Author: Robert Eck

Robert J Eck, born in St Louis, Mo. Attended local schools, graduating from Washington University (St Louis) with BSCE and JD degrees. Practiced Intellectual Property law in private & corporate firms; currently retired.

A Walk a Day

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Walking for exercise carries a long history, as far back as 400 bc:
 
— “Walking is man’s best medicine.”  Hippocrates (460bc—370bc) 

A Harvard Medical School study concluded that a daily 15 minute walk can extend ones life by 3 years. (“15 minutes a day ups your lifespan by 3 years,” Harvard Health Letter, December, 2013. health.harvard.edu.)  Not to be undone, a British study upped the ante, concluding that a brisk 25 minute walk daily “can add seven years to your life.“  (“A Daily Walk ‘can add seven years to your life,” by Paul Peachly, Independent, August 31, 2015. independent.co.uk})  If that be true, why don’t more people walk longer — and brisker?  Obviously, A quick drive works better than a brisk walk for most busy or lazy folks.  

What constitutes a brisk walk?  The collective thinking confirms a pace that moves your heart rate into its target heart rate zone, but the quantifying measure for that zone varies.  Some examples:  (a) a pace that allows talking normally but not singing.  (CDC.org)  (b) 2.7 miles per hour (mph), a 22 minute mile. (“How fast is a Health ‘Brisk walk?” (Today’s Daily Briefing July 8, 2018)  (c) 3.5 mph, or 100 steps per minute, a 17.5 minute mile  (“What Does Brisk Walking Mean?” Healthcorps, December 6, 2013 healthcorps.com) or (d) 220 beats/minute – age X .70% maximum heart rate —a more complicated formula based on a body’s resting and maximum heart rate, (“Exercise Intensity:  How to Measure It,” by Mayo Clinic staff.  mayoclinic.org) The latter measure (d) should be more accurate, because it includes the physical ability and age of the walker.

Harry Truman (1884—1972,) former president of the United States, took a brisk walk every day, and lived to age 88.  “He rose early, took a shot of whiskey, with a glass of OJ as a chaser, and walked ten blocks at a fast clip of 120 paces per minute.   (trumanlittlewhitehouse.com)  Interestingly, none of the studies recommend whiskey.  

Not only is walking good exercise, but also can relieve crippling anxiety and stress:
 
— “The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk.”  Jacqueline Schiff, American clinical Psychologist

Writers, composers, artists think better during a walk:
 
— “Solvitur ambulando” (It is solved by walking.)  St Augustine (354—430.)
 
— “Only those thoughts that come from walking have any value.”  Friedrich Nietzsche (1844—1900.)
 
—“I have walked myself into my best thoughts…”  Soren Kierkegaard (1813— 1855.)

Moral: A walk a day yields longer life, less stress and better thoughts.

Behind the Mask

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Before the Covid-19 mask became the norm, humans relied on a simple smile — lip corners upturned and little more. This smile could easily greet people, but remains hidden behind a mask.  What’s a body to do?  

Smiles can vary, some sporting happiness, fear, anger, embarrassment, insolence or insincerity.  A 19th century French neurologist, Guiilame Duchenne ( 1806—1875), studied facial expressions, one of which became identified as the “Duchenne smile;” — the mouth turning up (contraction of the zygomatic major muscle) and the cheeks lifting and the eye sockets crinkling to create crow’s feet (contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle.)  The Duchenne Smile is considered a natural smile of enjoyment and differs from other smiles as it employs only the upper face muscles.  Other smiles do not reach the eyes but reside only in the lips and possibly cheeks. “Why Psychologists Study The Duchenne Smile, And What It Means For You,” by Danni Peck, betterhelp.com, February 13, 2020.         

Every once in a while, a new word bursts on the scene.  In the Covid-19 era, behind every mask may be a “smize,” which is defined as: “a playful or alluring expression of the eyes.” dictionary.com., and “smizing,” as: “a facial expression where you smile with your eyes; giving someone happy eyes.”  Urban dictionary.com.  Etymologically, the term “smize” was coined by the supermodel Tyra Banks in 2009, when she urged models to “smile with your eyes.”  ”Stylish Mask, but You’re never Fully Dressed Without a Smize, by Jen Murphy, Wall Street Journal, page A1, August 27, 2020, page A1.  Now, just how can one make that happen?  

The Wall Street Journal article, cited above, provided some examples.  A Denver restaurant in the Halcyon Hotel, prepares staff daily by gathering in a “in a circle with their masks on and run through a series of facial-expression drills that involve arching their eyebrows, crinkling their noses and, most importantly — smizing.”  In addition, they also practice brief and subtle facial movements to express welcome and learn awareness of a guest’s needs.  What surprised me, was that the hotel engages a “Director of People and Culture,” who supervises the training:  “We need to be able to determine who is fake smiling and whether someone is lifting the upper eyelids in fear or in surprise.”  (id.)  As consumers, we need to pay more attention to what goes on behind the mask.

After all, behind every mask may lurk: a smile, a smize or a smirk.    

What’s in a Number

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What’s in a number?  Previously, I have written posts on two interesting numbers: Twenty-two (22), of “Catch 22” fame, and Twenty-three (23), of “23 skidoo” origin.  “A Writer’s Reflections, August 17, 2018 and on August 1, 2018, respectively.  I did not find any other numbers as interesting — until I came across the meaning of number Eighty-six (86.)  Although appearing quite innocuous, it does have an interesting history.

Surprisingly, eighty-six (86) serves as an English verb, meaning: “1. to eject or bar (someone) from a restaurant, bar, etc, or 2. reject, discard, or cancel.”  (dictionary.com.)  At some time in our lives, everyone has been “86’d,” as by having been rejected for a part in a play, refused service for lack of a collared shirt, or denied acceptance to your first choice college.  How did the meaning derive?  Several theories have developed over the years, but it’s safe to say that no one knows for sure. 

The most popular belief places its origin sometime during the Prohibition era (1920—1933).  Supposedly, a New York City speakeasy, known as Chumley’s, accommodated their customer’s thirst for hard liquor at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village.  Upon arrival, of course, customers would knock on the back door, ask for Joe, and then enter securely without being seen.  When the police raided the place, a paid police department tipster would provide a pre-warning, so guests could escape arrest by fleeing through the front door, prominently displaying the numeral 86.  Accordingly, they were known as having “86 it.”  (Ask George:  Where Does the Term 86 Come From?, stlmag.com)

Other more tenuous theories relate to the standard size of a door or a grave, which measured 8 feet, 6 inches in height or length, respectively.  An obnoxious guest or a departed sot may be either “shown the door,” or interred, thus referred to as having been “86’d” (id.)

Another 86 usage came about in military parlance during the Korean conflict (1950—1953,) when the Air Force patrolled the war zone with the F-86 fighter plane.  When an F-86 shot down an enemy plane, the report described it as having been had been 86’d. (id.)    

After Prohibition ended and The Depression ran in high gear, many former speakeasy patrons found themselves in soup lines to obtain needed nourishment. Bu popular measure, a soup pot contained 85 ladles, so the if you happened to follow number 85, you were “86’d.” (id.)  Like in the 1995 Seinfeld skit about the soup Nazi:  ‘No soup for you!” (Wikipedia, “The Soup Nazi,”)

With so many possible origins, one wonders, which one may be closer to the truth, or whether all of them bear some veracity.  The one that comes up the most is the Chumley’s speakeasy.  In today’s time, with most bars being closed in many states, the speakeasy may come back, with a newly minted number.  A police raid escape from a Covid-19 era speakeasy may be upgraded, or perhaps downgraded, to having19’d it. 

Diddle, Doddle, Dawdle

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During the Covid-19 self quarantine and beyond, a home-bound body becomes captive of repetitive and trifling activities that used to be confined to folks who have reached a respectable old age, including, according to word definitions of dictionary.com, to:

— Dawdle: To waste time, be slow
— Doodle:  To scribble absent mindlessly
— Patter:  to talk rapidly, chatter
— Diddle: To pass time aimlessly or unproductively [cite]
— Fiddle:  To touch or fidget with something in a restless or nervous way
— Piddle:  To spend time with unimportant matters; to work in a trifling manner
— Piffle:  To talk in a trifling and ineffective way.
— Dither:  To be indecisive.

Because of pure monotony and boredom, one could easily become immersed in many innocuous topics, thus being receptive to dither, dawdle, doodle, diddle, fiddle, piddle, piffle and patter — ad nauseam.  Importantly, if you live alone, it does not matter; but if you live with someone, then a mutual exchange of piffle could lead to an unpleasant squabble; i.e., a noisy quarrel about something petty or trivial, leading one to be likened to a dottle:  a remnant of used tobacco left in a pipe — a burned out remnant long past it’s usefulness, with little kick left.  

In addition, the lack of exercise reduces needed vibrant oxygen to one’s brain cells, which could bring about an unsteadiness in speech and movement, causing one to:

— Dodder: tremble, usually because of old age  
— Totter:  walk unsteadily
— Tottle: to walk in a wavering unsteady manner.

So what do dawdle, doodle, patter, diddle, fiddle, piddle, piffle, dither, dodder, totter, tottle squabble have in common?  Each comprises a two syllable word, accented on the first syllable, which drones on like iambs, suggesting that one has too much time on their hands with not enough to do — a common result of isolation. 

Finally, I sense that I have diddled, piddled and dawdled in piffle long enough, so I will totter and tottle on, ending this post, like a dottle.   

Fashion

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Over the years, I lived through many fashion changes, and resisted all of them until no other alternatives became available.  Then, with stubborn reluctance, I gradually succumbed to accept some modest changes, just about the time the fashion craze moved on to something else.   

For example, In the early sixties, the style was skinny ties, about 1 1/2” wide, with jacket lapels the same.  A shirt had a narrow collar, with holes to attach a tie pin under the skinny knot of the tie.  Boffo!  What a great look, until the Vietnam era brought riots into the streets.  The fashion turned 180 degrees, sporting extra-wide jacket lapels, bell bottom trousers, and wide ties — suitable substitutes for a lobster bib to keep your shirt clean.  Reluctantly, I gradually moved into fashion, and kept the remnants in my historical closet repertoire.  After all, one never knows when an out-of-date fashion may return.  

Occasionally, when searching for something to wear, I would fetch a remnant, and my wife would say:”  You are going to wear that?’ —  a put down by a more knowledgeable fashion plate than myself.  Some time ago, retro parties became in fashion.   Every invitee needed to wear a costume from a former era, sometimes defined with particularity.  I found a bonanza in my closet.  At a Seventies party, I could wear a wide lapel hound’s tooth jacket, over a silken fluffy sleeve blouse, and dark bell bottom pants, with an unbelievably wide tie.  People would ask: “Where did you find that?”  I became the envy of the fashion-less crowd.  I responded, with a satisfied smirk, “In the retro section of my closet.” 

One benefit of the Corona virus quarantine:  I could wear anything I wanted or nothing, because no one could see what I was wearing.  So I relished dressing in old fashions of the past, and acted more youthful than my age, muttering:  “I can’t believe I actually dressed like this once”. 

Old sweat pants, soccer jerseys, white socks, and shorts (when shorts were short and not over the knees) paraded out of my closet, along with the many memories associated with them.  Alas, and at long last, I pitched many of the remnants of past decades, but enjoyed my leisure time reminiscing about earlier times.  My closet is much less crowded because of it.  

Common Sense

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In an old movie, “The Bells of St Mary’s,” a struggling grade school student had written an essay, with a little help from the Pastor, Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) entitled: “The Six Senses.”  Everyone knows the five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, and may believe the sixth sense may be some form of ESP, but the movie essay identifies the sixth sense as “common sense” — a sense that is scarcely used in today’s world, as well as in earlier times:

—  “Common sense is not so common.”  Voltaire (1694—1778), a French philosopher.

Good ole “common sense” seems to have taken a back seat in this computer driven world in which we live.  If we do not know how to do something, we Goggle: “How to _______?” and we get a ready answer, whether correct or not, without the need for using our own ingenuity to work it out by trial and error to solve the problem.  Just what is common sense?  Lets take a common short cut, and access the computer through Google to find out:

— “Common sense is good sense and sound judgment in practical matters.”  (dictionary.com) 

— “When unsure how to solve a problem, use your common sense.” 
Catherine Pulsifer (1946—2013, an emergency room nurse and author of several books on inspirational words of wisdom. 

— Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.  Josh Billings (1818—1885), American humorist.  

—  “All truth, in the long run, is only common sense clarified.  Thomas H Huxley (1825—1895)

—  “Seek advice, but use your own common sense.” (Yiddish proverb)

In 1776, Thomas Paine (1737—1809) wrote a most influential pamphlet, entitled “Common Sense,” which challenged the authority of the British monarch and used plain language to openly seek for freedom from Great Britain to create a democratic republic.  It rallied the people to revolt against the English monarchy, leading to the founding of our country.  Common sense seemed to work back then. 

At this point, my common sense tells me that it is time to end this post.