The Fox website had a picture of Priscilla Owens, one of the President's judicial nominees, with the headline "The Debate Begins". That made me wonder just how prepared Senator Frist and company were for the upcoming fight with the rabble, the Senate Democrats. Then, for some reason, the phrase Gird up your loins popped up into my mind. Most likely because, to me, the phrase implies that it's time to get down to business. Sort of the Biblical equivalent of today's "Locked, cocked, and ready to rock" or similar phraseology.
Naturally, being a wordaholic, some etymological detective work was in order. Just how did one gird ones loins, eh? What I found was that it referred to the knee length tunic worn by Roman soldiers and others during the Biblical times. It seems that not only did girding the loins allow for better mobility, it afforded additional protection to the pelvic region. Something we're still striving for 2000 years later.
In fact, I posted on a recent initiative and Appalachian Intellectual happened to mention how those Kevlar shorts resembled the German paratrooper smock, circa World War II. They do indeed. I don't think they provide much in additional protection for der Hodensack. But, I'm guessing that smock would offer additional warmth (important in un-pressurized aircraft at altitude) and extra space for your small gear.
Well, so much for today's verse and lesson. Let's hope tomorrow's lesson will be about conjugating this verb. As in, "Senator Frist was smiling broadly as he smote Robert Byrd sharply about the neck and shoulders with a rolled up copy of the US Constitution."
Till then, TTFN!
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