Living

The only way to learn is to live.

~ Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

- - - - -

I'm not sure I agree with this quote. I think you can learn a lot as you die. The challenge is there isn't really an opportunity to apply that kind of learning.

Messages

The underlying message of the Neighborhood is that if somebody cares about you, it's possible that you'll care about others. 'You are special and so is your neighbor' - that part is essential: that you're not the only special person in the world.

~ Fred Rogers

- - - - - 

But... I'm the most special-est person of the special people - right, Mr. Rogers?

(pause)

RIGHT?

(pause)

RIGHT, MR. ROGERS??!!!

Attention

Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.

~ Susan Sontag

- - - - -

Especially pay attention to the world if you are driving or crossing the street in front of this vehicle.

(pause)

Or if you are walking across a parking lot with this vehicle, pay attention to that, too. You might want to take a photo of it.

Unreadable

 The unread is always better than the unreadable.

~ Oscar Wilde

- - - - -

I was driving by a billboard and I saw something that at first I thought said, "Doom scroll." Upon further review it actually said, "Drum roll." We see what we expect to see, I think.

Also, I should probably keep my eyes on the road.

Green

In every wood and every spring there is a different green.

~ J. R. R. Tolkein

- - - - -

Also in every cheese... if you leave the cheese alone for long enough.

Love

We learn our own minds by finding out what we love.

~ Maria Popova

- - - - -

I think maybe the first emotion a kid learns in love. 

No. Hungry. I think the first emotion a kid learns is hungry.

Moving

No writer can stand still. He continues to create or he perishes. Each task completed carries its own obligation to go on to something new.

~ Rachel Carson

- - - - -

I have found that to be true. I like to write, but writing begets writing. I think the reason the quote goes with the photo I chose for this entry is because every little kid is busy writing their own life story. They can't sit still. 

Also, sometimes they keep moving because they don't walk very well yet and they have to keep taking steps or they'll fall down.

That's kind of like my writing, too, now that I think of it.

Noise

Sound signifies event. A noise means something is happening... Speech, the most specifically human sound, and the most significant kind of sound, is never just scenery, it's always event.

~ Ursula K. Le Guin

- - - - -

I disconcur with this sign. I don't know that a specific type of wagon makes the most noise, but I know it is not an empty wagon. Maybe really ALL kinds of wagons (except empty ones) make the most noise. Examples include: station wagons, chuck wagons, band wagons, Radio Flyer wagons, covered wagons...

Which is the noisiest? It's hard to say. Could be a Radio Flyer with a group of children screaming as they careen down a hill. Could be the wayback of a station wagon packed with children as the car careens down a hill. Could be a covered wagon full of children careening down a hill. 

Regardless, I think the noisiest wagon is one that involves both children and careening. And probably hills.

Touch

A person's identity is like ap pattern drawn on a tightly stretched parchment. Touch is just one part of it, just one allegiance, and the whole person will react, the whole drum will sound.

~ Amin Maalouf

- - - - -

My whole identity was touched by this sign. Because it's creepy. My whole person reacted. 

It's creepy.

Antique

An antique is anything old with class.

~ John Bartlett

- - - - -

Is something an antique if it is labeled on the original packaging as an antique?

(pause)

I am so unfamiliar with the history of ornament hangers... it isn't even funny.

Brains

Shaped like a little loaf of French country bread, our brain is a crowded chemistry lab, bustling with nonstop neural conversations. 

~ Diane Ackerman

- - - - -

"SITAR" Michelle?! "SITAR" was seriously the first word that came to mind?!!!

Sheesh.

 

Leaving

Goodbyes make you think. They make you realize what you've had, what you've lost, and what you've taken for granted.

~ Ritu Ghatourey

- - - - -

Lily thinks that every time Leslie leaves in the car that she is going on some sort of adventure or hike or to the dog park or to do something fun. The truth is most of the time when Leslie leaves without Lily, Leslie is going to do errands or chores. She's going to the store or the post office or something like that. Or maybe she is going to campus for a work thing. 

Or to the dog park. Leslie loves to go there and play with all the dogs while Lily is at home.

Music

I prefer to remake flops. "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" was a remake of a flop. "The Quiet American" is a remake of a flop."

~ Michael Caine

- - - - -

 

Last night we finished watching the remake of West Side Story. It was not good. Anita was good. Nothing else was good. Some of the singing was good, but the remake was not good. I did like one part though. It was this part:

Someone in the movie: Chino's got a gun!

Me: That's an Aerosmith song.

Communication

In human conversation, in live, actual communication between or among human beings, everything "transmitted" -- everything said -- is shaped as it is spoken by actual or anticipated response.

~ Ursula K. LeGuin

- - - - -

Communication today is difficult. For example, above you see what Siri came up with when trying to understand me talking to Lily.

Miracles

Miracles are not a contradiction to nature. They are only a contradiction to what we know of nature.

~ St. Augustine

- - - - - -

I see miracles all the time. Like this pen not quite falling through the gap in the boards on the porch. "That's so small. It's not much of a miracle," you say? 

Well, I say that if you don't pay attention for small miracles you will miss a lot of miracles. And that is true not only of small miracles, but probably true for medium and large miracles, too. And I also say, "Shut up. You're stupid."

Dog

One dog barks at something. The rest bark at him.

~ Chinese Proverb

- - - - -

 Lily barks. She barks at people who walk by the house. She barks when we get a package delivered. She barks if there is a chair in the yard someplace where it doesn't belong. She barks if Tippy tells her something is happening and they should bark at it.

One night she was barking. I told Leslie our neighbors had come home and walked into their house. 

Leslie: Well, that solves the mystery of the barking dog.

Me: There are a lot of episodes in that series. 

Food

It's not the hard way. It's the right way.

~ Chef Dylan Jones

- - - - -

I like watching shows about food. I used to like highly competitive shows about food where I could cheer for some people and against others. I don't like those as much any more. They're scripted and not really about cooking or the importance of food.

Now I like shows that are about the role of food in culture. I like learning things about places in the world where I will likely never go. I like hearing people talk about the importance of food and history and family and all of those things.

One thing I didn't realize until recently is that Chef Michael Simon is is the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.

Self

This is the entire essence of life: Who are you? What are you?

~ Leo Tolstoy

- - - - - 

 

There are some people who seem to always have someone around to take their photo. They post those photos on social media. Sometimes they are celebrities and sometimes they are just people. Their photos aren't selfies. I don't know how the do that. Also, I wouldn't mind taking some people's pictures for a while. Not forever, though. I imagine we'll get on each other nerves after a while. And by that I mean that the person I would be taking photos of would get on my nerves. 

Not Zak, though. He's cool. 

Bridge

No one can build the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life.

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

- - - - -

Well, you and your dog.
 

Headless

There are more things... likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.

~ Seneca

- - - - -

With that outfit, you know this was a clown. If the scariest part of a clown is the head, then is a headless clown less scary than a clown with a head? Yes, if it's a wooden cutout. NO if it is a human being.

Sand

Sand keeps secrets better than mud.

~ Delia Owens

- - - - -

If you lose something in the sand, it may be gone forever. 

Or it may be gone until someone else finds it. After that it might have a whole new story.

Of course if you lose something in a small sand box, you probably can find it. Unless what you lose is a grain of sand. But if it's a grain of sand, you can find a replacement.

Just look out for the cat poop.

Games

The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds, and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.

~Florence Scovel Shinn

- - - - -

I see things pop up on social media a lot - games and puzzles and challenges. A lot of them say things like "It's harder than you think!" Well, to be honest, I think most everything in life is harder than you think. 

 

Problems

To solve a problem, you need to remove the cause, not the symptom.

~ The Liezi

- - - - -
 Unless it's a math problem. Then you need to do math.

Driving

Well, that's life in a nutshell, ain't it? Lovin' to go to one place and havin' to go to another.

~ Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway

- - - - -

I like going to other places. I also like the Lincoln Highway.

(pause)

The place more than the book. The book was just okay to me. It will probably make a good movie, though.

Maybe by then I'll go to the place where that movie is. Maybe I'll like that place, too.

 

Stars

And we all shine on. And the moon and the stars and the sun.

~ John Lennon

- - - - - -

I bet astronomers are pretty excited for Orion to get older and start wearing suspenders instead of a belt. (pause) Or better yet, suspenders AND a belt.
 

Coffee

Coffee makes us severe, grave, and philosophical.

~ Jonathan Swift

- - - - -

I don't drink coffee. However, I've been thinking about opening a coffeehouse where there are some cats. I think coffee and cats go together well for a lot of people. I want to call the place "CATfeine." 

(pause)

That's as far as I've gotten with my business plan.

Two

There are two rules in life. Number one - never quit. Number two - don't forget rule number one.

~ Duke Ellington

- - - - -

Today is 2/22/22.

Today is twoday.

Home

Wasn't that the definition of home? 

Not where you are from, but where you are wanted.

~ Abraham Verghese

- - - - -

Not if you're being pursued by the law.

(pause)

I've heard.
 

Running

A year ago, I published the lines below along with a different photo of Lily running:

I'll be happy if running and I can grow old together.

~ Haruki Murakami

- - - - -

So when I was little my parents always told me not to run with a sucker in my mouth or I could fall down and choke and die. No one says that to dogs. People are  jerks. One of two things must be true - my parents were fun-killers who didn't want me to enjoy my candy with my full range of motion OR my parents hated dogs.

This was my mother's response:

I think that my mother is where I get my lying-ness from. Some of the above is fabricated. Like, "We always wanted you to have fun."

Bah!

It took me a year to post this because I was so furious, I think.

 

Art

A true masterpiece does not tell everything.

~ Albert Camus

- - - - -

I don't actually think claymation is a very flattering form of portraiture.

Rules

Know the rules well so you can break them effectively.

~ HH Dalai Lama XIV

- - - - -

I wanted to walk through this area, but I wasn't sure if I used my hands to shield my eyes if they might be considered shading devices and I certainly didn't want them taken away from me.

Statue

I would much rather have men ask my why I have no statue than why I have one.

~ Marcus Porcius Cato

- - - - -

 If you take the video games Donkey Kong and Mario Kart and combine them, you get this. 

Mornings

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

~ Marcus Aurelius

- - - - - 

Once upon a time this was my morning...

I woke up around 4 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and left for work around 5 a.m. My left rear tire said it only had 20lbs of pressure again. It was like that the day before, too. I went to QuikTrip to use the free air because I only had dimes and nickels. The free air didn't work.

I bought a soda and when I paid I leaned forward and asked the clerk, "When I get my change back, would it be possible to get a dollar in quarters?"

She said, "Yes. I thought you were going to ask me something much more ominous." 

I said, "Sorry. I guess that was a little dramatic."

Friend

Anything is possible when you have the right kind of people there to support you.

~ Misty Copeland

- - - - -

 I think it's good when making new friends to ask, "So, if we are ever on an adventure and accidentally kill someone, what are we going to do?" If they are the "We'll call the police!" type and you are the "We will get out of there and never speak of it again!" type, don't bother cultivating that friendship. It's never going to work out.

If you come up with the same answer, hang on to that friend and never let them go. Maybe also never go on an adventure with them, but that's your decision. I'm not the boss of you.

Seeing

She realized you could be as honest as possible in life, but people only see the truth if it close enough to their reality.

~ Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

- - - - -

Leslie is the most honest person I know. She is so honest that it confuses her when other people are not honest. 

I'm really lucky to know her.

She would say she is lucky to know me, too. At least I think she would. It's my blog, so let's just agree that she probably would.
 

Love

To love is to recognize yourself in another.

~ Eckart Tolle

- - - - -

I hope Lily and I share some characteristics. She's pretty great. And I think she likes me,  too.

Vandalism

I don't understand why when we destroy something created by man we call it vandalism, but when we destroy something created by nature we call it progress.

~ Ed Begley, Jr.

- - - - -

I wonder what would happen if you went around and painted "VOICE" over "U.S." on mailboxes. It's kind of a funny joke, but I have to believe that after a couple dozen mailboxes you'd wonder, "Why am I wasting my time on this?"

Also, according to 18 USC 1705 if you get caught you might have to go to prison for three years and/or pay a $250,000 fine. 

(pause)

Why yes.  I DID do some homework on this post.  Why do you ask?

Play

I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.

~ Katherine Hepburn

- - - - -

When your dog asks you to play, always say yes as that is always the right response.

Face

When you can see kids smiling, that's one of the best things. 

That's why I did Narnia.

~ James McAvoy

- - - - -

I like Ezra's face here. The following post is not about his face, but about a different face I once saw.

If you see a baby that looks just like Patton Oswalt, but it is not Patton Oswalt's baby, you probably shouldn't say, "She looks just like Patton Oswalt!" right?

Labyrinth

A labyrinth is a symbolic journey, but it is a map we can really walk on, blurring the difference between map and world.

~ Rebecca Solnit

- - - - -

Me: Did you know that they used to have enclosed labyrinth around here?

Leslie: What? No.

Me: They had it fenced off, but people kept stealing the door to it. 

Leslie: What? Why would they do that?

Me: I don't know. I don't understand why people do things like that. They eventually had to hire someone to deal with it.

Leslie: Oh.

Me: They hired a Labyrinth Door Retriever

Leslie hasn't spoken to me since this conversation.

Trust

Dogs never lie about love.

~ Jefferey Masson

- - - - -

I don't play tug of war too often with Lily. She can get a bit aggressive when we do that. Like when she steals a steak and won't let go of it for anything.

I'm just kidding. She hasn't ever done that.

But I have no doubt she would if given the chance. She's fun, but not trustworthy. 

Challenges

Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle.

~ Ian Maclaren

- - - - -

The other day Leslie shared that she had the song "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell stuck in her head. It could be because we just watched Coda or because we just watched Joni Mitchell being recognized at The Kennedy Center Honors. Regardless, she said the song had been stuck in her head for a couple of days.

I nodded sympathetically as the jingle from "Salad Shooter" played over and over in my head. 

  

Go?

God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.

~ Rumi

- - - - -

When a stop sign say "go"

Sometimes we don't know

What to do.

Also "do" does not rhyme with "go" and "know" even though it looks like it should. Looks can be deceiving. 

Like when a stop sign says "go"

Control

Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of certain defeat.

~ Ralph Ellison

- - - - -

I can't believe how controlling and bossy our devices have become. I guess we have let them be bossy and controlling. I get things all the time that I don't think I should do or don't want to do or shouldn't have to do.

Like this:

Why do I have to do this? Not this time, machines. Not this time. You can't make me.

Stories

There are no true stories and all stories are based on true stories.

~ Michelle Boettcher

- - - - -

I have seen this building a lot of times. It isn't too far from my house. I have a dream alterlife where I buy this building and open it as a venue for storytelling events. "Connerross Yarn Mill" would be a great name for a storytelling site.

I don't really want to manage the venue, though. I just want to hang out and listen to stories. 

I'm not sure this is going to be a successful venture. That's why, for now, I keep it in my dream alterlife.

Window

Success is shy - it won't come out while you're watching.

~ Tennessee Williams

- - - - -

You can really learn a lot about a person if you...

... read their secret diary.

... follow them everywhere they go.

... listen in on their phone calls.

... hide in their house.

Web

Don't worry, spiders. I keep house casually.

~ Kobayashi Issa

- - - - -

If I ever get a pet spider, I am going to name it "Tennile." Then, when it catches something to eat, I will take photos and post them all with the title "Captive and Tennile."

Don't get too excited, though. I'm not really planning on getting a pet spider anytime soon.

Dogs

I realize that everyone is never going to love me -- and it still pisses me off.

~ Duane Chapman

- - - - -

Dogs make people better, but people have to do some self work. That said, dogs are outstanding partners in becoming better.