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Crappy Old Quote of the Day

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I am not so sure I like this nook format but it seems to be my only option when I try to copy text. And nook was one of only two options for a digital copy of the book, which was published in 1956. Notice, too, that Barnes and freaking Noble– a book seller– doesn’t know how to properly cite a book. That is not surprising these days.

Lines of a Layman. J.C. Penney. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1956.

I am sure I did not sign on to advertise B&N. Well. Maybe I did. Back in the day I did not agree to things reflexively as I do now, but back in the day was a different time.

Anywhoo. I thought folks might get a kick seeing what a rich old dead white guy was writing for The Christian Herald in the early- to mid-1900s.

9 Responses

  1. Well JC Penny is not doing so good right now is it? It’s the Trump Model. File bankruptcy, don’t pay your vendors and debt, and reorganize.

    1. Mr. Penney would be appalled by what has become of JCPenney. Truly appalled. I know more about the history of that company than any normal person should and what has become of since about the 80s it is disgusting.

      Here’s a tidbit. JCP was very late to issue or accept credit cards in its stores. The company had to wait until after he died to do so because he would not condone encouraging customers to go into debt. Sounds wildly old fashioned today, I know. But he was a man of principles.

      1. The company hasn’t been the same in the past 30 years. I still shopped there until 2 years ago but it was like being in a thrift store the last time where people had dug through stuff and it was untidy. My curtains were the last large purchase I made there 9 years ago. It’s just sad. Same thing with Sears. All my appliances are Kenmore and there’s only one store open in Jacksonville now. ?

      2. The downhill slide internally started really in the early 80s, I’d say. But wasn’t noticeable to the public for a while. You’re probably right– 90s. One of the biggest changes, and it took a while to complete, was taking management responsibility and accountability away from individual store management and moving it to unaccountable “headquarters.” I think, too, pay structure changed for store management. After some point, what’s the incentive for local management to care?

        And from there it’s just one long spiral to Going Out of Business.

        It’s all sort of sad, especially when you know how things once were.

        I used to love their curtains and drapes. And towels, too. Too bad.

  2. I am past the point of trying to cite properly. I know I could easily make or find a quick reference guide to consult when I need to know whether an article gets italics or quotation marks, or a short story gets underlined while a poem gets written upside down in bold face. But I did get pretty good at the MLA format for both in-text and bibliographical citations for a while there in college. It was nice to, eventually, not have to consult the Purdue OWL website a hundred times per paper.

    1. “a poem gets written upside down in bold face”

      I nearly died. I am sending that to Miss M along with a caution that she should not be consuming fluids when she reads it.

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