“Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson. You find the present tense and the past perfect.—Robert Orben” was printed in the Family Weekly weekend newspaper supplement on July 5, 1974. Robert Orben is an American professional comedy writer. The saying is frequently credited (in the 2000s) to radio buff Owens Lee Pomeroy (1929-2008), but he did not originate this saying.
“Why is nostalgia like grammar? We find the present tense and the past perfect” was posted on Reddit—Jokes on August 17, 2020.
Wikipedia: Robert Orben
Robert Orben (born March 4, 1927) is an American professional comedy writer, although he also worked as a magician. He has written multiple books on comedy, mostly collections of gags and “one-liners” originally written for his newsletter, Orben’s Current Comedy, and has also written books for magicians.
Newspapers.com
5 July 1974, Independent (Gallup, NM), “Quips & Quotes,” Family Weekly, pg. 18, col. 2:
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson. You find the present tense and the past perfect.
—Robert Orben
Google Books
The Reader’s Digest
Volume 106
1975
Pg. 159:
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson. You find the present tense and the past perfect. - Orben’s Comedy Fillers
Twitter
Cedar Creek
@NEWAExperience
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! ~Owens Lee Pomeroy
11:41 PM · Feb 24, 2009·Twitter Web Client
Google Books
The Past Is a Foreign Country – Revisited
By David Lowenthal
New York, NY: Cambridge University Press
2015
Pg. 31:
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson. You find the present tense, but the past perfect.2
2 Attributed to radio historian Owens Lee Pomeroy or speechwriter Robert Orben.
Twitter
Rob Bignell, Editor
@InventingRealit
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! - Owens Lee Pomeroy
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! - Owens Lee…
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competit…
inventingrealityeditingservice.typepad.com
7:34 AM · Apr 4, 2020·Typepad
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/Harpieez August 17, 2020
Why is nostalgia like grammar?
We find the present tense and the past perfect
Twitter
Dad Jokes
@Dadsaysjokes
Why is nostalgia like grammar?
We find the present tense and the past perfect.
4:02 PM · Aug 17, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
LaffGaff
Nostalgia And Grammar
August 19, 2020 by laffgaff
Why is nostalgia like grammar?
We find the present tense and the past perfect.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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