Let's turn on the eggnog faucet For David Boyd and William Gossett. To law enforcers who are as fair as Jeffrey Brunton and Alan Contreras. To those staunch foes of hanky-panko, Bruce, Tom Nixon, Uncle Janko, Every calm and even gruff man, Bills named Highsmith, Dayson, Huffman. We'll sing a chorus of Alexander Nevsky For wfready and Ed Komoszewski; To (where has he gone) Gert Potgieter, To Emir Mohammed and French (that's Peter). To long-absent Marcie Thorson, Roscoe, Telfax, Homer, Orson, Even Dr. Colleen and RJT And Dick Suhar PECMfgE. Strive for the best, expect the worst, Pay attention to Kristin Evenson Hirst, And colorful folk who fight the good fight: George Brown, Chris Green, and our founder Chip White. Let the yuletide carols ring For Malcolm Jenner, Steven King, Steve Levicoff (he's no one's fool), Andy Borchers, Dennis Ruhl, To Triggersoft and Grady (Wes) Professor Kennedy of the E.B.S. Manjuap, some long-term codgers, Russell Morris, Howard Rogers. See ya soon Russell 1234; See ya in ought-eight Aklbert Gore. You again, MeAgain, Myoptimism, Working to heal each major schism. Peace on earth, say it over and over, Darren the Cross and Bill the Grover. Give us a ride on your Christmas bike, Roberts (John) and Albrecht (Mike). Good guys Rients and Fout and Wetsch, Even Ronald Pellar, that poor wretch. Tell the jolly Christmas story To CDHall and Miller (Lawrie), May you find sugarplums in your bed, Ph.D. candidates Douglas and Head. Prayers (heartfelt) and wishes (jolly) To all who take part in Degree Info's folly. To all those forgotten and those who didn't fit, Warm greetings as well so please don't have a snit. To villains (evil) and heroes (fair), Seasons greetings to all. --John Bear
Holiday Greetings "To long-absent Marcie Thorson, Roscoe, Telfax, Homer, Orson, Even Dr. Colleen and RJT And Dick Suhar PECMfgE." Oh Dr. Bear, I have been here...... just nothing to say other than warm Holiday Greetings to all and best wishes that visitors to the forum find the educational choices right for them. Dick
Yes, as the hills turn green from the sear brown of summer, it is easy to know that Christmas time is here. As long as it does not snow below 1000' all should be well.
The poem that led off this thread made me smile. Thank you for it, John. To everyone who posts or reads Degreeinfo: Merry Christmas and happy holidays. (It's already Christmas in the antipodes, I think. Australia always manages to stay a day ahead of us in the future...) Anyway, no matter what day it is where you are, best wishes to all of you.
What a lovely poem! Thanks for thinking of us, John. To you and to all members and visitors of Degreeinfo, I wish a merry, merry Christmas! Roscoe
Hi, John Bear: Great poem. Congratulations! Merry Christmas to everybody (participants and lurkers)! Ricardo
Dear Gus Sainz: what do you rhyme with? I'd also like to take great pains To wish good cheer to good Gus Sainz From deep within the Christmas pines Comes now the call, 'Good cheer, Gus Sainz' I see through my clear Christmas lens A bowl of joy that's for Gun Sainz The roar goes out from Christmas lions, "Peace on earth for you, Gus Sainz." One of Grandma Estella's fabulous flans To grace the grace the table of Gus Sainz Other?
Re: Dear Gus Sainz: what do you rhyme with? Dr. Bear: Thank you for your kind words. As with most things, there is a simple answer and a complex one. I cannot speak for all individuals with the surname Sainz, but in my family’s case, it is pronounced differently depending on which language we are speaking. When speaking English, Sainz is pronounced as rhyming with pains, as in your first supposition. To avoid correcting every person who read our names in English (such as teachers taking roll) and to better assimilate our new culture (not to mention rebel somewhat from our parents and their culture), this is the pronunciation that my brothers and I adopted as children upon moving to America. Subsequent generations, therefore, now pronounce it this way almost exclusively. If you were to ask my kids, or my nieces and nephews, this is how they would pronounce it. In Spanish, Sainz is most commonly pronounced as “signs.” This is the way it is pronounced “en la madre patria” (as well as many other countries in the New World.). However, in Cuba and several other countries (as well as in Portuguese) Sainz is pronounced bisyllabically as sah-eenz (perhaps to differentiate it from the similar, but much more common Saenz). If you were to ask my father his surname, this is how he would pronounce it. (Needless to say, this pronunciation, historically correct as it may be from my family’s point of view, creates the greatest challenge for rhyming.) And what follows is a circumstance in which Sainz would rhyme with lens. Docteur Bear: Je vous souhaite un merveilleux temps des fêtes et une Bonne Année! Gus Sainz