experts. Listen. My brother told me to write Matt Dunlap, the Secretary of State, and suggest that he install an EZ pass lane in the registration offices, where, by paying an extra $2 you could walk right through.
+
6. When I heard Fred Nutter’s comment on how long it sometimes takes to get your car registered, I whisked out an email, outlining what I thought were Mr. Nutter’s concerns, to some of our more effective legislators. I was pleased when many of my legislator friends emailed me a response, but when I read them I was amazed that anything gets done in Augusta at all. A few knew exactly what had happened, a few raised eyebrows and said they’d find out what had happened, and others, with an alacrity usually only found on the national level, said they couldn’t do a thing because their hands were tied and it was the fault of the other party. A state senator once told me that Dr. Spooner would have described the helpless ones as “Shining Wits.” This little project has given me a new respect for lobbyists. Lobbyists are necessary because one person can’t know everything and all legislators know is what they read, see on television, hear on the radio or are told by someone who explains the situation while standing in the hallowed halls in Augusta. No matter what your legislative goal, be it increasing health insurance premiums or releasing an innocent man from prison, you must present your case to each individual legislator. If you take the time to quietly explain the situation over and over, legislators will vote on the basis of the information you have given them --- as is proven by our constantly increasing insurance premiums. So don’t give up. Legislators want to hear from you so their vote can be based on an educated decision. I was pleased to discover I have so many friends in Augusta. Because of the importance of Fred Nutter’s commentary, and because the Secretary of State wants you to know what’s going on, he called me to clarify matters, and when Marsha handed me the phone his first breathless words were, ‘Was that The Almost Perfect Woman?”
+
7. Thank you for listening. Here’s a letter from Representative Thom Watson, who explains the ATV situation --- just for you.
Hello, Mr. Skoglund, and thanks for writing -
I heard the same Nutter op-ed on NBC this morning. I do not know about the Secretary of State's problems, but I do know something about the "four new hires" Mr. Nutter complains about.
Those positions were made available through a bill heard recently by the IF&W Committee, of which I am House Chair. The positions are part-time within the Department of Conservation, and are intended to provide support from the Department to local ATV clubs from around the state who are trying to establish ATV trails in various areas. Last year we raised the registration fees on these machines, and have devoted a good bit of that registration money to the ATV Trail effort -- in part, to give these residents and tourists safe places to ride without causing undue landowner distress.
There was enough money from the increased ATV registrations to fund the four part-timers in DOC completely -- this is not a "new" drain on the General Fund, because the ATV money is dedicated to doing just this sort of thing. ATV riders and owners are footing this bill, and asked for the new positions through the State's All Terrain Vehicle Trails Advisory Board.
Linking these ATV positions with the Secretary of State's computer problems makes no sense at all.
Thanks again for writing,
Thom Watson
Rep. House District 62 (Bath)
So. It seems that I threw my hands in the air and gnashed my teeth for nothing. The ATV people are footing the bill for their 4 part time people. You and I are not paying them, and they are going to give our ATV friends their own trails so they won’t be grinding up your fields and forests. So I’m happy and you and Fred Nutter should be happy. I’m humble@humblefarmer.com and I’d like to hear from you -- even if you are not in the legislature. Do you believe what you read in the papers, see on television or hear on the radio? Or do you think that sometimes there might be another side to the story? And why do you suppose all those legislators wrote to tell me how much they enjoy this program? How much you want to bet they’re all hoping my wife will let me reinstate my annual lobster picnic.
+
8. Hey Humble I work as a police officer. If my shift 'aligns' with your show, I'll often listen when I'm on patrol. I especially appreciate you. Do people really occasionally sometimes just stop in for supper? Best, Representative Chris
Thank you, Chris. Do people really occasionally sometimes just stop in for supper?
Yes, but only if they have an inordinately high IQ and an adventuresome palate. The only one I can think of who stopped in for dinner all last year was a retired professor of Philosophy from Colby and his wife. I warmed up some apple dumplings in the microwave. Another family from Camden stopped in for supper, but they brought food to make sure they would, indeed, get something decent to eat and even then, they called ahead.
You must certainly realize that nobody in this world has time to do anything. You’re a policeman, and you must know that even when a man is breaking down the back door to a beer store with an axe, he regrets that he can’t also be at home spending quality time with his children. This probably brings to your mind Damon Runyon's short story 'Butch Minds the Baby,’ in which a multi-tasking family man takes his baby with him when he goes out to blow a safe. I’m like Butch. Give me free tickets to the movies every night of the week and a nightly $20 gift certificate so I could revel at most any restaurant within 10 miles, and seven nights of the week I’d prefer to stay home.
Tim Sample, who is very smart, and who wants me to tell you that he was born in Maine, knew this about people when he put a brass plaque on his door that said something like, “Admission by appointment only.” You see, Tim Sample who was born in Maine knew that nobody has time to visit anybody, so he beat all these people who weren’t going to visit him to the punch by putting this very funny sign on his door that told them to go away. It was the epitome of dry humor. And, of course, I’m so numb that I didn’t get it until I just took time to think about it now.
I, on the other hand, invite people to my home. You see, it really doesn’t make any difference if you invite people to your home or if you put up a chain link fence and “beware of the dog” sign, because nobody is going to visit you anyway. People live their lives looking at the clock, watching the hands spin around, as they rend their garments and cry that they don’t seem to be getting anything done. Because there is no time to do anything. And when you do finish a project, you toss and turn in bed that night because you only got it done by putting off some other terrible chore that really should have been done.
I’m not saying that I don’t have visitors. Throughout the summer hundreds of cars raise a dust in my dooryard, but people leave without even getting out. This puts them in the same category as our friends who tour five European countries in three days. They can say that they were there but it was no more than a tiresome bother.
And, when it comes right down to it, would anyone in his right mind stop in to take pot luck with a man who thinks that the art of conversation is the ability to talk about himself? What in the world could they expect to get out of it? And suppose they didn’t like Marsha’s cooking. Because my friends are cultured people they would have to pretend that they liked roast chicken with cranberry sauce and fresh asparagus and would have to try just a bit. Of course, at your house I’d be honest and wouldn’t pretend to like any strange and mysterious items put before me. If it isn’t something my mother served every day in 1939, I don’t want it. I was invited to a friend’s house one night and when she heaped my plate with some veggies that would burn the tonsils out of an El Paso lawman, I simply squirmed and looked at my plate until it was time to go home.
By the way, Chris. Years ago when Bill Bryant was up in Houlton with --- is it Troop F? --- I used to mention that a friend of mine was sitting beneath the blue light on his car enjoying this program while watching for speeders. And if he had to shut off his favorite program to attend to business, it made him ugly and he wasn’t about to give warnings. Now that I know you will be listening, I’m encouraged to mention it again.
+
9. In the May issue of Portland magazine, there is an article that compares Manchester, NH and Portland, Maine. Under Bragging Rights, it says:
“The cultural breakdown goes a little like this: Portland has Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Manchester claims Robert Frost (who farmed in nearby Derry for a time). To our Bob Marley, Tim Sample and Robert Skoglund, they answer with Adam Sandler and Sarah Silverman.”
I was overwhelmed with this undeserved honor of being mentioned in the same breath with Tim Sample who was born in Maine and immediately got off an email to thank Amy Barnett, editor of Portland magazine.
Meanwhile, I am also communicating by email with my niece Amy in Portland, Oregon who is planning to freeze to death 150 or so people at a June wedding party lobster cookout down on some beach in Pemaquid. I have offered to help Amy because Roan Buck and I have fed hundreds of people at my famous lobster picnics.
This morning I got a letter back from Amy Barnett at Portland magazine that returned my email letter and said simply, “Huh?”
The letter intended for my niece Amy in Portland Oregon that went to editor Amy in Portland, Maine said:
“Hi Amy,
Exactly which part of Pemaquid are we going to? I might go down to get a look at the lay of the land if you can give me precise directions. How do I find the parking lot?
I have faith in you and think that this will go very well for a first time through. Everyone will have an unforgettable good time.”
+
10. You will remember the Harvard girl who copied another novel into her novel. I mentioned that I think she is cursed with a high IQ. Larry writes: humble: I knew a guy with perfect recall. You could specify the page and Jim would read verbatim from that page since it was recorded in his memory. I thought it a terrible curse. He was at a great disadvantage when taking essay exams since he had to reread the text in his head before making any comment. The Harvard wunderkind who wrote her book (How Mehta Got Kissed and Got a Life or something like that) was found to have 40 some plagiarized sections in her book that were nearly identical to some other book she had read and enjoyed. But, it's hard to imagine a Harvard student not knowing that using words from another text in her novel was wrong. Perhaps like my friend Jim, previous texts flowed from memory and she didn't stop to give attribution. Fatal error. But, it doesn't sound conscious since it's so easy to check with computers. Larry DeBlois, retired high school English teacher
+
11. You probably heard about the man who has been trapped at Charles de Gaulle Airport since 1988. His passport got messed up so he can’t enter France and yet he is unable to leave it. It was written up in the newspaper because the reporter thought it was such a strange and unusual thing. But if you compare this unfortunate fellow to a man who doesn’t get along with his wife, yet has six kids so they can’t afford a divorce, we could probably find several hundred similar cases right here in Maine.
posted by The humble Farmer at 12:59 PM
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