Courage

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.

Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

~ Winston Churchill

- - - - -

I like this quote.  Sometimes people with the courage to talk don't have the courage to listen.  And vice versa.  I think it's important to remember, however, that sometimes people stand up to talk out of fear and some people sit in silence out of fear.  Which is one of the implied truths in what Churchill had to say, right?

So how do you know if the person sitting or standing is brave or fearful?  It's really quite easy because she is.

Antiques

You have friends, Paullus, just like your pictures and vases, all antique originals.

~ Marcus Aurelius

- - - - -

Old things are cool.  They have history.  They carry stories.  They connect past and present.  Old people are cool, too.  They have history.  They carry stories.  The connect past and present.  Society frowns on cooping a bunch of old people up in a building, though.

(pause)

Or at least society should frown on that.  Truth be told, society ought to do a lot more than simply frown on something like that.  Maybe that's the problem with society - too much frowning not enough doing.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to keep oldsters in a building somewhere.  A nice building.  With nice grounds.  And then younger people and world leaders could visit to get information about the past to better inform the present and the future.  Kind of like a human information depository (H.I.D.).

Of course some oldsters wouldn't reflect the past accurately.  Instead of keeping them in the H.I.D., we would have to keep them in an oldster liebrary.

Oh, and happy birthday dad.  This post has nothing to do with either your age or where Mom and Kirk and Erik are talking about storing you.

Flection

Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why I am doing it, What the results might be, and Will I be successful.  Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

~ Chanakya

- - - - -

I don't believe we spend enough time being reflective.  Whether we reflect before (PREflection), during (Flection) or after (REflection).  Even people who really believe in the value of this can be victims of distraction (DEflection) and fail to engage in real thinking (GENUflection).  Wait, that's not right.  That would be GENUINEflection.  I think genuflection is when you get not what you think about, but what you kneed.

Iowa

My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it.  I never did like work and I don't deny it.  I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh, anything but work.

~ Abraham Lincoln



- - - - -

Larry told me a joke a while ago.  He said, "A woman went out east to meet her future in-laws.  When her future mother-in-law asked where she was from, the woman replied, "Iowa."  The future mother-in-law scoffed and said, "Here we pronounce it O-HI-O."

Larry paused a moment and then said, "You know, though, when you're from Ohio you don't pronounce it O-HI-O.  You prounounce it A-H-A."

So, my friends, who is the joke REALLY on?

And, if what Larry says is true, I think Ohio should change it's motto to "Land of Discovery."  Because "AHA: Land of Discovery" is awesome.

Art

I want a tattoo over my heart that reads, "TRY HARDER YOU LAZY PARAMEDIC SHITBAG OR I WILL HAUNT YOUR BEDROOM FOREVER."

~ Warren Ellis

- - - - -

I was looking for a quote to go with the other dandelion photo I posted two days ago.  One of the things to pop up on my computer was a post, "Does anyone know a good quote to go with a dandelion tattoo?"

This concerns me.  I'm not opposed to tattoos.  I think they can be beautiful and art and meaningful.  I just think that tattoos ought to have significance for the person getting them.  And asking interlopers and the internet about what sort of permanent body modification you should get seems unwise.

It's kind of like believing your body is your temple and then inviting strangers to paint graffiti on it.  But - hey - your temple, your rules.

Leaf

A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked.

~ Anais Nin

- - - - -

I like leaves.  I like autumn.  I like when things wind down and prepare for the quiet, blanketed winter.  The early is simultaneously soft and crunchy.  The moist earth preparing for things to be buried and mixed into the soil.  The leaves and twigs cracking beneath boots and animal feet.

I think it is about the most beautiful time of all.  I used to think it was the end of something.  Instead, now, I think it is the beginning before the beginning.  If things don't die and compost, the world won't be ready for new growth.  It's getting the earth ready to incubate for spring.

So, when I was trying to think of the world incubate just now, all I could think of was concubine.  That is a very different kind of thing. 

On an incredibly loosely related note, I think "The Porcupine Concubine" would be a good book except that maybe people would think it was a children's book and it wouldn't be a children's book at all.

Dandelion

What is a weed?  A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

- - - - -

I don't know why people don't like these.  They look like fireworks.  And blow like bubbles.

Always

Consider the sunlight.  You may say it is near, yet if you pursue it from world to world you will never catch it.  You may say it is far, yet it is right before your eyes.  Chase it and it always eludes you; run from it and it is always there.  From this example you can understand how it is with the true nature of things.

~ Huang-Po

- - - - -

This is true about sunlight.  And rainbows.  And flies.  And echoes.  And the quiet voices in your head offering you guidance and sometimes bad advice.

Wait.  No it isn't.  Because rainbows and flies and echoes aren't ALWAYS there.  

Blizzard

We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it.  Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.

~ Zhuangzi

- - - - -

Playing the "complete this line" game...

Me:  "Bells on bobtail ring..."

Leslie:  "Making (mumble mumble)..."

Me:  "Making SATAN SING?!"

Leslie:  That's NOT what I SAID!

Games are fun.  

Moments

There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.
~ Maya Angelou

- - - - -

I love this quote.  To me it is about the difference between now and tomorrow.  You can enjoy the moment you are in - or maybe the lessons it can teach; you can long for more - tomorrow, things, relationships.  Gratitude is about what you have and who you are in this moment.  Greed is about wanting more.

The other day I posted, "It is good to be where you want to be."  To me that is what the title of this blog is all about.  We have zen moments in every moment.  We just don't always realize them.  And when we search for them we certainly don't find them because we are doing and not being.

I will say that it isn't good to pursue zen when you're in a crosswalk on a busy street.  You should be doing the work of crossing the road, not just being in the moment and being hit by cars.

Sunday

“Sunday is the only day you have to push like a handcart,’ Thomas wrote in The Book Of Everything. ’ The other days roll down the bridge by themselves.”

~ Guus Kuijer

- - - - -

I love this quote.  Sundays are hard work.  There are a few Sundays I have enjoyed - relaxing and reflecting and rejuvenating.  Most Sundays I am preoccupied because Monday is the next day.   Monday brings routine and schedules and a structure that is mostly disconcerting.  I'm not sure the time I spend on Friday being excited for the weekend makes up for the time I spend on Sunday being less excited for the obligations of the world of work.

However, I wouldn't want a month of Sundays or Saturdays, either.  I get easily bored and have tendencies toward isolation that might not be good for me.  And where would you find a calendar with a month of Sundays?  Don't say "At the 'Month of Sundays Calendar Store,'" because you and I both know that place doesn't exist.

It might be good to sell those kinds of calendars off of the handcart you're pushing around.  Just a thought.

Web

The creative individual has the capacity to free himself from the web of social pressures in which the rest of us are caught.  He is capable of questioning the assumptions that the rest of us accept.

John W. Gardner

- - - - -

I wonder how much of creativity is thinking differently and how much is expressing differently.  Can you be creative inside and never show it and be considered creative?  Or is it like a tree falling in the woods no one sees?  Except the thinking - the person who is thinking creatively "sees" it, right?  Does being creative require outward expression?  

I think probably not.  I think that there are lots of creative people who do not have a chance or take a chance or get the chance to express their creative selves.  Maybe all of us have something creative we don't express.  And each of us has our own reasons for not expressing that piece of our creative selves.

I think the "web of social pressures" is a good way of capturing this.  Webs are very strong, but can be almost invisible at times.  They connect and trap simultaneously.  And a web lends itself to something creepy or startling (if you've ever walked through the woods or a doorway in an old building and gotten your face in a web you know that is true).  There is a tension in webs.

There is also a beauty in webs.  Each spider creates his or her own web.  Each web is unique based on the circumstances under which and the location where it is built.  So, is it ironic that the creative spider may be creative while simultaneously being bound by his or her web?  Maybe.  And is Charlotte the most creative of all spiders because she could spell words in her web?  No.  Charlotte is made up.

Impressions

Light travels faster than sound.  That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

~ Alan Dundes

- - - - -

I am horrible at assessing people based on first impressions.  Horrible.  There are some exceptions, but very few.

I think most of the time I try to give people a fair shot - well beyond whatever the first impression might be.  Maybe sometimes I don't.  And maybe other times I give them a LONG time before I realize how they are -- good, bad or otherwise.

You know that saying, "You only get one chance to make a first impression?"  I agree with that.  I think what we forget sometimes, though, is that first impressions are shallow and making one involves pretty much superficial stuff.

Maybe that's just me, though.  And I know my friend Rose would agree with me.  How you are over time - the quality of your character - that is far more important than if you have on matching shoes.  Right, Rose?

Medicine

Always laugh when you can.  

It is cheap medicine.

~ Lord Byron

- - - - -

I am pretty sure that I have healing powers.  Truth is, maybe we all do.  Maybe we all can make people feel better through the power of touch or care or simply be being attentive.  I think maybe I have more special powers than most, but I think that about most things.  Because I'm like that.  Leslie and I were discussing just this concept not too long ago.

Me:  I am descended from medicine people.  I am a healer.

Leslie:  Like Dr. Quinn.

Me:  I said "descended from medicine PEOPLE" not medicine WOMAN.

Leslie thinks she's funny.  And it's difficult for me to convince her she isn't when I'm usually laughing at what she says.  And if laughter is curative, then she - also - is a healer.

Knowledge

Knowledge is power.  Information is liberating.  Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

~ Kofi Annan

- - - - -

Everything I needed to know, I learned in one night of ELPerS curling...

* Sometimes you just NEED to throw rocks, but when you do, throw them gently and on the ground and not at a person.

* It is important to sweep up after yourself.  Or before yourself.  Or before your opponents.

* Walk softly or you'll fall on your butt.

* Cheers help especially when cheerfully cheered by the cheerful.

* Teamwork matters, but it is work.  Done by a team.  Thus the name.  Teamwork.

* Being first isn't everything.  Persistence is everything.  This is true in both curling and writing a dissertation.

* It's all about the uniform.

* It's not always about where you are, but much more about whom your with and how you spend your time.

* Try new things.  And then try them again.  For at least five years or so.

Congratulations, ELPerS.  Now get back to the writing.

Storm

They sicken of the calm who know the storm.

~ Dorothy Parker

- - - - -

I like storms.  I like them best when I am at home and not having to travel through them, but I like them.  I know that they can symbolize anger or violence or change.  I like the change part the best.  Sometimes change happens without a single big storm or event.  It happens slowly and gradually over time.  Sometimes a storm brings change in crashing and thundering and wind and rain and lightning.

There are lots of different kinds of storms which bring different kinds of change.  The first big snowstorm of a season can change the landscape and represent a visible change of the seasons.  A spring shower may bring flowers (or something like that).  A sandstorm can  bring a lot of sand and increase broom sales.  Even a storm that brings pennies from heaven brings change.

Listener

A good listener truly wants to know the speaker.

~ John Powell

- - - - -

Me: (mumbling)  Oh...  that's why...

Leslie:  What?

Me:  Nothing I'm just talking to myself.

Leslie:  Why are you doing that?

Me:  Because I'm a good listener.

Leslie:  What?!

Me:  Because I'M A GOOD LISTENER!!!

Leslie:  Oh.

Life

Believe that life is worth living and 

your belief will help create the fact.

~ William James

- - - - -

I sometimes wonder what people will say about me when I'm gone.  Not necessarily when I'm dead - I don't particularly want to imagine all the crying and moaning and tearing of frocks that will take place then.  I just wonder what they might say if I move away or am out of touch for a while.  Or - okay - maybe if I'm just in the other room.

In my wondering the stuff they always say is good and nice and complimentary.  Of course.  Why would I spend time imagining them saying bad things.  That seems counterproductive.

I heard something the other day - I don't remember where or who said it...  But I hope someday someone says it about me.  "She was good at life."

(pause)

I guess that would fit best if I was deceased rather than just in the other room.  The past-tenseness of it seems weird if I'm just a few feet away.

I'm good at life sometimes.  I could do better.  Guess I will start.  You should, too.  I mean, it's not like I want people to say, "She was better at life than that other person."

(pause)

Or maybe I do.  I'm kind of competitive.

(pause)

Nah.  "She was good at life," will suffice.  It doesn't have to be, "She was the BEST at life."  I mean, even if it's true, I don't need people to say that.  I'll be dead after all.  And being good at death.

(pause)

This is a lot more morbid than the running dog photo might have indicated it was going to be.

Endurance

Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.

~ Virgil

- - - - -

Leslie and I were playing a game.  A game where you have to complete quotes or proverbs or whatever.  It was pretty fun, but some of them were challenging.  We were pretty lenient and gave each other partial credit on the tougher quotes.

Leslie:  "Nothing endures but..."

Me:  Time.  Love.  Peace.  Space?

Leslie:  No.  "Change."  And I'm not counting that.

I think I could have at least gotten some credit for quantity if not quality of responses. 

Smart

Being with someone who is smart and gives good advice adds tremendously wonderful elements to your life.

~ Patricia Cornwell

- - - - -

Leslie is one of the smartest people I know.  I like that about her.  I like smart people.  I don't care so much for people who aren't smart.  I don't mean people who haven't had educational opportunities, I mean people who choose not to think.  Or don't think before they speak.  Being unkind, in my mind is not being smart.  What rewards do you reap when you are unkind?

Was it unkind of Leslie to dominate the Harry Truman quiz we took at the Truman Presidential Library?  Or was it just her being smart?  Well, since I was trying to "win," then if I say it was unkind of her to ACTUALLY win, then that would make me unkind for trying to win.  Therefore, it was clearly not unkind.  She is just smart.

And also she probably paid more attention to the displays than I did.  I'm smart, but sometimes easily distracted which can make me look unfocused and unable to retain information.  But isn't that what we have libraries for to begin with?  To retain information?  Yes.  And also why we have librarians.  So, you can see, I was at a disadvantage from the get go.  And also I had my camera and that is what I use to focus sometimes.  Which is a way that I am able to focus sometimes.   I love photography so much.  What were we talking about?

Opinions

People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world 

is also a confession of character.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

- - - - -

Today is my mom's birthday.  She is a woman of strong opinions.  She is also pretty generous in sharing said opinions.  Kirk inherited all of that from birth.  My inheritance of that trait has developed over time.  The oldsters in my family (I'm not calling my mother an oldster.  Not publicly.)  tend to get more and more opinionated or at least more and more generous with the sharing of said opinions as they get older.

I think that's fair.  If you make it to 75 or 85 or 100 you probably should get to say whatever you want. That said...  you have a few more years before "you probably should get to say whatever you want," Mom.  Let's not forget that, okay?

Happy birthday from the best gift you ever received.

Bridges

 

The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.

~ Henry David Thoreau

- - - - -

I don't like this quote above.  Not because of the despair of middle age.  I don't like it because I worry that the middle aged man is building a woodshed so he has a place to go to give the youth a whippin' for taking the middle aged man's materials so the youth could build his bridge to the moon.  

Which is probably why we STILL don't have a bridge to the moon.

Sunset

The first stab of love is like a sunset, a blaze of color - 

oranges, pearly pinks, vibrant purples.

~ Anna Godbersen

- - - - -

I love sunset.  I love the colors and the clouds when there are clouds and the hint of the mysterious night which is creeping its way across the horizon and through the sky.  I like to think of it as God doing a painting at the end of the day.  Some days I even think, "Nice work," when I see the sunset.

I realize it could seem risky to be an art critic for God.  S/He really doesn't need my praise to know the works is good work.  But we all like a little recognition now and then.  And I think gratitude is important.  Also, it's not like some days I go, "Wow, God.  That sunset sucks."  Because it's not like I can make a sunset.  Or even just the sun.  (Pause)  Or a barn for that matter.

Or a lot of other things.  Like, say, an over easy egg.  At least I can't do that last one consistently.  I can, however, make one that is sunny side up.  And, thus, this blog has come almost full circle.  Like a huge glowing circle in the sky.

Labor

Labor gives birth to ideas.

~ Jim Rohn

- - - - -

I might have mentioned before that I think I could have enjoyed life as a farmer.  I think the hard work and the solitude would have been a good fit for me.  I don't know a lot about farming, so that would have probably made for some challenges - at least in the beginning.  I do think when you are working in a job that requires routine - even a routine one enjoys - it does provide some space for thinking and reflecting.  So, with that in mind, I agree with Jim Roth's quote above.

I think he missed a pretty important point, though.  Labor also gives birth to babies.  Of course, what are babies besides zip lock bags of human being filled mostly with water and ideas?  So, maybe I'm mistaken.  He's probably right on a number of levels.

State

The more rational an institution is the less it suffers by making concessions to others.

~ George Santayana

- - - - -

I love Iowa State.  I don't think I realized quite how much until a recent vacation to Canada.  Suzanne asked me, "Do you go to a lot of athletic events at Iowa State?"  I said that I tried to get to most sporting events at least once every year or so.  When I got home from my trip and was doing laundry, I realized that almost every t-shirt I had taken along had "Iowa State" on it.

I suspect that may have been part of the prompt for Suzanne's question.

Sandwich

Enjoy every sandwich.

~ Warren Zevon

- - - - -

It's weird to think there was a time when certain things didn't exist.  Like spoons.  Or cameras.  Or punctuation.  Or sandwiches.

Sure, I know the story that the Earl of Sandwich wanted to hunt but he got hungry so he had his cook come up with something he could eat while riding and the cook put meat between bread and now we call them sandwiches.  Pretty clever.  And appreciated.  Who doesn't enjoy a good sandwich?

I'm just glad he wasn't the Earl of Jersey or Legge or Dalhousie.  I don't want to eat jerseys or legs or doll houses for lunch.  Or dinner.  Sam I am.

I do like to pretend that the Earl of Sandwich was best hunting buddies with the Earl of Mayo and maybe Earl Grey.  They seem like they might get on well together.

Chair

Everything from the little house was in the wagon, except the beds and tables and chairs.  They did not need to take these, because Pa could always make new ones.

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

- - - - -

I sometimes think that the next time I move I would like to sell off almost everything and take only what can fit in my car.  There are some challenges to this, however.  I do have some things - even large things that I would like to keep after my next move.

I am not discouraged, though.  I just am on the lookout for a moving van to buy for my new car.

Cemetery

Instead of working for the survival of the fittest, we should be working for the survival of the wittiest - then we can all die laughing.

~ Lily Tomlin

- - - - -

When Leslie doesn't necessarily want to do something but knows she should or needs to do it or that someone else wants her to do it, she says, "Well, at least it will be an anthropological experience."  I think about that sometimes.  About learning about the cultures and lives of different people.  It is pretty interesting.

Like when Leslie shared with me about the anthropology of some of her people - librarians.  She went to a librarian conference once time and was talking about the vendor fair and how people love free stuff.  She said, "You wouldn't want to be on Survivor with a bunch of librarians because they'd kill you over a Jolly Rancher."

I bet they would be fun to play, "Desert Island Books" with, though.  Unless they all just wanted to bring the Old English Dictionary.  I've read parts of it  There's no real plot...

Oh.  And I guess it's called the Oxford English Dictionary.  See?  I'd probably get voted off the island just for that!  Which is too bad because I think I could build a pretty solid bookshelf if I had to.  Their loss.

Language

Life has no plot.  It is far more interesting than anything you can say about it because language, by its very nature, orders things and life really has no order.

~ Erica Jong

- - - - -

I would be a good lyricist. I hear songs all the time and get frustrated when they miss opportunities for better lyrics than what they ended up with. Okay, "better" is subjective, but sometimes one's subjectivity is also "right." Some things are "worse," some things are "better" and some things are different.

(pause)

I can settle for "different." Which - in my case - is probably a good thing since I am maybe mroe than a little different from most people...

Anyway, the other day I was listening to "Don't Let Me Get Me," by P!nk. I accidentally sang the wrong word in one of the lines. And then realized it would have been a clever line and probably SHOULD be the real word. The original line is:

Never win first place, I don't support the team
I can't take direction and my socks are never clean.

I think it would be better this way...

Never win first place, I don't support the team
I can't take direction and my thoughts are never clean.

Clever, right?

Now, what I'm not sure is whether this singing slip reveals more about what I think of P!nk or just more about how I think.

Compose

We do not write because we want to; 

we write because we have to.

W. Somerset Maugham

- - - - -

I like composition books.  They represent possibility when they are unused and achievement in issues of reflection, meaning-making and (hopefully) critical thinking when they are filled.  I'm sure I also like them because I like to write.  Other people may not see them the same way.

I don't remember ever having to use a composition book, though.  I remember in college having to get blue books for exams in college.  I remember in high school getting spiral notebooks and three ring binders and even Trapper Keepers which - apparently - are too dangerous for schools today.  But I don't remember composition books.

I wonder if they make specialized versions of these books.  I hope so.  I would love it if they made decomposition books for people studying mortuary science.  I'm a simple person and it doesn't take much to entertain me sometimes.

Taste

Ask now what you can do for your country.  

Ask what's for lunch.

~ Orson Welles

- - - - -

I like to cook.  I'm just an okay cook.  However, I am pretty amazing with leftovers.  I had some food leftover and yesterday I made it into fried rice.  I had some for dinner and will eat the rest as a lunch this week.  It was good.  

The only catch to the whole things was that while I was cooking, I was listening to Radiolab.  Radiolab is an awesome show on public radio.  Yesterday's episode was about "Patient Zero."  Unfortunately, while I was cooking, they were talking about Mary Mallon.  Typhoid Mary.  I learned a lot - like the fact that Mary was not the only cook who carried and transmitted typhoid.  There were several other male cooks who were later identified as carrier / transmitters.  Mary Mallon was, however, the only carrier / transmitter who was quarantined on an island.

I'm not making a statement on the treatment of women or Irish immigrants here.  I don't know enough about the history of this situation to make that kind of observation or issue that kind of criticism.

No, what I'm saying is "Tales of Typhoid Mary," is not necessarily a good thing to listen to when you're cooking.  At least I was cooking, though.  If I'd been preparing Peach Melba, that would have really freaked me out.  

Exercise

I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting.

~ Mark Twain

- - - - -

Exercising can be difficult. Sometimes it's hard to fit it into one's routine.  Or to find ways of exercising which don't become redundant or tiresome over time.  There are lots of excuses and obstacles (real or perceived).

I think for me, though, much more challenging than doing physical exercise is exercising restraint.  I'm way worse at that.  You can pretty much ask everyone.

Imagination

Imagination is an almost divine faculty which, without recourse to any philosophical method, immediately perceives everything: the secret and intimate connections between things, correspondences and analogies.

 ~ Charles Baudelaire

- - - - -

I think imagination is unlimited.  I think it is at times restricted - by the culture or the classroom or the self - but I don't think there are any natural boundaries on one's imagination.  We can imagine most things and things which are not yet things.  How amazing is that?  To picture something that does not exist.  Amazing.

For example, when someone said to me, "That outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination!" I had to disagree.  I said, "I can imagine more clothes on that person."

See?  Unlimited.

Seeing

I have learened silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.

~ Kahlil Gibran

- - - - -

 

It is time for me to start a new journal.  This means I am going through my old notes.  I found the following which - upon my review - now have no context for me...

 

"Partridges in a pear forest couldn't see the pears for the forest."

 

"What is a wonderland?  Duh!  It's a land of wonder."

 

I think maybe they were from a holiday party.  I'm not sure.  I do think that the use of landscape in the imagery is good though.  A forest.  A land.  The partridges are unable to see what is right in front of them as is the person who doesn't know what a wonderland is.

 

Isn't that what we are all like at times, though?  We have amazing things in front of us - pears, wonder, beaches, money, yo-yos...  bright, shiny objects which we miss because we are either too focused on the big picture or so buried in our own heads that we miss them.

 

The bright shiny objects, the lessons to be learned...  they're just waiting there for us.  As soon as we are ready to receive them, they will become obvious.

 

Until then they are hidden like pears in a pear forest.  

Power

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters
cannot be trusted with important matters.

~ Albert Einstein

- - - - -

Truth is power.  The power to face reality with integrity and honor.  The power to know you have done right and been as good as you can be.  The power of honesty and forthrightness and character.

I know people who live lives based on falsehood.  We all know people like that, I suspect.  I struggle when I see those people getting success (or opportunity) rewards (or sympathy) when the realities they espouse and share with others are twisted and manipulated to relieve them of responsibility.

My job is to work with people and try to help them learn how to take responsibility for their actions.  I am glad that most of the people with whom I interact are good at owning their decisions and actions and - in most cases - learning from the mistakes they make.

Some people don't.  That is frustrating - not only in work, but in life.  Like when someone forgets to include the word "awesome" when they reference me.  That is so frustrating.  Not that they forget, but that they fail to take responsibility and give me a GIFT with the apology note.  The note is nice and all, but - seriously - where's the GIFT?!

Baked

I'm so happy because today I found my friends.  They're in my head.

~ Kurt Cobain

- - - - -

If you were absolutely forced to choose between being a pothead and a chicken pot piehead, which would you choose and why?  And who is it forcing you to make this choice?  And HOW are they forcing you to make the choice?  What if you just had to choose between those two or simply being a chicken head?  And would they mean chicken like you were afraid of things or chicken as in you had the head of an actual chicken?

Basically, what I am saying to you is that you should not do drugs.  And don't let people bully you.  And also that I loathe chicken pot pie.

Nice

Love is supreme and unconditional;

like is nice but limited.

~ Duke Ellington

- - - - -

 

I don't like the words "nice" and "good" as descriptors.  They don't really say anything.  And I think our language is big enough that we can do better.

 

That said, sometimes you can use "nice" to convey a simple plainness.  I think "nice" is fine as an umbrella term, but it's good to go further and explain what we mean when we use it.

 

For instance, one might start a book or a chapter or a short story like this:

 

The judge was nice.  He was nice in court and played well with the other justices on the court.  But no matter what, he always agreed with the majority.  Even his handwriting was nice.  He wrote in concursive.

 

Or, one might choose not to do that...  since now it would be plagiarism.  And plagiarism is a lot of things, but it is not nice.

Record

History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances.

~ Donald Creighton

- - - - -

The other day I saw some old records for sale.  Someone started a business selling old records.  Included on their list was an Elvis album and the soundtrack to Cats - both of which I own and have at my parents' house.  They were selling these for $78 a piece.

Rather, they were listed for $78 a piece.  The fact that they had not been purchased might be an indicator that people were not willing to pay that much.

Anymore you see album covers framed as wall art.  You see old albums melted and made into candy dishes or change holders.  Or people buying because vinyl is back.

It is kind of cool how you have to actually engage with a record player.  And you have to be still when the music is playing.  Unlike with headphones where you can go for a jog or paint a house or chop a tree down while listening to music.

Maybe the resurgence of vinyl is about going back to when we focused on something.  When we were patient and put forth effort and listened.

Listening should make a comeback.  That would be great.

And let me know if you're interested in the Elvis or the Cats album.

Listening

I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. 

Most people never listen.

~ Ernest Hemingway

- - - - -

 

I sometimes am not sure if I am not a good listener or if I have a hearing problem.  Or both.  Or just a lack of attention.  Which could mean I am not a good listener. 

 

Anyway, the other day Patty came in and I swore she said, "So, lyin' sack-a..."

 

I said, "WHAT did you say?!"

 

She said, "I said, 'So, July second.'"

 

I laughed and said that I had misheard her and told her what I thought she said.  And then she said, "Butt wipe--!" but I interrupted her and I asked, "WHAT did you say?!"

 

She said, "' 'Bout like--'"

 

I'm not sure if this says that I am a bad listener or if I just think that Patty has a potty mouth and likes to call me names.  Probably some of each.

Cakes

All the world's a birthday cake, so take a piece,

but not too much.

~ George Harrison

- - - - -

The other day - okay, about a month ago (which technically IS an other day from today) - I shared that I do not like the words "cuke" or "cukes" as short for cucumber.  Ginny posted, "Cake, very cute."  Then immediately posted, "Let's try that again: cuke, very cuke! (damn autocorrect!)"

Then I realized that if there was plant called a cakumber plant and it grew cakes that I think it would be a very popular plant.  Unless it grew exactly like cucumbers with those little microspines on it that get in your fingers and itch like crazy.  Then the cakumbers might be popular, but I bet the plants wouldn't be.

And I wouldn't imagine that dill cakumbers would be very popular.  Just like I don't think cupcukes are very popular.  Or at least I haven't heard about them.  And I'm on the cutting edge of culinary stuff.  Which is what we who are on the edge call food - "culinary stuff."

Understanding

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

~ SØren Kirkegaard

- - - - -

Okay, so I know I've mentioned this before, but I don't blog a lot about my work.  I love my job and I really, really love the people in my area.  Which is good. Since I hired them and explained their primary responsibility is to make sure I enjoy myself and have fun at work every day.  And they meet or exceed my expectations most every day.

One of the things I think makes us such a strong team is that we have different interests and talents, but our core philosophy is the same.  We do our work well and communicate well with one another about opportunities and challenges.

Yesterday Joe and Sara and I were talking and Joe jumped from my question about why we still have young men reigster for selective service to a commentary on the raisin industry.  Sara remarked that I am very patient with Joe and with her when they jump from one seemingly disconnected concept to the next.  Joe explained that raisins and selective service were connected because they were government programs which grew out of the Great Depression.

I did not know that.

I told Sara that I am fine with the two of them jumping topics frequently.  "Listening to the two of you, " I shared, "Is like reading a Kurt Vonnegut book.  It doesn't make sense in the moment sometimes, but I know it's all going to come together in the end."

I have a good life and very good people in it.

Moms

If writers write, then rangers range.  And I'd like to wake up every 

morning and be a mother, so I could eat my own clothes.

~ Jarod Kintz

- - - - -

One of the most important things a mom can do is to listen.  To hear what is said and what is left unsaid.  To know when to ask.  When to encourage.  When to be silent.  Really that is true of all of us - not just moms.  We would all be better served and serve others better if we listened well.

Like when Leslie kept talking about the "Creepy mom / soccer mom."  I listened to her.  And then I challenged her.  I told her, "I think it's weird that you equate creepy moms and soccer moms."

She paused and thought about it.  I figured she was reflecting on what I said.  And then she replied, "Not SOCCER MOM -- STALKER MOM."

I like that she took the time to clarify.  Listening is important.



So is enunciation.

Ideas

Take up one idea.  Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea.  Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone.  This is the way to success.

~ Swami Vivekananda

- - - - -

I have an idea.  I have an idea to combine a couple of old TV shows into one NEW TV show.  Here are some of the shows I've thought of so far:

* The Wild, Wild, West Wing

* Gilligan's Fantasy Island

* 21 Sesame Jump Street

I'm sure you all can come up with some even better ideas for shows.  

I have lots of ideas.  Not just for TV shows.  For LOTS of things.  

(pause)

Which is why I will never achieve Swami Vivekananda's idea of success.  Fortunately, that is not my idea of success.  I have LOTS of ideas of success.

Clouds

If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf.

~ Lemony Snicket

- - - - -

I was thinking about filibusters the other night.  Regardless of how you feel about Wendy Davis or Rand Paul or other filibusterers, the act itself is interesting.  That someone could be effectively doing her or his job by standing and talking for hours on end.

I thought about trying that at work this week.  Just standing and talking for 8 hours or so.  Just to see what people would do.  Then I thought about how filibuster is derived from the Dutch "vribuiter" meaning robber or someone who wages an ad hoc war on another.  And how the term was coined in the 1850s in reference to Abraham Watkins Venable.  And then I thought about how venable sounds like venerable which means accorded a great deal of respect, but how I don't think that is what Albert G. Brown meant when he was talking about Abe Venable.  

And then I thought about how if Abraham Venable actually went by "Abe," that you could recreate his last name so that it was both his first and last name in one:

VENABLE

But then I thought that maybe people weren't ready for that sort of thing in the mid-1800s.

And then I thought about how I would be really good at filibustering, I think.

Imagination

Everything you can imagine is real.

~ Pablo Picasso

- - - - -

Jared, Kirk, Leslie and I were having a FB private message conversation about a fictional character.  I won't say who the character is.  If I were to name said fictional character, it would stir up a lot of emotion and outrage on the political, religious, and cultural stages.  And I don't wanna.

Anyway, Leslie was argued that the character is an oxymoron.  I said, "Don't call him a moron.  He hates that."  She responded, "It is a figure of your imagination."

I said, "An ACTION figure of my imagination, thank you very much!"

Much like a teen fashion action figure - or in the case of the image above a DOLL - named after me would be a bit of an oxymoron...

Why is it that all of these, "I can't tell you the entire story" entries involve Jared?  Coincidence.  Probably not.

Meters

Aspire to Inspire before you Expire!

~ Eugene Bell, Jr.

- - - - -

We all have limited time in our lives.  Each day which passes is one less day than we had the day before.  I don't dwell on that too much, but eventually we run out of time.  We are at the end and - if we are lucky - we have some good days to reflect on what we have contributed or the joys in our lives.

I sometimes write my blogs in advance.  I'll get an idea for a specific post for someone's birthday or a seasonally-appropriate topic.  I then look ahead and schedule the post.

I have wondered recently what it would be like if something happened to me, but these posts kept coming.  I'm not trying to be morbid or overly dramatic or even a bummer.  I just wondered about it. 

I bet people would keep reading them.  They would want to see how many ahead I am.  And then maybe they'd think the posts were over, but they wouldn't be because I had one for Thanksgiving Day 2097 and that will be a big surprise to the grandchildren of people who read my blog today. 

Knowing my friends, though, they would still feel comfortable saying (to themselves since I wouldn't be there), "Wow.  She must not have had much going on to blog about.  This is not her best work."

I like authentic and honest people.  Especially when they say instead, "These blogs just get better and better every day!  I love this blog!"

Handrail

'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after.

~ William Shakespeare

- - - - -

There are lots of kinds of handrails in life.  There are the literal ones.  They provide us balance going up or down steps or ramps.  There are...  well, mostly there are the literal ones.

I like to think that we each are a handrail to others, though.  Or have the potential to be.  We can offer stability, reassurance, confidence.  We can make navigating something difficult just a little bit easier for someone.  He can be there to lean on when someone needs a break or to give them the knowledge that the can move forward and someone will be there for them.

I just like to know when I'm serving as a handrail.  I don't like it when someone grabs me suddenly expecting me to steady them and be there for them.  Especially if we're on an icy sidewalk.  I don't want you to bring me down, buddy.  I'll be your, "Help you up after you fall on your butt," handrail instead of your, "Cushion my fall," handrail if you don't mind.  Besides, who wants to land on a handrail if you fall down?  That's not what we're for, my friend.

Turn-On

We all possess certain talents and gifts that are unique only to us.  You already have everything that you need to start living an extraordinary life.  It's up to you to turn on the switch and let your light shine.

~ Randa Manning-Johnson

- - - - -

I think language is so interesting.  It can also be confusing.  Words and phrases can mean very contradictory things.  Sometimes we don't even realize it.  We understand each context and don't notice the dramatic difference between one use and the next.  The idea of "turning on" someone, for example.  It can mean to attract them and entice them and appeal to them.  It also can mean to do an about-face and betray or attack them.  

It can also mean to put their batteries in if they are a human-like robot you built.  Or flip a switch to get them going if they are a solar robot.  Which is the more globally responsible kind to make.

8

For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours 

supposedly left after eight hours of sleep and eight of work.

~ Doug Larson

- - - - - 

I like the idea that numbers have special meaning.  The links between trinity and three.  The idea that a zero looks like a hole into which all the other numbers fall.  The fact that 12:34 is my favorite time of day.

I looked at what the number 8 means. It seems to mean mostly good things.  It is an infinity symbol on its side.  Completion.  Continuation.  Never-ending.  It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I two of-ten one-der what I eight four dinner last night.  Not really.  That would be asi-nine.

Words are fun.  And numbers as words are fun.  But not funner.  Because that's not a word.