Articles In This Issue
S ERVING S OUTH T EXAS AND S URROUNDING A REAS F OR O VER 39 Y EARS Vol.XXXIX, No. 10
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Page 1: Pat Farrell Page 3: SABOR Page 7: The Way I See It Featuring: Cathey Meyer Page 14: NARPM Article Featuring: Brenda Davila Page 17: In The Know Featuring: Jose D’Craw Pages 22-23: News Flash
October 2021
Does Anyone Remember Spot – As In “Run Spot, Run?” Pat Farrell / Contributing Writer
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It can be interesting to go back to the early days of school and look at the basic primers from which so many of us learned to read. They were known as the Dick and Jane series of books that were first introduced in 1930 and continued in use in most schools in the United States and some other English speaking countries until the last book was released in 1965. If you recall the books featured stories about the characters Dick and Jane along with their sister Sally and their dog, Spot, which was so named because of the many black spots found on his white body. The phrases in the book were quite simple as in “Look Jane, See Spot” or Run Spot, Run!” But remembering Spot brings to mind just the English word spot, you will find more meanings for that word than “Carter has liver pills,” as they used to say. Although the exact evolution of the word spot is impossible to trace it is thought to have originated around 1200 and comes from the Old English word spotte and may be partly from or related to the Middle Dutch word spotte. The word can
be found in so many phrases that are still in use today and can be applied in multiple situations, so just to get the grammar part over with the following are definitions for spot compiled from a variety of dictionaries and a thesaurus. Spot as a noun could be a mark on a surface differing sharply in color from its surroundings; a blemish, mark, or pimple on the skin; a stain or blot; a mark or pip on a playing card; a piece of paper money worth a specific number of dollars; a small area; a location or position; a point of interest; a position or an item in an ordered arrangement; in football the position of the ball for the line of scrimmage; a troublesome situation; a flaw in one’s reputation or character; a short presentation or commercial on television or radio; and finally, a small amount. And that is just the noun spot! As a verb spot may be defined: to cause a spot to appear on something; to soil with spots; to decorate or dot with spots; to bring disgrace to or besmirch one’s reputation; to place in a specific location (as in football to place on the line of scrimmage); to detect visually; to yield a scoring margin; to act as a spotter for; to lend some money; to cause a discoloration or stain; or during combat to locate targets from the air. And, then there are the adjectives which we will let be so we can look at just how prevalent spot is! Everyone needs a “Johnny on the spot,” that person who magically appears right when and where you most need him to help in whatever your situation might be. When looking at that mark that differs in color from its surroundings would certainly remind one of the time the spaghetti sauce dripped onto a brand new white blouse or shirt
– that would certainly be a stain or blot (spot) to remember! Or how about that occasion when you finally had a date with that special someone and suddenly there is a pimple (spot) that just popped up on your face, and you are sure it was so huge that it would not only ruin the evening, but also ensure that the date would never be repeated – Oh tragedy! You may have said or heard someone say “you are spot on” an adverbial phrase used when in agreement with someone, but did you know that the expression, which was popular among the United States and British aviators, originated during World War II? Now if you were to reverse the words you would hear that one is “on the spot,” rather than “spot on,” it would suggest they may be in some kind of predicament. Perhaps you understand someone is in a tough spot right now so, to be the bright spot in their day you may tell them that, yes, you can spot them a twenty or maybe a C-spot until payday. Or if someone asks you to recommend a great restaurant or a place with fun things to do you might suggest several spots with which you are familiar that they too might enjoy. When someone is complaining of physical or emotional pain they will readily point out the sore spot, whether it be in the arm, leg, back, etc., or the soft spot in the heart. Or perhaps they have a soft spot for their loved one, children, pet or perhaps an employee or student, or they could be referring to the soft spot in a newborn’s head. And then there is the blind spot one experiences when driving if the mirrors do not show the car next to you or when one has a blind spot and overlooks another person’s faults. Perhaps it is the swinging hot spot downtown where
everyone wants to be or the sweet spot an athlete identifies as that area on whatever instrument they may be using, bat, tennis racket, golf club etc., that will provide them the most power. There are spots to avoid too, like the black spot that goes on one’s record or the dark spot to one’s reputation. And when you consistently win at card games you are said to be knocking the spots off the cards! Should you find yourself in Britain you might be offered a spot of tea since in that part of the world spot also means a small amount of something, so while there one might find themselves in a “bit of a spot” or difficult situation and when one has a particularly satisfying meal they might say that “hit the spot.” If one is out and about they may spot someone they recognize in the crowd and often people are employed as a spotter, especially at a construction site, for example, to assist forklift operators, or at a manufacturing plant where they may spot problem workers or spot check the products for defects. Then, of course there are spots or product advertisements on radio or television and in sports one can spot some points to an opponent. Spot is a very multifaceted word in that it is a noun, a verb, an adjective and is part of adverbial phrases and since it is a popular name for dogs, that makes it a pronoun too while also being a four letter word that can be anagrammed as in tops, post, stop, pots and opts. Just like the “run Spot run” directive for Spot, the dog, the word spot continues to run and run, and while most stories have an end, the uses for the word spot seem to go on and on. As Lady Macbeth said in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, “Out damned spot, out I say!”