Adrian Spratt

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Annoyances

Advice: A Story

July 9, 2020 Tags: annoyances, fiction, humor, satire, whimsy

Ever noticed how we can't complain without giving each other advice? "The way I'm eating in this pandemic, I'm going to turn into a beached whale." — Don't you exercise? — "Like I told you, I have a stationary bike." — Oh right, what you

You Know, I Mean

April 20, 2017 Tags: aging, annoyances, literature, word usage

Catchphrases separate the generations. That they do so seems arbitrary and unfortunate. Everything that causes friction between generations is unfortunate. As a boy in London, I’d ask my father, “What’s up?” and he’d reply acidly, “The sky.” If he

Why Must the TSA Target Disabled and Elderly People?

November 10, 2016 Tags: annoyances, disability, morality and justice

Hip, knee and other joint replacements are made of metal, and so anyone who has an artificial joint triggers metal detector alarms. The alarm results in an automatic pat-down or full-body scan. Who is most likely to have replacement joints? The

The Ophthalmologist

April 7, 2016 Tags: annoyances, disability, morality and justice, well-being and medical

I’ve come to dislike articles by blind people that expose the insensitivity that sighted people can display. They tend to be one-sided, with the sighted offender looking stupid while the blind character is all innocence. But once in a while such a

Rasp

March 31, 2016 Tags: annoyances, memoir, well-being and medical

A rasp, also known as creaky voice, also known as vocal fry, has become widespread. It didn’t use to be, which suggests that in most cases it isn’t caused by vocal cord affliction. Instead, it’s become fashionable. Unfortunately, it’s also been made

Fab Vocab

December 3, 2015 Tags: annoyances, word usage

After recently adding a “subscribe” feature to my website, I discovered that WordPress’s initial form reply to people who sign up begins, “Howdy.” I like people who say “Howdy,” especially friends from places like Texas and California. But it isn’t

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A lawyer can hardly resist an opportunity for a disclaimer or two. No statement on this website constitutes or is intended as legal advice. Also, resemblance of any person, living or otherwise, to any of my fictional characters is strictly coincidental. Even in my nonfiction, names have been changed and biographical details altered, and often traits of several people are combined into a single character. The exceptions, apart from myself, are inescapably my parents and brother, and I can only hope I’ve done them justice. Any other exceptions are noted.
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