A/An

What is going on with people no longer using "an" before a vowel (or a word that starts with a vowel sound)? I just heard a news caster say something was "a unprecedented" whatever. Shouldn't that be "an unprecedented" whatever? I hear "a" being used when "an" should be used more and more. This former English major finds the trend annoying. It's bad enough that people can't write or spell very well anymore, but spoken language is also biting the dust, apparently. Oy!

In other news, I went to NY earlier this week for my day job. (No pictures this time!) The trip was short and not sweet. The last few times I've been to NY, I've been disturbed by the homeless situation. It seems to get worse each time I visit. During this week's visit, I walked past the huge post office on 8th Avenue near Penn Station about dusk one night and noticed many homeless folks getting ready to bunk down for the night on the stairs. I noticed a lot of young people on the streets during this visit also and more than a few of them looked like they were on drugs (and they probably were). It's a sad situation and I hope something is done to help these folks and get them off the street.

RIP, Eddie Money

I was sad to hear about Eddie Money's passing this weekend. I knew he had been ill, but the news still surprised me. I figured he had a little longer to hang around. It's time to break out my greatest hits CD The Sound of Money in tribute. I did a blog post some time ago where I said "Baby, Hold On to Me" is a great song and would make a great book title. If I ever write something where this title would actually work, I'd use it in a heartbeat. RIP, Eddie.

Prada? Nada!

I've been wearing glasses since the third grade. My parents both wore glasses so it was inevitable that their children would be visually challenged also. I'm comfortable wearing glasses. What I'm not comfortable is paying so much for them. It's not the actual frames that are all that expensive, it's the lenses. Because I'm now wearing progressive bifocals, I pay an arm and a leg for them. No lines, thin sized, scratch-coating...these things are expensive! I went to have my eyes examined this past weekend and was told I might end up with cataracts. (Great.) But when I went to pick out a new pair of frames for myself after the eye exam, the employee helping me unlocked a display case that held Prada frames. I told her she could lock that case back up because I can't afford Prada glasses. Prada glasses are for people who don't need progressive, no line, thin sized, scratch-coated lenses. Prada glasses are for people who don't need lenses that cost more than your frames. Prada glasses are not for those seriously visually challenged like myself. Prada? Nada!

Labor Day Greetings

The unofficial end of summer is here with the arrival of Labor Day. Fall is coming and winter will follow. But, for now, I hope you're able to enjoy a day off if you get one and relax. I went to see Steely Dan at Ravinia Park last night. The show was good, but not great. Donald Fagen and the band sounded great, but he didn't do a lot of songs I wanted to hear, so that's why I was a little disappointed. He did do "I Got the News" and that was unexpected. Of course he did the hits "Peg" and "Reelin' in the Years" and "My Old School" in addition to "Sign in Stranger" and "Third World Man" and "The Goodbye Look" from his solo album The Nightfly. (I would have liked to have heard "IGY" or "Green Flower Street" myself.) But we can't always get what we want, can we?

Ravinia Park is a great place to see a show, but you have to deal with people drinking for 5+ hours on the lawn. People can bring their own alcohol (and they do) so there's no one to regulate how much they drink. Riding home on the train last night with man of these multi-hour drinkers was a challenge. If you enjoy seeing middle-aged people sloppy drunk, then the Metra train from Ravinia after a Steely Dan show is the train for you!

Happy Labor Day!