PEBBLE PEBBLE
written by Martha Esbin for a faithful reader

Johnny went to Pebble Beach.
He took a chance without advance
reservations at the golf course.
Pebble pebble.

Johnny went to Pebble Beach.
He could have pranced! He could have danced!
A canceled reservation meant he could play golf at
Pebble pebble.

Johnny took his cell phone
and called his friends.
“Where do you think I am?
Playing golf at Pebble Beach.”

Many a month has come and gone.
Johnny’s tale spins on and on.
Pebble pebble.

Note: Johnny is a nickname for a graduate of St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo.


How loud is too loud?
A decibel comparison chart with volume levels of various sources and how they can affect hearing. Includes OSHA daily permissible noise level exposure. http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html
100 decibels is considered a tolerable limit.
High frequency sounds are the most damaging.
One-third of the total power of a 75-piece orchestra comes from the bass drum.
Taking care of one’s hearing is an important health factor.
When you pull out all the stops, let it not be mind-numbing.
The American Organist June 2008

What is a decibel? Includes Occupational health and safety and the law.
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.html

Eponym: tartuffe (tahr-TOOF) noun
A hypocrite who feigns virtue, especially in religious matters.
[After the main character in Tartuffe, a play by Molière, pen name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). As if to prove themselves, the religious authorities in Paris had the play banned soon after it was introduced.]
A.Word.A.Day

To your health
Brush oil on bread, pita or tortilla. Sprinkle spices, seeds or herbs on top of the oil.

Important dates
May 24: birthday of novelist Michael Chabon, (books by this author) born in Washington, D.C. (1963). He was just 23 when he wrote his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. He turned it in as his master's thesis in a creative writing program. He turned it in on a Friday. On Monday he heard that his professor had sent it to an agent. The book was published the following year, in 1988. It was a big success. He was compared to Fitzgerald and John Cheever. He was asked to model clothing for The Gap. People magazine wanted to include him in its list of "50 Most Beautiful People." He turned down both offers.
May 25: It was on this day in 1787, at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, that the Constitutional Convention got underway. Many people agreed that the Articles of Confederation under which the colonies organized after the revolution was not working. The colonies had remained relatively independent of each other, almost like separate countries, and the result was a sort of anarchy.
So the Congress agreed that a stronger central government was necessary to keep the country from falling apart. Thomas Jefferson was not there. He was in Paris. John Adams was in England. Patrick Henry refused to come. He was suspicious that a stronger form of central government would lead to tyranny. Fifty-five delegates were there of 74 who had been invited to come. Most of them were young; only six of them over 60, four of them still in their 20s. Rhode Island didn't send anybody. They didn't approve of the whole thing.
It took some persuading to get the Constitution adopted, but today ours is the oldest written national constitution in the world. It's also one of the shortest, at only 7,591 words.
The Writer’s Almanac