lexical query

[sagehen]

>On Sep 3, 2007, at 7:42 AM, Ron Butters wrote:
>
>> Well, once again, why doesn't "luck" fit the bill? If I ask, "What
>> kind of
>> luck did you have at the slot machines last night?" am I not using
>> "luck" in a
>> way that allows for both 'blessing' and curse'?
>
>allows, but doesn't require.  some instances of luck are blessings
>(good luck), some are curses (bad luck), and a few might be both,
>though most are either one or the other.  so this is an example of a
>word referring to something that can be either a blessing OR a curse,
>not of a word referring to something that is at once both a blessing
>AND a curse.
>
>larry horn: can you explain why i keep getting suggestions using OR,
>when i asked about AND?
>
>arnold
>~~~~~~~~~~
 The medical death sentence is sometimes cited as having this
janus-quality in that it awakens a vivid & joyful appreciation of things
taken for granted and a rewarding attention to the moment alongside the
bleak recognition  of death & disintegration.
(I like your citation of winning the lottery.  If people realized how
destructive  being suddenly heaped with wealth would be, they'd never buy
another ticket.)
AM

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