The Lexicographer's Rules

"Thurmond is at the hearing for half an hour, during which he reads, uneasily, two brief statements. The rest of the timeŃthat is, when he's not signaling for LaufferŃis spent gazing into the hearing room and performing a kind of seated ballet with his hands. Thurmond's fingers are long and lean, his skin splotchy, he's wearing an oval band-aid on his forehead. He rubs his upper lip, his right eye, his left eye, his right cheek, his nose, he raises a glass of water to his lips, one sip, then scratches his head, wipes something out of his right eye, strokes his left eyebrow, smooths back his thin reddish hair with both hands. These hand maneuvers go on and on, and noticeably so, for they unfurl slowly, almost rhythmically, like a minuet, and Thurmond is alone in this performance. The other senators are relatively stillŃobserving the witnesses, questioning the witnesses, reading materials. Thurmond stares blankly ahead."

—Washington Post. Strom Thurmond at 98 is the oldest senator to ever serve and has served the longest of any senator.

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