We were to collect the money agreed to by our manager and give it to the band the next night in Dayton, Ohio. We were paid a weekly rate. We never knew the outcome.
GERTRUDE STEIN
A world-renowned poet born in Pennsylvania in 1874, educated at Radcliffe College and Johns Hopkins University and lived in Paris for thirty years – and I can only think of her as writing “a rose is a rose is a rose.” Writing those words, she was making a profound statement. I doubt that she thought 100 years later that people would be debating its meaning and the logic.
She says “things are what they are…a statement of the law of identity.” Simply using the name of a thing. Shakespeare says, “a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” Gertrude Stein said, or implied, that a rose by any other name would be a rose by any other name and might smell just as sweet. A rose is not a rose by any other name – a rose is a rose is a rose. She also said that “a rose” already invokes the image and the emotion associated with it – so I am thoroughly convinced now that Santa will bring me a nice gift this year but if Santa comes under another name, it could be a nice gift or it might be an ugly bright green necktie that I wouldn’t wear in the next 150 years.
Santa is Santa is Santa.
I will sleep well Christmas eve.
Thank you, Santa
Grandpa
A Rose is a Rose is a Rose
Gertrude Stein
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare
Gertrude is saying: “Bill, there is no other name. A rose is a rose is a rose. Period.
Now, back to the 20th century!!
The names of the big powerbrokers around the world are just what they sound like – POWER. To really know them, you would really have to know their nick-names -- sorry, I’m not privy to that either, but here are a few nicknames of people I encountered in my younger days, K through graduate school.
1) Buzzle But – Professor in college
2) undercover – he was short and wide
3) Gravel mouth, an athlete who talked fast and sounded like he had marbles in his mouth
4) Rodent – nice guy with a small head
5) Rip – nice guy, but was often in trouble talking (at that time a person ripped when he got out of line at a bad time.)
6) Playboy – (No explanation necessary
7) But Low, a great football player who had very short legs
8) Muffle Duff – a leader of our jazz band who was always tumbling for no reason at all
9) Peanuts – loved ‘em
10) Slick – he was slick, period
11) Giant – he was small and anything but giant-like
12) Pickle – loved them
these were all good people, some became very successful, but had nick-names that were not the usual run of the mill. Oh, one more. I played bass with the Wilberforce Collegians for about two years. We traveled for three months in the summer. This particular summer, we started in Kokomo, Indiana. We all agreed that we blew that town almost off the map.
Of the l4 or l5 players, I was the only one who was a physical education major, and perhaps, had a little better build and was a little more “fit” than the others. They called me “Gorilla.” At the intermission in Kokomo, Indiana, a young lady talked to me about Wilberforce University and expressed an interest in the school and wanted to keep in touch. She wrote my name and address on a card, said that she would keep in touch. I also gave her my school address because we would be back at the school in a few weeks while on tour.
We went back on stage to play and she ran up and said, by the way, is Gorilla really a part of your name? I told her it was just a nick-name.
After a couple of weeks, we were back in Ohio and one of the fellows picked up the mail at the school and we were on our way to Michigan.
I liked to sit up front next to the driver in a seat a little lower than the driver seat – to help protect the lives of the guys – especially mine. I opened my letter and the first thing I saw was “My dear Gorilla.” Unfortunately, I was not the only one who saw that and he hollered it out, “My dear Gorilla?” The rest of the summer, the guys called me “My dear Gorilla.”
Lucky for me, it didn’t carry over during the next year. However, my brother-in-law, who was in my class, called me “G” for the next 30 or 40 years. ha – the joke was on me.
Signed,
Gorilla
We were to collect the money agreed to by our manager and give it to the band the next night in Dayton, Ohio. We were paid a weekly rate. We never knew the outcome.
