“Rome fell because of inner weakness, either social or spiritual;
or Rome fell because of outer pressure—the barbarian hordes. What we can say with confidence is that Rome fell gradually and that Romans for many decades scarcely noticed what was happening.”
If you see that subject line and think “ice cream,” then you are probably detached from the real world of mind-boggling indebtedness, pro-government propaganda, anti-government propaganda, “in your face” perversion, and the confusion and mental fragmentation that accompanies it all. I am, of course, referring to a real road, a word we get from the old English word, “rad,” which means any journey on horseback.
Deadlines do what? They get you focused. You have to complete the task by this date. You have to get out of bed early so you can avoid the traffic and make the meeting on time. At this very moment, I am on a deadline to get this email—a/k/a “dispatch”— submitted for proofing so it can be ready to send out on Thursday at 10:00 am.
The Second World War began on September 1, 1939, when the Germans invaded Poland. Though both the French and British declared war on Germany in response, little effort was made to confront the Germans militarily and no land battles ensued. This period has been dubbed the “phony war” because of the Allies’ inaction.
You pretty much date yourself as an old guy if you hear someone talking about a hard drive crash and you think of the movie Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean. (If the previous sentence makes no sense to you, then just forget it and move on—it’s ancient history.)