True Confessions of a Ricochetti

 

On another thread, one of our members admitted something:

I always confuse Horace Greeley with William Jennings Bryan.

I’ve seen a few other comments like this over the years I have been here. When Ricochetti go wild and make their true confessions, it usually isn’t the sort of thing you would see on Facebook or Jeff Bezos’ diary. How many people on your Facebook feed even know who Horace Greeley and William Jennings Bryant are? This is a high-class joint with high-class true confessions.

My true confession: the older I get, the more trouble I have with homonyms. I tend to write out loud. I once found an error in one of my books where I had used the word “clamber” instead of “clamor,” for instance.

What’s your most Ricochet-style true confession?

 

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  1. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    I often think the French should just create their own alphabet, since they aren’t really using ours.

    • #241
  2. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    I’ve never seen a full episode of Gilligan’s Island or Beverley Hillbillies, and the former was on local tv throughout my childhood. Seen the opening credits a number of times.  

    • #242
  3. Hank Rhody, Acting on Emotion Contributor
    Hank Rhody, Acting on Emotion
    @HankRhody

    kylez (View Comment):

    I often think the French should just create their own alphabet, since they aren’t really using ours.

    I bet we could convince them too; if only we could phrase it in the form of a retreat.

    • #243
  4. danys Thatcher
    danys
    @danys

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Even though I love nautical literature, I have never been able to finish Moby Dick. I think I have started it more times than Sam Clemens quit smoking but it always puts me to sleep. Once I tried listening to it as an audio book during my daily commute and it almost put me to sleep as I was going down Beltway 8 at 65 mph. Quit listening to it, and switched to Space Viking.

    Oh good, I’m not the only one! Thank goodness, and thank goodness it’s you. We had to read it in high school, and all my life it’s been called the greatest novel in the English language, but WHY? I mean I have a college degree. It’s not like I’m not well read or anything, but I just don’t get why.

    I teach high school English and cannot get through Moby Dick. I’ve tried & gave up on page 2.

    • #244
  5. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    danys: I teach high school English and cannot get through Moby Dick.

    One of the great opening lines in literature. And crashes downhill shortly afterward.

    “They call me Ishmael. That’s Gregory Peck. He’s got a whale fetish.”

    • #245
  6. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    kylez (View Comment):

    I’ve never seen a full episode of Gilligan’s Island or Beverley Hillbillies, and the former was on local tv throughout my childhood. Seen the opening credits a number of times.

    No one is going to like this comment.

    Commie.

    • #246
  7. TGR9898 Inactive
    TGR9898
    @TedRudolph

    kylez (View Comment):

    I’ve never seen a full episode of Gilligan’s Island or Beverley Hillbillies, and the former was on local tv throughout my childhood. Seen the opening credits a number of times.

    I know the names of every character on Gillian’s Island.

     

    The FULL names, not just their nicknames.

    • #247
  8. EDISONPARKS Member
    EDISONPARKS
    @user_54742

    kylez (View Comment):

    I’ve never seen a full episode of Gilligan’s Island or Beverley Hillbillies, and the former was on local tv throughout my childhood. Seen the opening credits a number of times.

    I would estimate I’ve seen every episode of Gilligan’s Island at least four times, maybe more.   Beverly Hillbillies not nearly as much but I’ve seen many.  The reason: Local (WGN mostly) after school in syndication, no cable TV in the 70’s …. why were we watching …. it was on TV.

    • #248
  9. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    EDISONPARKS (View Comment):

    kylez (View Comment):

    I’ve never seen a full episode of Gilligan’s Island or Beverley Hillbillies, and the former was on local tv throughout my childhood. Seen the opening credits a number of times.

    I would estimate I’ve seen every episode of Gilligan’s Island at least four times, maybe more. Beverly Hillbillies not nearly as much but I’ve seen many. The reason: Local (WGN mostly) after school in syndication, no cable TV in the 70’s …. why were we watching …. it was on TV.

    Don’t forget the Batman episodes. 

    • #249
  10. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    TGR9898 (View Comment):

    kylez (View Comment):

    I’ve never seen a full episode of Gilligan’s Island or Beverley Hillbillies, and the former was on local tv throughout my childhood. Seen the opening credits a number of times.

    I know the names of every character on Gillian’s Island.

     

    The FULL names, not just their nicknames.

    “Ginger” isn’t her full name?

    • #250
  11. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    danys (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Even though I love nautical literature, I have never been able to finish Moby Dick. I think I have started it more times than Sam Clemens quit smoking but it always puts me to sleep. Once I tried listening to it as an audio book during my daily commute and it almost put me to sleep as I was going down Beltway 8 at 65 mph. Quit listening to it, and switched to Space Viking.

    Oh good, I’m not the only one! Thank goodness, and thank goodness it’s you. We had to read it in high school, and all my life it’s been called the greatest novel in the English language, but WHY? I mean I have a college degree. It’s not like I’m not well read or anything, but I just don’t get why.

    I teach high school English and cannot get through Moby Dick. I’ve tried & gave up on page 2.

    Whew! What a relief. I think the overall theme is universal and everything, but maybe the hype is just over the top.

    • #251
  12. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    This was a really good idea for a post.

    • #252
  13. Matt Balzer, Straw Bootlegger Member
    Matt Balzer, Straw Bootlegger
    @MattBalzer

    danys (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Even though I love nautical literature, I have never been able to finish Moby Dick. I think I have started it more times than Sam Clemens quit smoking but it always puts me to sleep. Once I tried listening to it as an audio book during my daily commute and it almost put me to sleep as I was going down Beltway 8 at 65 mph. Quit listening to it, and switched to Space Viking.

    Oh good, I’m not the only one! Thank goodness, and thank goodness it’s you. We had to read it in high school, and all my life it’s been called the greatest novel in the English language, but WHY? I mean I have a college degree. It’s not like I’m not well read or anything, but I just don’t get why.

    I teach high school English and cannot get through Moby Dick. I’ve tried & gave up on page 2.

    A friend of mine read it to spite our HS English teacher.

    • #253
  14. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Matt Balzer, Straw Bootlegger (View Comment):

    I teach high school English and cannot get through Moby Dick. I’ve tried & gave up on page 2.

    A friend of mine read it to spite our HS English teacher.

    Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!

    • #254
  15. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Matt Balzer, Straw Bootlegger (View Comment):
    A friend of mine read it to spite our HS English teacher.

    I can’t remember if I read it or not.  I did listen to it all the way through.  There’s several hours I’ll never get back.  Now that I think about it, I did read it back in the dawn of time.  But I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now, and don’t have the patience.

    • #255
  16. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    I never finished The Recognitions by William Gaddis or Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon but still have both on my Kindle in case anybody checks.

    I did finish Gravity’s Rainbow. That’s moderately embarrassing because it means I didn’t have the good sense to throw it away after the first 80 or 90 pages. Over-rated, self-indulgent drivel. 

    • #256
  17. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    I never read Don Quixote, but I did read the Reader’s Digest version of Don Quixote, U.S.A.

    • #257
  18. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    I never read Don Quixote, but I did read the Reader’s Digest version of Don Quixote, U.S.A.

    I have Don Quixote cued up on the “to be listened to list.  I have one more volume of The Story of Civilization to get through first.  Will and Ariel Durant say it’s the greatest novel ever.  I’ll report back.

    • #258
  19. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    I never read Don Quixote, but I did read the Reader’s Digest version of Don Quixote, U.S.A.

    I have Don Quixote cued up on the “to be listened to list. I have one more volume of The Story of Civilization to get through first. Will and Ariel Durant say it’s the greatest novel ever. I’ll report back.

    I had to write a paper on that in college

    • #259
  20. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    I never read Don Quixote, but I did read the Reader’s Digest version of Don Quixote, U.S.A.

    I have Don Quixote cued up on the “to be listened to list. I have one more volume of The Story of Civilization to get through first. Will and Ariel Durant say it’s the greatest novel ever. I’ll report back.

    I had to write a paper on that in college

    Lol.  I’ll decide.

    • #260
  21. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    I never read Don Quixote, but I did read the Reader’s Digest version of Don Quixote, U.S.A.

    I have Don Quixote cued up on the “to be listened to list. I have one more volume of The Story of Civilization to get through first. Will and Ariel Durant say it’s the greatest novel ever. I’ll report back.

    I had to write a paper on that in college

    Lol. I’ll decide.

    “Inside every Sancho Panza there’s a Don Quixote struggling to get out.”  –P.J. O’Rourke

    • #261
  22. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    kylez (View Comment):

    I often think the French should just create their own alphabet, since they aren’t really using ours.

    Actually, it is closer to theirs than ours. Here is ours:

    • #262
  23. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    “Ginger” isn’t her full name?

    Ginger Grant.

    • #263
  24. TGR9898 Inactive
    TGR9898
    @TedRudolph

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    “Ginger” isn’t her full name?

    Ginger Grant.

    She is one of the easy ones since they used her full name many times, along with the Howell’s.

    The rest were each named at least twice during the run of the show.  Once at the end of the first episode – when they all listen to a radio report that lists each of them as “missing”.  Each character also had their full name mentioned in episodes specific to their character – MaryAnne when her fiance decided to remarry, The Skipper & Gilligan when they heard the Skipper was on Trial (in absentia) for the loss of the Minnow, and the Professor during a discussion about an academic rival.

    (And the reason the Professor couldn’t “fix the boat” – as has been lampooned in many places – was explained in an early episode: they did fix the boat with Gilligan’s glue-like pancake batter, but the glue dissolved in Salt Water and the Minnow was sunk when Skipper & Gilligan were testing it).

    • #264
  25. Phil Turmel Inactive
    Phil Turmel
    @PhilTurmel

    Django (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    I never finished The Recognitions by William Gaddis or Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon but still have both on my Kindle in case anybody checks.

    I did finish Gravity’s Rainbow. That’s moderately embarrassing because it means I didn’t have the good sense to throw it away after the first 80 or 90 pages. Over-rated, self-indulgent drivel.

    I set it down in disgust after about a hundred pages.  Absolute dreck.  I tried to return it to the friend who gave it to me, but he declined.  Turns out he didn’t finish it, either.  At least I didn’t pay for it.

    • #265
  26. Rightfromthestart Coolidge
    Rightfromthestart
    @Rightfromthestart

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):
    I can top that: I don’t even know what they are.

    That Greek is saving you, man. It’s the only thing keeping you from exile to the island of Facebook right now. 😜

    No. Jesus saves.

    Gretzky grabs the rebound and scores!! 

    • #266
  27. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    I have never begun to understand the allure of:

    Alice in Wonderland

    Peter Pan

    Phantom Tollbooth

    Winnie the Pooh

    Peanuts

    And anything written by a Russian. Ever.

     

    • #267
  28. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    I never read Don Quixote, but I did read the Reader’s Digest version of Don Quixote, U.S.A.

    I saw a stage production Man of La Mancha.

     

    • #268
  29. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    iWe (View Comment):

    I have never begun to understand the allure of:

    Alice in Wonderland

    Peter Pan

    Phantom Tollbooth

    Winnie the Pooh

    Peanuts

    And anything written by a Russian. Ever.

     

    The death of Ivan Illyich is the best book written on death ever.

    • #269
  30. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    I listened to two by Tolstoy, War and Peace and Anna Karenina (I thought War and Peace better) and two by Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment.  My main takeaway was that the Russians sure are wordy.

    • #270
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