The Turnage — Wouldn’t it be a good thing if portraits or photos of Cecil B. DeMille and Murray Hamilton were prominently displayed, with bios, in the hallway leading into the theater?

On the loose — Only in the South, and especially here in eastern Carolina, do you see so many dogs running free. Many are killed along our roadsides. Sad.

Chains — Dogs that live much of their lives chained have a poor existence. Why not at least a small fenced area?

Whither manners? — A generation or so ago, you wouldn’t have seen males in restaurants, or anywhere indoors, with their ball caps on. Ubiquitous though this may be, it’s still inappropriate.

Backwards — Have heard it said that when one wears his cap backwards, his IQ drops 20 points. Don’t know about that, but it makes the wearer look less intelligent.

Just Awful — Nowadays, many of the renditions of our national anthem are just plain terrible. Such a “sacrilege.”

Such language — Seems as if just about everyone falls into the “you-guys” category now, irrespective of gender, age or position. Well, my wife and I are not “you guys.” Nor am I “bud” either.

You’re welcome — When someone says “Thank you” to you or me, we say “You’re welcome.” Not so with many of our younger folks. No, they say “No problem.” Well, aren’t we glad that it’s not a problem. Goodness.

In sports, the clichés are myriad. Especially annoying is “back to back.” If it’s a metaphor, then why not “front to back?” What is meant is consecutive, two in a row, one after the other.

Then there’s “on.” As in “on the season,” “on the day,” “on the game,” ad nauseum.

Teams don’t play against each other, nor do schools. Now it’s “programs.” Every athletic entity is a “program.” Mercy. My program can beat your program.

Oh. Nothing “affects” anything anymore. Now it “impacts” something.

And we don’t have singers or musicians or performers now. They are all “artists.” Wonder if they can draw or paint?

Funeral service is redundant. Funeral alone means ceremony or service for the dead. Used together it means funeral service service.

A “lectern” is a speaker’s stand, whereas a “podium” is a raised platform. Most folks call a lectern a podium. Wrong.

WRITE RIGHT? We now have a generation that does not/cannot write in cursive. They print. Good penmanship is becoming a lost art. Sad.

One more and I’ll quit. Some seem to use notoriety and fame interchangeably. Notoriety connotes a negative renown, while fame is the opposite. I’d much rather be famous than notorious.

OK, I know. Enough of such insignificant musings, random ramblings that they are.

May your day be better than this column. ‘Til next time.