Theodore Dreiser
Bill: "Better not let your neice hear any such heresy. She thinks he's got Dreiser and those lads sewn up in a sack."
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist. He pioneered the naturalist school and is known for portraying characters whose value lies not in their moral code, but in their persistence against all obstacles, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency.
Fiction
Sister Carrie (1900)
Old Rogaum and His Theresa (1901)
Jennie Gerhardt (1911)
The Financier (1912)
The Titan (1914)
The "Genius" (1915)
Free and Other Stories (1918)
Twelve Men (1919)
An American Tragedy (1925)
Chains: Lesser Novels and Stories (1927)
A Gallery of Women (1929)
The Bulwark (1946)
The Stoic (1947)
Dale Sanborn, I reflected, would probably not care to be seen in Bill's outfoot at the proverbial dog-fight.
According to a study by the Michigan State University College of Law published in 2005, in the United States, dog fighting was once completely legal and was sanctioned and promoted during the colonial period (17th century through 1776) and continuing through the Victorian era in the late 19th century. The early 19th century saw the development in England of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, first imported into the United States ca. 1817. Organized dog fighting became a part of American culture, and was even condoned and promoted by the United Kennel Club.
As the activity grew in popularity, so too did opposition to it. By the early 20th century the United Kennel Club dropped its support and by the 1860s most states had made it illegal. It was not until 1976 that it was outlawed in all states and even then, enforcement was generally lax.
By the late 20th century, as dog fighting became more popular in the poor areas of major U.S. cities, research and investigations revealed strong links with connected with street gangs and social problems, enforcement efforts increased.
"Is lunch at one?"
"at two. It's dinner today because Olga has the afternoon and evening off instead of Thursday. It's convenient, but we'll have a pick up supper."
In rural areas of the United States, Upper Midwest and Southern United States, dinner is a larger noon-time meal, and supper is a lighter evening meal and similar to eating customs in northern Europe where most of the inhabitants originate from.
Supper is the last of three to five daily meals: breakfast, (morning lunch), dinner, (afternoon lunch or "coffee") and supper.
The main meal is between 11.30am and 1pm. Supper is usually lighter and often consists of bread with cold meat, cheese, soup, salads, fried potatoes, egg dishes and / or dairy products.
The decline of typical Midwestern farm culture and urbanization of American language and habits has led to a change in Midwestern eating habits in the past thirty years (1970-2000s. Supper is still usually considered lighter fare and a more casual setting, and may be served before a usual dinner time so that evening activities may be unaffected.
In New England "dinner" refers to a more formal evening meal, such as at Christmas or Thanksgiving, while "supper" refers to an evening meal eaten everyday by the family consisting of traditional fare — often cod, haddock, or chicken, potatoes, and baked beans.
"He still drives the thing [an old car] though one of these fine days its going to disintegrate like the One Hoss Shay."
The one-horse shay is a light, covered, two-wheeled carriage for two persons, drawn by a single horse. It is the American adaptation, originating in Union, Maine[1], of the French chaise, and is also known as a whisky as its owners tended to whisk about doing errands. The body is chairlike in shape and has one seat for passengers positioned above the axle, which is hung by leather braces from wooden springs connected to the shafts. It is colloquially known as a one-hoss shay.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. memorialized the shay in his light poem "The Deacon's Masterpiece or The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay". The fictional deacon built this wonderful one horse shay so it wouldn't break down. He built it from the very best of materials so that each part was as strong as every other part. In Holmes' humorous, yet "logical", twist, the shay endures for a hundred years to the day (actually to the moment of the 100th year of the Lisbon Earthquake — to the precise hour of the earthquake shock) then it "went to pieces all at once, and nothing first, — just as bubbles do when they burst." It was built in such a "logical way" that it ran a hundred years to a day.
In economics, the term "one-hoss shay" is used, following the scenario in Holmes' poem, to describe a model of depreciation, in which a durable product delivers the same services throughout its lifetime before failing with zero scrap value. A chair is a common example of such a product.
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