I had to look up hornswoggle when Senator Sheldon Whitehouse used it in a Facebook post. It means to get the better of someone by cheating.

The butler on “Downton Abbey,” Carson, called one of his employees a hobbledehoy–a clumsy, awkward, or gawky youth. PBS is replaying the series on NY and Long Island stations.

Some other words we don’t often use, yet I’ve heard, except the last one, include cattywampus, flapdoodle, fiddle-faddle and fiddlesticks [I use these two], hoosegow, weisenheimer, and bumfuzzle, [to confuse].

Do you use or remember any fun, vintage or regional words?

   

These scams were new to me.

Impersonation Con

Seems that there’s an impersonation scam targeting authors for the most part in which the scofflaws, pretending to be producers, editors or hosts of WNYC shows, are offering to get the recipient an interview on The Brian Lehrer Show–and others–for a fee or contribution.

WNYC makes it clear that it doesn’t charge a cent to the people it gives airtime, nor does it pass along any other fees such as production or promotion costs.

The emails are convincing. They look like they come from a WNYC account, but they are from a Gmail account. With the help of AI they may mention the title of the recipient’s work and are not filled with telltale spelling and punctuation errors so typical of earlier scam copy.

Vanity License Plate Trick

Someone cloned an acquaintance’s Maryland vanity license plate. He received violations mostly in D.C. and Prince George’s County. None were his. The plate clone had been placed on another car that willy nilly had its way with rules and laws at no cost to the scammer.

In addition to having to fight each of some 20 summonses and violations, he ended up selling his car and changing his license plate to put an end to the nightmare. He said the same thing happened to a friend in New York. This ripoff has been going on for quite some time. I only learned of it a few months ago.

Have you heard of any new, creative scams?

   

I was surprised that procrastination showed up only once on the blog—October 2016–since 2008, in the categories covered on this blog. I used to do everything yesterday which is probably why I’m a little more relaxed now so it can take longer than it should to send a thank you or condolence note/contribution or respond to an email, [unless it’s from a client or media], or even a text.

I’m not sure whether I should just send the check, email or response and not mention the lag time or come up with an excuse.

Some of those excuses might be:

• I’ve been juggling a few deadlines but have thought of ___’s death daily since last month.
• I love looking at ______ [the gift] and can’t imagine why I didn’t share my enthusiasm with you before now.
• What great news about _________. I thought I responded because I was so excited when I read the note yet couldn’t find a trace of my reply.

Are you always on top of correspondence? Do you pull out excuses–or not?

   

I thought of this when a dear friend gave me a copy of Ann Patchett’s new book Whistler. Its cover promises a wild west yarn or a tale about horses. [I wondered, why did she select the book for me?] I’ve just started reading it, but it clearly takes place in New York City. I haven’t yet figured out the horse bit.

Some people wear their lives on their sleeves, broadcasting intimate details on social media, thrilled by the reactions and thumbs up.

It’s the others I’m thinking about.

A lifelong friend who has suffered neuropathy in hands and feet for 10 years mentioned it casually recently when she complained about the look of the sneakers she was wearing. She’d never before mentioned it.

You’d never know that some folks have financial difficulties or others are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or are living with a person losing the fight with alcoholism or are in pain—physical or psychological.

I am curious about the people I see in a restaurant, guessing what they do for a living. I wonder why a couple remains silent throughout their meal or how parents are able to ignore an unruly child who is disturbing the other patrons.

I’ve written here about how first impressions have fooled me–some disappointing and others happily astonishing me.

Has a book’s cover–paper, digital or human–surprised you?

   

A friend just lost her mother, G, and what a wonderful woman she was. She lived to a ripe old age and was game to travel and have fun in the city with her daughter. While they enjoyed each other’s company, she kept her independence until the end.

I am so sorry that my friend must feel the raw grief of a new loss of her dear mother. My husband used to console me when this happened to a friend, reminding me that death is natural— which while true, never made it easier then nor does it now.

Eventually, memories will help her keep her mom alive in her heart. I was lucky to have met G but not the mothers of lots of my friends, however I know them through stories about them, learning their favorite expressions and best advice.

Here’s one of my memories that makes me smile.

Mom and I shared the same sense of humor. One Sunday we—mom, dad and I–went for lunch at a new restaurant, Divan Parisien. It was no more French than a NYC pigeon, but I digress. Dad’s meat was covered in too much white, glue-like sauce. He was struggling to cut it when it slipped, flew off his plate, covering him and the table with sauce. Mom and I were laughing until tears flowed because the expression on dad’s face—he was a distinguished looking person—was pained as the waiter mopped off the mess from his clothes. Uncontrollable giggles lasted a while as the waiter cleaned the salt and pepper shakers and tablecloth. I’m surprised dad would go out with us because our hilarity, often at his expense, happened on quite a few other occasions.

My friend has truckloads of memories that will keep G close. For this she is blessed.

Do you have memories in which your mother stars that make you smile?