Ach, the wretched souls who react in terrified deference to monsters who make threats in thundering voices! The poor innocents who fear the oppressors’ spit-shined, steel-toed boots and cringe at the tyrants’ relentless intimidation! The time will come for those tortured souls to rebel, en masse, and to bring their tormentors to justice…tinged with revenge, retribution, and reprisal. Those horribly abused victims will throw their assailants into vats of boiling tar as they shout, “Revenge is ours!”
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The rotting hides of dead bananas leave a powerful smell. They invite fruit flies and ruin the appeal of the flavor of the fruit. After smelling the decomposing brown strips of the peels, the aroma of a banana smoothie degrades; it stinks like a banana’s corpse. The same thing happens with meat. Whether raw or cooked, meat left on the counter for days decays, leaving a pervasive stench that cannot be eliminated or covered up with stronger odors—there are none stronger. The phrase, “smells like death,” describes the scent of decomposition. Some perfumes seem to have been created in an attempt to replicate the revolting stink of horrid rot; a slightly sweet aroma enveloped within a miserable stench that makes the eyes water and the stomach churn. There is a reason some businesses ask clients not to wear “smell juice.” Some medical offices, for example, request that prospective patients refrain from wearing perfumes and colognes because patients might find them offensive—that’s understandable, especially if the products’ bouquet smells like death. But some scents are incredibly alluring; certain foods (some cheeses, for example) smell so good they prompt honest people to steal them to get just a taste. So I’ve been told.
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Carefully remove each successive layer of paint from the canvas. Beneath all but the last will be another attempt to obscure the original painting. The first coat, the one covering the canvas, will reveal a message in graphic form. That message, an almost photographic depiction of the murderer’s laughing face, will give you all you need to put the killer behind bars. Or to assure his disappearance for all time. You are a police officer. The victim was your niece, just a toddler. Remember, the definition of justice is malleable. Forgiveness is either a powerful strength or an immeasurable, unforgivable weakness. You decide. No one but you will ever know the choice you made.
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Mi novia made linguine alle vongole (linguine pasta with clams) for dinner the other night. The dish was excellent! Ideally, it would have been made with clams in the shell, but fresh clams are hard impossible to come by in central Arkansas, so she used canned clams. When I lived in Dallas, I made the dish with canned clams, too; “fresh” clams might have been available there, but their cost would have been prohibitive and their claim to “freshness” would have been questionable. Lately, I have wanted to cook, but I tire so quickly standing at the kitchen counter that I have to pause and sit for a while to enable me to complete the process. That’s depressing and upsetting; if I had the energy, I would howl plaintively at the universe in objection to my situation. Actually, if I had the energy I would make briam (Greek-style roasted vegetables) or steamed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, and green beans, flavored with a bit of balsamic vinegar). I am in the mood for massive amounts of veggies, probably because I haven’t had many vegetables lately. Now that I think about it, the time and work involved in steaming vegetables is minimal; I may do it today or tomorrow.
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Potential, when realized, transforms possibility into achievement. Unrealized potential is a reminder of what might have been—or might yet be—except for insurmountable obstacles or insufficient effort. Potential rests somewhere along a continuum from essentially impossible to easily attainable to readily achievable to reachable only through herculean effort. Each of one’s accomplishments—or lack thereof—can be measured against a scale of difficulty versus effort. For example, achieving a perfect score on a rigorous math test is a more impressive feat by a person who has difficulty with math than by a person who quickly learns the subject. Using an identical standard (i.e., the test) to measure accomplishment or potential is flawed, though. The standard set for the higher-performing test-taker should be adjusted upward to the extent that a valid comparison between the two can be made. Potential is difficult to measure; comparisons between individuals’ potentials is even more complex. At some point, we have to answer the question: what is the point of making comparisons? The answer may reinforce the value of comparisons; or it may invalidate the concept.
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