Friday, September 23, 2016

Do It In Ernest

How many times have you heard someone say that a certain guy or gal did something in ernest?  OK, I have searched maps and Googled it but for the life of me, I can't find a town named Ernest.  So, where the heck is this place where all this stuff is suppose to be happening???

I have heard of Ernest Hemmingway (the writer) and Ernest Rutherford (the physicist).  Ernest Hemmingway wrote some great novels.  Here is a picture of him:
 

He was born in 1899 and passed away in 1961 at the age of 61.  He died in the year I graduated from high school.  Do you see a pattern here?  He Passed at in 1961, at age 61 and I graduated in '61.  No, I am not worried, since it has been many years since I was 61.

Not only was he a famous writer, but he was quite the big game hunter.  He loved hunting in Africa.  But his life was cut short by a terrible disease called hemochromatosis which caused him deep depression and severe pain.  Although he shot himself, it was the disease that actually caused his early death.

There was another Ernest that had a hand in changing the world for ever.  This was Ernest Rutherford.  He was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics.  Both of these Ernests changed the world, one in literature and the other paved the road to advances in medicine and, I hate to say, warfare.  Here is a picture of Rutherford:

He was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics.  Now, you can think of these two guys when someone says "in ernest".  You all have a great evening, you hear?


15 comments:

  1. I sorta see a resemblence between you and Hemmingway. I had no idea about his disease - my younger sister was recently diagnosed with it. They confirmed it with DNA testing, so I'm wondering how they did with Ernest. DNA testing is relatively recent, I thought.

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    1. From what I have read, he had an extremely high iron content in his blood. A symptom of that terrible disease. I believe DNA testing first appeared in criminal trials in 1985.

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    2. I think the only treatment for it that they recommended to my sister was to give blood at least once a month. I think they restrict certain items in her diet as well, although you'd really need to eat a lot of iron rich foods to make (or not make) a difference. I also believe it is hereditary. They told Julie that at least one person in her family have it. Out of 8 siblings, she is the only one I know of that has it.

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  2. In the distant past I dated a Texan named Earnest Lee. He wasn't.

    I didn't know Ernest Hemmingway had such a debilitating disease.

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    1. Don't judge all Texans by the one that wasn't earnest.

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    2. I married a Texas from Refugio. He is the the only one in the world for me.

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  3. There is an Ernest, Pennsylvania in Indiana County.

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    1. I would have passed near Ernest on my way from eight miles south of Butler to Penn State, which I attended.

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  4. Very interesting post; I never gave it much thought when I heard that saying. Now every time I hear it I will wonder about who or what is ernest. I often wondered about Mr. Hemmingway's reason for killing himself. So sad. Have a nice day.

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    1. Glad you found it interesting and yes, it is always sad when one takes his own life.

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  5. Could it be a difference in the spelling,,, earnest? This one meaning serious. Otherwise,, i have no idea.

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  6. Could it be a difference in the spelling,,, earnest? This one meaning serious. Otherwise,, i have no idea.

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    1. I believe the correct spelling is earnest for the noun and Ernest for the name.

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  7. Hi Trouble. I've tried to find out too as I also considered earnest to be sincere and Ernest just a name. Apparently they both mean the same thing -- perhaps just a variation in spelling. It is a useful word that isn't used very much any more. In fact, many words have been lost to this generation.

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