Page 14 - August 2020 Boomer Times & Senior Life

Viral Words PP Media Buzz PP

Part 2 of 2 By Richard Lederer, Continued from July The Banning of Gone With The Wind
Another word we’re seeing and hearing a lot these days is quarantine. — By Darwin Porter
The first meaning of quarantine, from the Italian quarantina, was a Censorship of films, plays, TV shows, and
period of forty days during which a widow had the right to continue books, is rearing its ugly head again.
living in her deceased husband’s house that was to be seized for debt. In a robust democracy, censorship is rare. As
Soon the word took on a related meaning—the forty days in which a pervasive part of a culture, it belongs more to
a ship suspected of harboring disease had to remain in isolation. The totalitarian regimes as evidenced by what can
arbitrary number was based on the notion that after forty days, the be seen—or not—in China and Russia today. In
disease on board would either have run its course and ended any the past, Josef Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda
chance of contagion or would have burst forth its ghastly fury. Finally, minister, was adept at censorship.
Since the birth of motion pictures, self-ap-
quarantine broadened to signify any period of sequestering, and the pointed American censors have aggressively
reference to forty has vanished. tried to impose their values on their fellow
Then there’s the word vaccinate. For centuries, smallpox was a citizens. In 1897, an early silent film provoked
scourge of humanity, scarring and killing millions. Edward Jenner, a outrage by portraying a man passionately kiss-
British doctor, noticed that milkmaids did not generally get smallpox ing his wife.
and theorized that the pus in the blisters that these women developed In 1907, Chicago became the first city in America to grant its chief
from cowpox protected them from the more virulent smallpox. In 1796, of police the power to censor any film before it was released. That was
Jenner found that inoculating people with a serum containing the lymph followed with towns and cities across America appointing censorship
gland fluid of cows infected with cowpox virus prevented the similar boards.
smallpox. That’s why vaccine, vaccination, and vaccinate contain the H See AND hear Darwin Porter every month on Zoomertimes TV. H
Latin name for “cow,” vacca. Tune in on YouTube (search zoomertimes TV), on Facebook.
To read this entire article, go to BoomerTimesFL. H com/Boomertimes, or on BoomerTimesFL.com H
Fearing Federal regulation, Hollywood in the 1930s imposed its own
Dr. Richard Lederer is the author of more than 50 censorship board, stifling free expression until independent producers
books about language, history and humor, including broke free in the 1960s.
his newest books, “A Treasury of Halloween Humor”
and “A Treasury of Christmas Humor.” To order signed Now, in 2020, new outcries of rage are being expressed as self-ap-
copies, explore his website, verbivore.com or write him pointed “cultural commissars” want to decide what you can see or read.
Richard Lederer at richardhlederer@gmail.com. To read this entire article, go to BoomerTimesFL.com.

From The August Cover

A Boat Appropriately Named

By Dan Verity
Moriches, NY—Lisa and Jeff Zahradka have always enjoyed the
waters off Long Island, New York. Lifelong boaters, the Zahradkas THE
recently retired and decided to downsize their lives. Having sold their PRINTERS
enormous 47-foot Egg Harbor, Lisa and Jeff purchased a gently-used P L U S !
37-foot cabin cruiser; a much more manageable pleasure boat for the
retired lifestyle. 2681 West McNab Road • Pompano Beach, FL 33069
To read this entire article, go to BoomerTimesFL.com.

From The August Cover

The Green Iguana Is Running Wild In South Florida

The green iguana, also known as Beautiful
the American iguana, is a large, a bo-
real, mostly herbivorous species of
lizard. The green iguana ranges over wholesale printing
a large geographic area; is native
from southern Brazil and Paraguay to the trade
as far north as Mexico, and have
been introduced from South America to Puerto Rico and are very
common throughout the island, where they are colloquially known 2681 West McNab Road • Pompano Beach, FL 33069
as (“bamboo chicken” or “chicken of the trees”) and considered an quotes @ theprintersprinter.com
invasive species; in the United States. Feral populations also exist www.theprintersprinter.com
in South Florida (including the Florida Keys), Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin (954) 917-2773
Islands and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. (From Wikipedia)
14 / BoomerTimes & SeniorLife BoomerTimesFL.com AUGUST 2020