Word Watching ~ Why we say it!

Canary.  How did the inmate of a jail come to be called a 'canary'?

A person placed in jail was called a 'jail bird' because the bars of the jail were similar to the bars of a bird's cage.  He was called a 'canary' because at one time English convicts sent to Australia arrived there dressed in yellow.

Calamity Jane.  What is the origin of the name 'Calamity Jane'?

The original Calamity Jane, Mrs. Martha Burke, was a famous western character who said she got her name because she carried two guns and any man who trifled with her invited calamity.

Church Mouse.  How did a 'church mouse' come to be the symbol of poverty--as in the expression, 'poor as a church mouse'?

There is no cupboard or larder in a church to produce crumbs for a mouse to feed upon.

~ Why Do We Say It? The Stories behind the Words, Expressions and Cliches We Use, CASTLE BOOKS, 1985.

"...But I look up high to see only the light,
And never look down to see my shadow.
This is wisdom which man must learn."

~ Song of the Flower

~Kahlil Gibran, Tears and Laughter, 1949 The Philosophical Library, Inc.

English journalist, critic, poet, and lexicographer, SAMUEL JOHNSON*

"Andrew Millar, the bookseller who published Johnson's Dictionary, had great difficulty in extracting the copy for this work from the author.  At last a messenger was dispatched to Millar with the final page.  Upon the messenger's return Johnson asked, 'Well, what did he say?'
'Sir,' replied the messenger, 'he said, 'Thank God I have done with him'
'I am glad,' said Johnson, 'that he thanks God for anything.' "

"Dr. Johnson was taken to task by a lady who asked why he had defined 'pastern' as 'the knee of a horse' in his dictionary.  She expected an elaborate defense.  He replied, 'Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance.' "

[Johnson's dictionary took eleven years to complete.]

~ THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF Anecdotes, Clifton Fadiman, General Editor.

* (1709 - 1784)

"On one occasion when Dylan Thomas had been drinking and talking freely for some time, he suddenly stopped.  "Somebody's boring me,"  he said.  "I think it's me."*

No one appeared bored in The Neat L'l Bookshop last month when the Third Thursday group discussed the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.  In fact, we have scheduled Part II for the third Thursday in November.
Clip our ad in The Haldimand Press (Oct. 1) outlining upcoming events.

* THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF Anecdotes, Clifton Fadiman General Editor. 

"There are two kinds of people:  those who wear badly and those who wear well.

     The folk who wear badly usually begin by making a good impression. . .they are so pleasant, ready to flatter, and so eager to help.  But as time goes on you find them just not as wonderful as you were sure they were at first.
     The second type are folk who, at first, are perhaps a bit too quiet, anything but fascinating or amusing and certainly never showy. . .but as time goes on you discover they mean what they say, they lend a hand, and you can depend upon them.  The first wear badly.  The others wear well."

~Francis Gay, The FRIENDSHIP BOOK, 1969

Haldimand County

"The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines."

~ Charles Kuralt (1934 - 1997) American Journalist, CBS "On The Road"

"How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else."

~ R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983) Designer, architect (Montreal Biosphere, 1967)

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive."

~ Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) Scottish novelist, poet.


"Not all who wander are lost."

~ J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973) English writer, university professor.

Haldimand County

Cayuga and District Chamber of Commerce is requesting that businesses in Ward 2 submit questions for an upcoming Candidates Debate.  What issues are of most concern to you as a business in the Cayuga area?

The building of a historic new bridge and the planned revitalization of downtown Cayuga begs two important questions from our perspective.  What can council do to cleanup the existing eyesores on Talbot St. and what can council do to provide free public parking on the main street, Talbot (Hwy 3)? [Addressed in post of July 30, 2014 ~ Cayuga-on-The-Grand]

Thank you to all community-minded individuals who are allowing their names to stand in the October municipal election.