As it ground on through a hot, humid afternoon, the match became a test of wills as much as a test of tennis.
And it ground on even as a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge considered whether he had the authority to order a whole new election for the county, as some voters here, in a lawsuit, are demanding.
Although the case against IBM was even stronger, it ground on quietly in court while Big Blue, as IBM was then known, acted the responsible corporate citizen and carefully avoided inflammatory statements.By contrast, Microsoft has behaved for the past few years like a spoilt teenager, arrogantly dismissing criticism and tackling the government head on.
And so it grinds on, into its tenth year.
With American, Afghan, and Taliban forces all lacking the military power to decisively win the conflict, it grinds on.
That's why the original sin of the war's conception remains a political flash point, however much we tune out Iraq as it grinds on today.
The whir of the internal fan as it grinds on, shooting puffs of air through a grid of tiny holes, generating that low, levitating cushion, the animating magic of the game.
I'd have figured the movie for another fifteen or twenty minutes at most; instead, it grinds on for another hour, in order to reach full apocalyptic fire and emotional resolution.
Yet as comics entered their second half-century, a sort of staleness set in. "Continuity strips" like "Mary Worth" looked tired at their inception, while popular franchises like "Barney Google" and "Blondie," once exuberant, grew exhausted and refused to admit it, grinding on, gag after gag.
This European war is no longer in the daily headlines but it grinds on, dangerous and unpredictable, a testament to a toxic combination of political failure and ruthlessness.
Civil war came to Homs early, and it has ground on ever since, one street, one building, one apartment at a time.
