The Motion Picture Association of America rates movies to provide viewers with advance information about the content of films.  If asked to rate this blog, I would say it is “not politically correct.”  Having been reared in a small town in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri during World War II and immediately following, I firmly believe there are some things we need to be reminded of as we prepare for Thanksgiving 2014, even if it means being politically incorrect.  Bear with me for four paragraphs, and you will see what I mean. Read more…

Last week, my wife and I went to our favorite pizza place.  When we were finished eating, the waiter brought us the check.  I didn’t have the correct change.  So I quickly figured the tip in my head, gave him two larger bills, and said to him, “Just bring me back five dollars, and I’ll be happy.”  He replied, “Okay, I’ll bring you back five bucks.” 

His referring to five dollars as five “bucks” caught my attention.  When growing up in southern Missouri, “bucks” was a very common term used for “dollars,” but having lived in the St. Louis area for the last twenty years, it had been some time since I had heard “bucks” used in this way. 

This caused me to wonder how bucks came about to mean dollars and, for that matter, what about other terms often used to refer to money such as “grand,” “dough,” “lettuce,” “bacon,” “sawbuck,” “scratch,” and “stash,” to mention a few.  So for the third week in a row I am writing about money. Read more…