Fruit

Everything existing in the universe is the fruit of chance and necessity.

~ Democritus

- - - - -

Orchard means "garden yard." And I just recently learned that there is such a word as "orchardist." It's when someone points out what they are growing. "Orchardist is apples." See also, "orchardat" as in "Orchardist is apples. Orchardat is apples, too."

 

Tone

I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like that which follows good and shared love.

~ John Steinbeck

- - - - -

For someone who gets told "Watch your tone!" a lot, Leslie hardly ever watches her tone.

Beauty

The beauty and the suffering are equally true.

~ Anne Patchett

- - - - - -

Know how Medusa turned people into stone because she was so ugly? I think sometimes really beautiful people make us freeze in our tracks, too. We can be stunned by anything extraordinary.

Also, I would like for Sharon Stone to be in a movie with Medusa and then she can be the first person turned to stone because that would be hilarious. 

She could also star in a Rocky movie. 

I have a lot of ideas for Sharon Stone's career. I'm a helper.

Door

Big doors swing on little hinges.

~ W. Clement Stone

- - - - -

You never know what you might find behind the doors you open. Like when we opened the door to a cabin we stayed in I said, "Oh, this is very 'Tuesday Morning,'" and Leslie said, "That isn't very nice." I don't know if she meant it wasn't nice to the cabin owners, or if it wasn't nice to Tuesday Morning. Regardless, I think it means she isn't going to be a spokesperson for Tuesday Morning. There goes another huge tub of money.

Sheesh, Leslie!

Unusual

A liar's goal is to make up one that's half as good as real life's usual unusual.

~ Allan Gurganus

- - - - -

What is this? A robot? A reel-to-reel tape recorder? A sushi?

Some weird dental pattern?

I don't know. 

I like that there are still mysteries in the world. 

Also, I the word "usual" comes from the word "use." I wonder if that means the unusual is unusable. 

(pause)

I don't think so, everyone. I've used some unusual things at times. 

(pause)

Of course I've probably used those unusual things to do unusual things.

(pause)

We don't need to discuss the details.

Interesting

Good marriages are never as interesting as bad affairs.

~ Anne Patchett

- - - - -

I think before you commit to a relationship with someone, you should ask to see their elementary school report cards. That way you have a sense of what you're in for. For example, on my first grade report card, Mrs. Martin wrote, "Prefers to work alone."

Truer words were never written upon any of my report cards. I feel like that might be helpful to know about me.

Tomatoes

I don't care what anybody says: Nothing is better than a tomato you grow. There's something about it that's different than a tomato you can buy. It's a great thing.

~ Tom Vilsack

- - - - -

We didn't plant a garden this summer. We have some asparagus, some wild strawberries, a boysenberry bush, and a pomegranate tree. However, we magically had some tomato plants start up - like we had the magical little watermelon last year. Unlike the magical little watermelons, we were able to harvest a LOT of the tomatoes. So many we had to get creative with what to do with them.

So, as fall approached, we made some cinnamon tomato crisp. It would be great with the tomato shake-ups my friend Demesia and I conceptualized after a visit to the fair a few years ago. 

Jumping

Might as well jump.

Go ahead and jump.

~ Van Halen

- - - - -

There's nothing like jumping with exciteness. 

Because exciteness is not a word.

 

Excitement

Get excited and enthusiastic about your own dream. This excitement is like a forest fire - you can smell it, taste it, and see it from a mile away.

~ Denis Waitley

- - - - -

I think maybe Denis is an arsonist.

 

Cars

All of those cars were once just a dream in someone's head.

~ Peter Gabriel

- - - - -

As I was driving home one day, I saw a man who had pulled over to check out a car that was for sale. It was parked near the road outside of the post office/grocery store parking lot. I only saw him for a moment before the light changed. What I saw him do, however, made me curious. The only thing I saw him check on the vehicle were the windshield wipers. 

(pause)

I am not and do not pretend to be a car expert. However, if I was considering buying a used car, I am confident that the windshield wipers would probably not be the thing I would prioritize. I probably wouldn't even look at them at all.

Perhaps he knows something I do not.

(pause)

Actually, I have to believe there are a lot of things he knows that I do not. We're not the same people, after all.

Bread

Without bread, all is misery.

~ William Corbett

- - - - -

I saw someone on social media the other day who said, "This sourdough bread changed my life." I was happy for her, and also I wondered what her life was like before.

Memories

Maddie: Why do you only have terrible memories?

Mother: That's why I don't tell you much.

~ The Lady in the Lake 

- - - - -

The quote for this post is from the Lady in the Lake on Apple TV. I don't know if it is in the book the show is based on or not. 

(pause)

The fact that I haven't read the book may be a terrible memory for the author of the book. Well, next time she thinks about it. The first time she thinks about it, it isn't a memory yet.

 

Found

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.

~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

- - - - -

The other day I saw a sticker that said, "I found the evil I was looking for!" It was perfect. 

Then I reread it and it actually said, "I found the email I was looking for!"

Sigh. In life you will find lots of disappointments.

Hope

Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.

~ Roy T. Bennett

- - - - -

 I read a quote that I like the other day. It said, "I have no energy for hate. I either love you, wish you well, or hope you heal." I think that is a wonderful concept.

(pause)

But I still have a little bit of energy for hate.

School

Being a student is easy. Learning requires actual work.

~ William Crawford

- - - - -

If someone offers to give you all the answers, be suspicious. He might give you answers while taking away the chance for you to discover your own truths. Everything is a tradeoff.

School is where we learn. Where we take chances. Where we are made uncomfortable so that we can become more confident in knowing that we can do hard things.

Old School is where they make the "corn flake chewy." I'm sure they learn a lot of things there, too.

(pause)

I guess that "Kimble's" is actually where they make the "corn flake chewy" but it didn't really fit with the school theme of my blog post. 

House

May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.

~ George Carlin

- - - - -

I read a post by a realtor the other day. She was complaining that a lot of first-time homebuyers were having problems finding "adorable insurance." 

(pause)

I have to believe that is true.

Mystery

Art inspired by Maureen Collins

The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.

~ Oscar Wilde

- - - - 

Did you ever sense there was someone in your life who hated you and you can't figure out why? That person is me. And I'm not telling you why. We both know you know why. 

Graffiti

Made for Eating.

~ Fritos slogan

- - - - -

This is a Graffrito truck.

 

Robots

You and I are streaming data engines.

~ Jeff Hawkins

- - - - -

When Leslie and I finished watching the musical "Mean Girls" the robots suggested the next thing we might like to watch was, "Women Talking."

(pause)

First, we had already seen "Women Talking." Second, your algorithm needs work, robots. It needs some work.

Rescue

Coming to my rescue?

Of course, it's what we do. I rescue you; you rescue me. We just take turns whenever the other needs it.

~ Richelle Mead

- - - - -

This is a dog Lily rescued last summer. Here is how a dog rescues another dog: The rescue dog finds another dog, plays with it, and then the rescued dog follows the rescuer dog home.

That's how we should rescue people, too. Find someone, play with them. If that seems to work out, the second person can follow the first home. 

(pause)

This might not be the best way to rescue someone who is drowning.

Perspective

If you look the right way you can see the whole world is a garden.

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

- - - - -

"Don't put all your tennis balls in one flower pot" is a powerful piece of advice that is all to often sadly overshadowed by the egg quote thing. 

 

Hydrant

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm the rest of his life.

~ Terry Pratchett

- - - - -

The other night I was walking to my car after class. I saw a small fireball in the dried leaves. I panicked at first, but realized it was very close to a hydrant. Also, it wasn't quite as dramatic as you might think because the fireball I saw was one of those little plastic bottles of Fireball whiskey you can buy at the checkout of a gas station.

Still... it was something I saw.

Doing

I think I'd tell myself, "You have no idea what you're doing and so you're invincible."

~ The Bear

- - - -

When going on an adventure, one ought to assume it can be completed. If you don't complete it, you didn't fail, you just aren't finished yet. And if you never finish, you didn't fail, you just ran out of time. And if you ran out of time, it's probably someone else's fault because they gave you something stupid to do instead like housework or having a job or looking BOTH ways before you crossed the street.

 

Inclusion

I'd rather be excluded for who I include 

than included for who I exclude.

~ Popular Inspirational Social Media Post

- - - - -

First of all, it should be "whom."

Second of all, I'd rather be excluded.

(pause)

Given my first of all comment, that second one is probably happening whether I'd rather it or not.

Adventure

Adventure is worthwhile.

~ Aesop

- - - - -

You might not think that writing a dissertation is an adventure. If that is the case, I suspect you have never written a dissertation.

 

Robots

Robots are not always helpers.

~ Michelle L. Boettcher

- - - - -

Really, Spellcheck? Really? The person I write to and about more than anyone is named "Leslie" but these are your recommendations? Sheesh.

 

Actual

The possible ranks higher than the actual.

~ Martin Heidegger

- - - - -

When I am scrolling along and I read, "Actual footage of me..." 

No, it's not. It really hardly is ever actual footage of people doing something. It's a film clip or a picture of a dog's reaction to a piece of cheese or a video of someone (not the poster of the video) falling in dramatic fashion.

I wish people would say what they mean. What they mean is "Here is an image or clip that represents how I felt when I..."

(pause)

Probably no one should hire me to manage their social media accounts, though I'd love the work if there was no structure or accountability. 

Looking

I have a theory that where you look, you go.

~ Linda Hernandez

- - - - -

Linda said this to me (and several million other of our friends) during the recent summer Olympics. She was talking about diving. I like that theory and, while I enjoy watching diving (though I'm no expert), I believe it is true in life, as well.

The thing is, too often we spend time looking at what (where, whom) we want to avoid. As a result we end up headed toward those things and giving them a lot of our attention and time.

When we do that we have to look in the direction we really want to head. We can pause, refocus, and then move toward our goals.

In some cases we might even pause, flip off that person/place/thing, and then refocus and move toward our goals. 

It just depends.

Stories

Storytelling is one kind of revenge. Maybe losers get better at it than the winning side.

~ Allan Gurganus

- - - - -

I think we forget sometimes that Lucifer was (allegedly) an angel. A favorite angel. A fallen angel. For someone who was cast out, he developed a pretty powerful storyline for himself. Almost lead character energy, if you will.

Me whisper typing: Almost lead character energy if you won't, too.

Framed

We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny, but what we put into it is ours.

~ Dag Hammarskjold

- - - - -

I once had a colleague ask if we had gotten plagues for our organizational award winners. We had not. I so very much wish we had.

 

Art

Give to receive. Never put art first. Put People first.

~ Herakut

- - - - -

Family Dollar can really ruin some art.

(pause)

And maybe some other things, too.

Pasture

I was at the pinnacle of my career one day and the next day I was put out to pasture. I was like a racehorse with a broken leg.

~ Jack Klugman

- - - - -

I don't think I'd mind being put out to pasture. It's probably relatively quiet there. And you can watch the clouds and enjoy the sun or move into the trees if it gets too hot. Not a lot of people around to bother you.

Also, loosely related, Jack Klugman - I'm not sure being put out to pasture is what happens to horses with broken legs.

 

Gotcha

Need to catch some fish? We Gotcha!

~ Gotcha Fishing Charters slogan

- - - - -

I hate that my mom celebrated "Gotcha Day". She doesn't celebrate a day she got a pet, instead she celebrated every day that she caught me or my brothers doing something wrong. 

Sauce

Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking tartar sauce with you.

~ Zig Ziglar

- - - - -

I like a good sauce as much as the next person.

That said...

"Saucy Nugs," Wendy's? No. That just sounds gross. Or obscene. 

Try again.

Reading

The role of school libraries is to enrich the educational landscape, to create a foundation for the love of literacy.

~ Liz Phipps-Soiero

- - - - -

Overheard in a bookstore...

Woman 1: (Mom to her five-year-old? daughter) Beloved. Lord of the Flies. 1984. Girl, you're gonna read all these books if they aren't banned in school by the time you get there.

Daughter: Banned?

Woman 1: They might be.

Woman 2: (Woman 1's friend, to little girl) Don't worry. We'll keep a secret stockpile for you. 

Journeys

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.

~ Martin Buber

- - - - -

Lily is almost always unaware of where her journeys will take her. And she is - without exception - ready to go whenever someone else is. It is absolutely never about the destination for her because she doesn't know where we are going or even when we have arrived. 

(pause)

Now that I think about it, maybe we are never really sure where we are going or even when we have arrived, either.

Drive

 You can't go on, thinking nothing's wrong, but now

who's gonna drive you home tonight?

~ The Cars

- - - - -

I used to drive our 1980 Pontiac Bonneville Safari station wagon (burnt orange with wood paneling decals on the sides) to and from high school with the windows down singing this song (whenever it came on the radio). 

I did.

I did the above and I also drove me home that night. 

(pause)

I could do it all back in the day.

Jeep

Jeep is America's only real sports car.

~ Enzio Ferrari

- - - - -

Creativity is about coming up with ideas, and innovation is about making them happen. Some people are good at one, and some people are good at the other. I am probably more of a creative than an innovative person. But as for those people who are both -- look out! They are unstoppable.

And as for the people who steal other people's creative ideas or innovations -- look out! That's annoying. And may also be criminal.

Finally, as for people who steal someone's Jeep and then cover it in moss thinking they won't get caught - look out! Unless you don't own a Jeep, then you're good.

Mysterious

To feel envy is human, to savor schadenfreude is diabolic.

~ Arthur Schopenhauer

- - - - -

Schadenfreude is one of my favorite words. In this particular photo it appears that Aurora is taking some evil joy at the pain of others. In this case the "others" are GoGo and Ezra. But what is the pain? We may never know.

Aurora isn't really like that, though. Images can be misleading.

And mysterious. For example, in the photo above - whose arm is whose??

Lemon

It's not what happens to you, but how you handle it. 

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. 

If the lemons are rotten, take out the seeds 

and plant them in order to grow more lemons.

~ Louise Hay

- - - - -

If life gives you frosted lemons, make frosted lemon Cheerios because those things are delicious.

Goodness

Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people. 

~ Roy T. Bennett

- - - - -

I have a friend from high school. Well more than one, but I'm just talking about one specific person here. We weren't very close when we were in school, but we have connected on social media. 

Anyway she is one of the nicest people (at least on social media) that I know. She puts out positive vibes and goodness into the world. She is always posting positive thoughts and highlights from her day based on beautiful things that she takes the time to notice and appreciate and share with others.

We are a lot alike because I notice and comment on things, too. I'm not always as nice, but sometimes I try to be. And sometimes I don't try to be.

Anyway, I hope what I share brings people a little bit of laughter. But what she shares brings me a lot of gratitude. I'm so glad there are some kind people in the world to balance out the ones who are less kind. 

Kind people are my kind of people. 

And maybe I can try a little harder to be their kind of people, too.

(pause)

Maybe not, though. I'm pretty busy.

Spelling

Of course words are magic.

That's why they call it "spelling."

~ Brian Holguin

- - - - -

"bullahit"

Phone: "No replacements found"

Me: Really, text spellcheck? REALLY?!

Walking

It's always felt curative, walking the dogs... I've felt many a problem solved in the quiet, steady transmissions through a leash. if having a child is like watching your heart walk around outside your body, then walking a dog is like walking your heart. In walking dogs, my heart endures. There is the satisfaction of offering them something so pleasurable to them, but it's also being witness to it, observing them from the inside out like a field scientist making a rapt note of how a dog transcribes a road.

~ Chloe Shaw

- - - - -

It doesn't matter if we are walking the dogs or if the dogs are walking us. The point is spending time together. Unless you're doing the yo-yo trick "walking the dog" in which case, that's cool. I could never do that trick.

 

Beaver

For criminey sakes!

(or something along those lines)

~ Sally Deters

- - - - -

Beaver loved to shag... hahahaha hee hee ha hahaha

I know it's juvenile, but so what? You can handle it. As the wise philosopher Sally K. Deters used to say, "Get over it." It should be noted she never said it about this post exactly, but I think she probably would if she found out you were making fun of me being juvenile.

(pause)

Or maybe she would tell me to grow up. 

(pause)

Or both. Actually, I'm confident it would be both.

House

The past never leaves us; there's always atmosphere to consider; you can wound air as cleanly as you can would flesh. I this way the Dream House was a haunted house. You were the sudden, inadvertent occupant of a place where bad things had happened.

~ Carmen Maria Machado

- - - - -

Based on my research (i.e., what I read on etymonline), "haunt" comes from the Old French hanter "to frequent, visit regularly; have to do with, be familiar with; indulge in, cultivate. Apparently there is a secondary meaning from both Middle English and Old French that meant "to have sexual intercourse with."

(pause)

I hope I'm not ever haunted by a Middle English or Old French ghost. 
 

Thinking

Think higher, feel deeper.

~ Elie Wiesel

- - - - -

I like it when people let their minds wander and think their thoughts. I like it when they think things in. new ways. I like it when they ask questions. Pondering and pontificating are good things, I think.

However, when the person wrote, "Which came first, the cucumber or the pickle," well... That is someone who doesn't know how to make pickles. I guess it's good that they are trying to learn. But if they are trying to be funny or clever, I think they did not do those things. 

Also, for the record, Leslie once rescued a jar of pickles out of the bay where Lily is sitting in this picture. 

Steering

[W]asn't that what education was all about anyway? To rescue us from our natural inclinations and to steer us in the ways of the best that had been thought and discovered and created over the long course of civilization?

~ Elizabeth McCracken

- - - - -

It doesn't seem clear what education is about at all. Is it about job training? Life skills? Is it about cultivating citizens and building a better society? Is it about loosing creativity or replication of past behavior? Often I worry that the purpose of education is simply to get people to conform. Certainly not to transform.

Like when I took an American literature course and I thought the instructor wanted us to connect ideas and think creatively about the impact of the work. No. He wanted us to repeat back to him what he said. I did that after the first exam. 

(pause)

I bet he also wanted us to give him feedback on the course evaluations about what a great teacher he was.

(pause)

At that point, I chose to no longer conform.