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.