In Honor Of Zig Ziglar’s Passing

 

Zig Ziglar passed away last week, at age 86. He was one of the best.

My first exposure to motivational books on tape was Zig Ziglar. At age 18, I applied to a want ad that said “Christians Wanted,” and ended up selling cookware across the state with a bunch of boys from one of the local Baptist colleges. While I sometimes doubted the level of their Christian devotion on the road, there was no questioning the quality of their listening material. I enjoyed Ziglar’s humor and humility, and what he said sounded good to me.

I have lots of favorites among Ziglar’s many stories, but there’s only one I shared with my students every semester. During the lesson on language and word choice, I’d run through this exercise, swiped from Ziglar. You take this simple sentence:

I did not say your wife was ugly.

Then you change the meaning of the sentence just by which word you emphasize. Try it yourself.

I did not say your wife was ugly.

I did not say your wife was ugly.

I did not say your wife was ugly.

I did not say your wife was ugly.

I did not say your wife was ugly.

I did not say your wife was ugly.

For speech students, it’s an effective illustration. What makes it memorable for me, though, is that as I would work through the list, changing the emphasis on each repeat of the sentence, I couldn’t help but assume a distinct southern accent, like Ziglar’s.

So Zig, now I guess we’ll see you at the top….

Wiper Blades Ain’t The Half Of It, Apparently

 

Someone spent quite some time this weekend trying to persuade me that I was pretty much inept at everything, not just minor auto repairs. As hard as it was to hear, trying to produce enough evidence to prove otherwise was harder still.

A Picture Is Worth What, Now, Exactly?

Doing some research on our car, I came across this ad for an aftermarket radio. What do you make of it?

Picture is for illustration purposes only.

John Moe May Never Understand But The Star -Spangled Banner Moves Me

Like you, I like my country. I actually do pledge allegiance to the flag, because those words mean something to me. So does the national anthem.

I’ve volunteered at our local minor league baseball stadium this summer, working the concessions stands. We are swamped when the gates open at 6, but everything stops when that song starts at 7:05. I love to watch the crowd standing so still, many with hands across their hearts, mouthing the words, heads turned toward center field. Even the kids pay attention.

The volunteer singers always do an excellent job with the difficult tune, and I love how the power of the words and the emotion of the voices always wash over me. “… oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave….”

Self-proclaimed liberals like John Moe may mock, deride, but the event always moves me. Perhaps we seem less indivisible these days, polarized by the press into red states and blue states, but I say we are united still. Our real differences are more minor than major. One trip to the ball park proves it.

Cease The Day!

As college instructors, Kelly and I find lots of word abuse and misuse from students, but we see a lot of homophones in other places, as well. A billboard that used capital when they meant capitol, for example, or food going to waist. Those always makes us laugh.

My Swagbucks Daily Poll this morning asked: “Which best describes how you wake up in the morning?” As always, the choices were in descending order, with the second through sixth picks being:

“Where’s my coffee?”

“Hit the snooze button multiple times.”

“Oscar the Grouch.”

“Another day, another dollar.”

“I wake up closer to the evening.”

At the top of the list: “Ready to cease the day!”

While that’s not exactly what the author meant, I’m sure, it’s probably closer to the truth for most of us, most days.

Have a good weekend.