Word of the day: 'Heimlich'

First of all, why are they called "maneuvers"? Wouldn't "Heimlich hugs" be more accurate? Wikipedia, in its page on choking, calls them "abdominal thrusts," but notes that the venerable Heimlich himself rejected that term on the grounds that it sounded disgusting.

Not really. In fact, Mr. Henry J. Heimlich objected because he felt the word "abdomen" was too vague, and might lead the thruster to apply his thrusts in the incorrect spot on the choker's torso.

I also like the word because of how it's spelled. It's obviously German, just like my name, and that makes me feel good. I wonder how many people tried to put a "k" on the end of his name, instead of the "h." Not to worry, Henry, very few get my "Pf" right. I feel your pain.

The pain of no one spelling your name correctly, that is--nothing that would require an abdominal thrust...

Blogger's note: Books, and especially dictionaries, are full of good words. Feel free to leave a comment sharing one of your favorites, and keep watching for more of mine.

Three little bandits

Triplet raccoons visited us tonight. There's not much to say about them, except that they were cute, and two of them were very outgoing. The third had better sense. Dori and our neighbor were feeding them, which I wasn't thrilled about, but it allowed me to get some good, close photos of them.

'Ghost blogs': breaking the silence

So, apparently, it's been more than two weeks since I posted here... and it was about gun control. Really, I'm not that into guns. It just happened to be where I ran out of steam.

I have seen several blogs previously updated by friends of mine that have fallen silent, sometimes for as long as two years. The sites are still out there, drifting on the Internet, but the last writing on them was done in 2005 or 2006. It feels kind of eerie to read them; they feel like ghost towns -- ghost blogs, really.

I do not want mine to become a ghost blog, so I am asking that anyone who feels so led would post a comment suggesting topics that I could discuss in this space.

I will post more pictures soon, more links, more thoughts on my own interests, but it would help me to know what anyone who reads this blog would like to read more of. Thank you for your kind assistance in breaking the silence.