What do Scottish kilts, machine gun ammunition, cement mixers, graves, and Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding dress all have in common? They are all purported to be tied to the origins of the expression “the whole nine yards.” I have heard and read emphatic declarations that the real origin is . . . you fill in the blank. According to the New York Times, which ran a story on this topic on December 26, there is no clear answer. (I guess it was a slow news day.) They went on to quote language expert Ben Zimmer, “The phrase is interesting because it’s so mysterious.” Whatever its origin, most people who are fluent in English know what it means. Since its meaning is clear and its origin is so muddled, it is probably a safe.
Last Tuesday, I was working at the polls, and I met a young father who had his son in tow. I remember doing the same thing when my children were little. This father believed that voting was important, and he wanted his son to understand that and to see him taking part in the electoral process. We talked for several minutes, and he said he had to get back to work. He was a restaurant manager, and he wanted to see if anyone who wanted to vote had done so prior to the polls closing. I commented on how great it is for organizations to recognize the importance of voting and give their employees time to exercise this precious right. He laughed and said, “It’s not a corporate policy. It’s mine.” He said he really didn’t have the authority to do things like that, but he felt it was important enough to bend the rules. His rationale made sense to me. All of his employees live within a few miles of the restaurant, and he asked them to vote before or after the lunch /dinner rushes. This act of civic engagement cost him almost nothing, but it meant a lot to his employees.
I used to complain a lot about Facebook. I thought it was occasionally interesting, but mostly it was just annoying. I rarely cared what people had for breakfast, and I never understood the appeal of games like Farmville. I believed that Facebook was making people lazy about building and maintaining relationships. I had a fairly selfish attitude about the whole thing. I used it to see what had happened to some old friends and to help promote my business and my book.
Senator Olympia Snowe. . .You may love her; you may hate her. And sometimes you may feel both. No matter what emotions she elicits, Senator Snowe has become the latest politician to announce her retirement because of the polarizing nature of the national political arena. After 17 years in the United States Senate, and nearly 40 years of political service to the people of Maine, Senator Snowe announced on February 28 that she would not seek reelection this year. In her announcement, she stressed her continued sense of responsibility and motivation to serve, but she said, “I do find it frustrating, however, that an atmosphere of polarization and ‘my way or the highway’ ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.” This announcement reminds us that leadership is exhausting, and one of the most important leadership attributes is stamina.
Everyone knows the story of Benedict Arnold. His name has become synonymous with “traitor” in the American lexicon. Yesterday was the anniversary of one of his more infamous acts as a turncoat. On January 5, 1781, Arnold led a British raid on Richmond, Virginia, destroying a large portion of the city. Arnold is an easy guy to hate, but his treachery is only part of the story.