No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
Helen Keller
*****************
Hello Sue
*****************
"Aw, give it up. It'll never work . You'll never get there. Don't even try."
"You'll never raise enough money to do a lame brained idea like that."
"This is the stupidest piece of legislation I've ever seen. Be assured we will vote it down."
"Load it all on the donkey and walk. You don't need wheels."
"Come on. The Earth is flat, anyone can see that. You'll fall off the edge."
"Knock it off Orville. God did not intend for us to fly."
"Man can never go to the moon."
Some people just automatically develop an ornery attitude to any new idea. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if the pessimists and nihilists ruled the world?
I'm an artist, which means I'm an optimist. I have to be. Every work of art whether it's a painting, a song or a poem is like water onto a thirsty earth. Sometimes it's a big splash like the Mona Lisa or a Beethoven symphony. But no matter how small the droplet is it is a bit of refreshment and possible inspiration for the human spirit.
As an artist I roam through the world with a different eye and ear I love music and I hear it strange places. I hear horns in the passing trucks, strings playing through the branches of the trees on a windy day and drums and cymbals in the crashing waves. I once knew a playwright who cold write a play about anything. Give her a mathematical formula and out would come a play about it, with characters and drama. In one remarkable case I knew a high school senior who joined the Marine Corp to learn explosives and then worked doing special effects for Hollywood films.
In every case where an optimist has accomplished the impossible nobody dared say it couldn't be. It was. It is. Because somebody had the courage to know it was possible way back when no one thought about it.
We are discovering the secrets of the stars, finding unchartered lands and opening up new heavens for the human spirit.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
****************************
Showing posts with label Helen Keller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helen Keller. Show all posts
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Sunday, November 13, 2011
American Jobs
The world is moving along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
Helen Keller
*******************
Hello Sandy
*******************
Here is a word to the wise and the otherwise. Have you ever heard of Spencer Silver or Art Fry? No? They should probably be almost as famous as Thomas Edison. They invented the Post-it. A thing some people use every day. The were two honest workers for the 3M Corporation. You've heard of them. I'm fairly sure Silver and Fry were compensated for their work, but it was 3M that walked away with the millions the Post-it has earned in all it's various forms.
"There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. (Ecclesiastes) 9: 14,15)
Think of all the nameless workers who have made things happen. The part time tutor who makes sure the kid passes her math exam. The typist who finds a mistake in the legal document and corrects it. The fireman who rescues the boy and his dog from a blazing building. The engineer who finds a more efficient way of moving the traffic through a busy city. The technician who gets two parts to fit together properly that allows the space shuttle to fly. We never know their names, those poor wise ones. Why are they poor? Because what they earn is never as much as their efforts are worth. But it doesn't matter. They have jobs.
Honest American workers want honest American jobs. If you are out of work the unemployment ratios presented on the TV News don't mean a thing. They just mean that you're a statistic.
Hence there is Occupy Wall Street, young people standing in the rain, shot at with rubber bullets, tear gassed and mustard gassed, arrested, beaten and sleeping in tents. Ecclesiastes also says, (4:13) "Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning." That wealthy corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes is an absurdity. They say they need the money to provide jobs. I wonder what the honest American unemployed worker thinks of that, when he can go through his home and see all the things that say "Made in China." Recently one of our rich Congressmen complained that he couldn't afford to be taxed because he would only have $200,000 left to feed his family. I wonder what the single mom who feeds her family on less than $20,000 thinks of that. They can out source jobs to Asia, hire temp workers so they don't have to pay for health care and vacations and squirm out of collective bargaining to fill their pockets and Maximize Shareholder Value. But now they have been warned. Will they heed the warning?
All the talk about economic policies, national debt reduction, stimulus packages and fiscal responsibility is, as the old farmer whom no one remembers said, all a lot of "hog wash." America is a poor country. The number of poor people who live here far out weighs the number of rich. The answer is to pry the money out of the hands of the greedy who don't even know they are greedy and spend it on a gross national product that people can afford. Honest American workers want honest American jobs. Now.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
*************************
WEEKEND CONTEST
This is easy.
A farmer son loads some pumpkins in his pick up truck and goes out to deliver them to various markets around town.
At the first market he delivers Half of the pumpkins in his truck plus half a pumpkin.
At the second market he leaves half of the pumpkins in his truck plus half a pumpkin.
At the third market he gives them half of the pumpkins he has plus half a pumpkin.
At the forth market he delivers half of the pumpkins he has plus half a pumpkin.
Then he drives his truck back to the farm to get more pumpkins because he's run out of them.
How many pumpkins did he have in the truck to begin with?
I await your clever answer.
DB
************************
AUTUMN QUESTION
This is not a contest
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
Autumn is moving along.
Only 6 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I eagerly await your answers.
DB
********************
Weekend
Helen Keller
*******************
Hello Sandy
*******************
Here is a word to the wise and the otherwise. Have you ever heard of Spencer Silver or Art Fry? No? They should probably be almost as famous as Thomas Edison. They invented the Post-it. A thing some people use every day. The were two honest workers for the 3M Corporation. You've heard of them. I'm fairly sure Silver and Fry were compensated for their work, but it was 3M that walked away with the millions the Post-it has earned in all it's various forms.
"There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. (Ecclesiastes) 9: 14,15)
Think of all the nameless workers who have made things happen. The part time tutor who makes sure the kid passes her math exam. The typist who finds a mistake in the legal document and corrects it. The fireman who rescues the boy and his dog from a blazing building. The engineer who finds a more efficient way of moving the traffic through a busy city. The technician who gets two parts to fit together properly that allows the space shuttle to fly. We never know their names, those poor wise ones. Why are they poor? Because what they earn is never as much as their efforts are worth. But it doesn't matter. They have jobs.
Honest American workers want honest American jobs. If you are out of work the unemployment ratios presented on the TV News don't mean a thing. They just mean that you're a statistic.
Hence there is Occupy Wall Street, young people standing in the rain, shot at with rubber bullets, tear gassed and mustard gassed, arrested, beaten and sleeping in tents. Ecclesiastes also says, (4:13) "Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning." That wealthy corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes is an absurdity. They say they need the money to provide jobs. I wonder what the honest American unemployed worker thinks of that, when he can go through his home and see all the things that say "Made in China." Recently one of our rich Congressmen complained that he couldn't afford to be taxed because he would only have $200,000 left to feed his family. I wonder what the single mom who feeds her family on less than $20,000 thinks of that. They can out source jobs to Asia, hire temp workers so they don't have to pay for health care and vacations and squirm out of collective bargaining to fill their pockets and Maximize Shareholder Value. But now they have been warned. Will they heed the warning?
All the talk about economic policies, national debt reduction, stimulus packages and fiscal responsibility is, as the old farmer whom no one remembers said, all a lot of "hog wash." America is a poor country. The number of poor people who live here far out weighs the number of rich. The answer is to pry the money out of the hands of the greedy who don't even know they are greedy and spend it on a gross national product that people can afford. Honest American workers want honest American jobs. Now.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
*************************
WEEKEND CONTEST
This is easy.
A farmer son loads some pumpkins in his pick up truck and goes out to deliver them to various markets around town.
At the first market he delivers Half of the pumpkins in his truck plus half a pumpkin.
At the second market he leaves half of the pumpkins in his truck plus half a pumpkin.
At the third market he gives them half of the pumpkins he has plus half a pumpkin.
At the forth market he delivers half of the pumpkins he has plus half a pumpkin.
Then he drives his truck back to the farm to get more pumpkins because he's run out of them.
How many pumpkins did he have in the truck to begin with?
I await your clever answer.
DB
************************
AUTUMN QUESTION
This is not a contest
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
Autumn is moving along.
Only 6 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I eagerly await your answers.
DB
********************
Weekend
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Hold The Straight Jacket
I seldom think about my limitations and they never make me sad.
Helen Keller
************************
There are many different kinds of limitations one can face in one's lifetime. Dwelling on them and their effects is one sure way to end up in a straight jacket.
Some people suffer from severe physical limitations, as did Helen Keller, blind and deaf from early childhood Some have less severe, but troublesome physical limitations of some sort. There are limitations of time, environment, upbringing and opportunities. And a particularly insidious form of limitation has to do with failures, things not done or not done properly.
Keller overcame her limitations in remarkable ways, learning to speak, earning a Bachelors degree from Radcliffe, wrote many books, gave lectures, won many awards, traveled around the world and established The American Foundation for the Blind.
There are many stories of people, crippled in some way, overcoming the obstacles and beating the odds against them by accomplishing things that seemed impossible. Those people are inspirations to all of us.
We've all heard of people who were born in impoverished circumstances who went on to become successful. Elvis Presley was born, alive, in a two room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, while his twin brother was not so lucky, born dead.
Paradoxically, there is a limitation to being born into wealth. I've seen examples of it. A boy growing up in a house of rich people, especially if he is an only child, may have everything taken care of for him. There will be no lack of anything. He may be pampered. Until he finally steps out into the real cold, hard, pick pocket world. He will probably adopt a very bad attitude when he sees that people are not deferring to him as he is used to.
I grew up in poor circumstances, never got a college education and was deprived of many things my childhood buddies took for granted. Even so I feel I have lived an active, productive life. But if I made a list of all the things I didn't do that I wanted to, all the things I wasn't able to do and all the things I did wrong through some lack of mine, the list would probably stretch down the street.
Sure, the blind and deaf can crawl into their own limited world and not venture anything else, the poor boy could not pick up the guitar and try to make music, the rich boy could go back home and live in luxury without having to deal with the cruel world.
And I could sit around and feel sorry for myself, regretting all the things I didn't get to do. But I refuse to walk into that dark, sad fog of self indulgent misery. That would be one sure way of driving myself permanently crazy. Straight jacket time.
It doesn't matter what we don't have and didn't have. It's what we do have that counts. And the world needs it.
DB - The Real Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
*********************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 14 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Helen Keller
************************
There are many different kinds of limitations one can face in one's lifetime. Dwelling on them and their effects is one sure way to end up in a straight jacket.
Some people suffer from severe physical limitations, as did Helen Keller, blind and deaf from early childhood Some have less severe, but troublesome physical limitations of some sort. There are limitations of time, environment, upbringing and opportunities. And a particularly insidious form of limitation has to do with failures, things not done or not done properly.
Keller overcame her limitations in remarkable ways, learning to speak, earning a Bachelors degree from Radcliffe, wrote many books, gave lectures, won many awards, traveled around the world and established The American Foundation for the Blind.
There are many stories of people, crippled in some way, overcoming the obstacles and beating the odds against them by accomplishing things that seemed impossible. Those people are inspirations to all of us.
We've all heard of people who were born in impoverished circumstances who went on to become successful. Elvis Presley was born, alive, in a two room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, while his twin brother was not so lucky, born dead.
Paradoxically, there is a limitation to being born into wealth. I've seen examples of it. A boy growing up in a house of rich people, especially if he is an only child, may have everything taken care of for him. There will be no lack of anything. He may be pampered. Until he finally steps out into the real cold, hard, pick pocket world. He will probably adopt a very bad attitude when he sees that people are not deferring to him as he is used to.
I grew up in poor circumstances, never got a college education and was deprived of many things my childhood buddies took for granted. Even so I feel I have lived an active, productive life. But if I made a list of all the things I didn't do that I wanted to, all the things I wasn't able to do and all the things I did wrong through some lack of mine, the list would probably stretch down the street.
Sure, the blind and deaf can crawl into their own limited world and not venture anything else, the poor boy could not pick up the guitar and try to make music, the rich boy could go back home and live in luxury without having to deal with the cruel world.
And I could sit around and feel sorry for myself, regretting all the things I didn't get to do. But I refuse to walk into that dark, sad fog of self indulgent misery. That would be one sure way of driving myself permanently crazy. Straight jacket time.
It doesn't matter what we don't have and didn't have. It's what we do have that counts. And the world needs it.
DB - The Real Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
*********************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 14 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Babylon
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
Helen Keller
******************
The damage has been done and is still being done. The venomous economic polices sowed in the early years of the 21st Century are now displaying their bitter, vicious fruits and are being consumed. Large corporations are still dumping toxic wastes into the land and water, the super wealthy are still stashing away more money than they can ever use, those who live with no threats are still making decisions which threaten the lives of other people, the issues of real value to our way of life, peace, freedom, liberty, are just hollow words rarely spoken these days, the children of Israel are again captured and enslaved by the captains and kings of Babylon.
Where are the leaders? Where are the people of hope and vision? They are not in the board rooms of big business. They are not among the wealthy, purchased Congresspeople, arguing like faux attorneys in the defense of criminal activities. They are not in the news media that picks and chooses what to report and eliminates all the inconvenient news.
There are the destroyers and the builders. The destroyers, the dictators who suppress the people and then violently put down any objections, those who would pull down our President for racial reasons, those who would minimize the presidency for poor political reasons, those who would destroy the government as it stands, those who would exacerbate our unemployment problems by cutting down the unions, those who hitch their wagons to plundering corporations, those who eliminate taxes in order to justify closing down programs that benefit average people, those who reduce the country to the same level of cowardice and emasculation that bedevils them, are having their day.
That day must be followed by the strong and the brave who are not mesmerized by the fear of prosperity and justice. We need the leadership of those who look up, not down, who feel the spirit of the future, who build on solid ideas of the greatness of the human race and who have faith in it. We must have those who are proud to be citizens of the world and are not afraid to claim the rights of honesty, affection and goodness.
There are too many negative people in the world, many of them are sitting at desks in our Congress and behind the granite walls of Wall Street. but I want to believe, and I do believe, there are enough of them on the cusp of waking up to the light that is always there for those who have the faith to see it and the courage to follow it. The Children of Israel escaped from Babylon. So can we.
DB - The Real Vagabond
Never give up.
******************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 13 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Helen Keller
******************
The damage has been done and is still being done. The venomous economic polices sowed in the early years of the 21st Century are now displaying their bitter, vicious fruits and are being consumed. Large corporations are still dumping toxic wastes into the land and water, the super wealthy are still stashing away more money than they can ever use, those who live with no threats are still making decisions which threaten the lives of other people, the issues of real value to our way of life, peace, freedom, liberty, are just hollow words rarely spoken these days, the children of Israel are again captured and enslaved by the captains and kings of Babylon.
Where are the leaders? Where are the people of hope and vision? They are not in the board rooms of big business. They are not among the wealthy, purchased Congresspeople, arguing like faux attorneys in the defense of criminal activities. They are not in the news media that picks and chooses what to report and eliminates all the inconvenient news.
There are the destroyers and the builders. The destroyers, the dictators who suppress the people and then violently put down any objections, those who would pull down our President for racial reasons, those who would minimize the presidency for poor political reasons, those who would destroy the government as it stands, those who would exacerbate our unemployment problems by cutting down the unions, those who hitch their wagons to plundering corporations, those who eliminate taxes in order to justify closing down programs that benefit average people, those who reduce the country to the same level of cowardice and emasculation that bedevils them, are having their day.
That day must be followed by the strong and the brave who are not mesmerized by the fear of prosperity and justice. We need the leadership of those who look up, not down, who feel the spirit of the future, who build on solid ideas of the greatness of the human race and who have faith in it. We must have those who are proud to be citizens of the world and are not afraid to claim the rights of honesty, affection and goodness.
There are too many negative people in the world, many of them are sitting at desks in our Congress and behind the granite walls of Wall Street. but I want to believe, and I do believe, there are enough of them on the cusp of waking up to the light that is always there for those who have the faith to see it and the courage to follow it. The Children of Israel escaped from Babylon. So can we.
DB - The Real Vagabond
Never give up.
******************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 13 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Roll Up Your Sleeves
The world is moving along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
Helen Keller
***********************
Hello Athens Georgia
**********************
There was a time years ago when I was doing alright financially and had some free time. I read an ad in the paper that a big, world wide philanthropic organization (which I won't name) was looking for volunteers on a part time basis. So I went to the address listed in the ad. When I walked in I found a neat, clean office and three people sitting at desks not doing anything. I went up to the first desk and said I was applying for the volunteer work listed in the paper. She smiled and took out from her desk a 4 page application, handed it to me with a pencil and told me to have a seat at a table in the corner to fill it out.
It took about 20 minutes. While I was filling it out no one spoke and when I brought it back to her she said I had to take it to the personnel director, and pointed to the man in a brown suit sitting a few feet away. I stepped over to him , handed it to him along with the pencil. He smiled, put the application in a basket on his desk without looking at it and said that if they needed me they would call. I left. I never heard from them.
A couple of days later I got a call from a friend saying he was involved in a civil rights program and that they needed more volunteers was I interested. I joined up and after filling out a one page application I was up to my ears in work: stuffing envelops, washing dishes, changing light bulbs. Within 2 days I was interviewing other volunteers, reading their applications and urging them in directions that best matched their talents, experience and interests.
In short I was doing exactly what the suit in the big, fancy, international organization was not doing. And I know I and my buddies in our shirt-sleeves-rolled-up manner had some positive results for other people's rights.
DB - The Vagabond
(never give up)
**************************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
Come on. Picked up two more answers. Where's yours?
NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.
Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 9 responers so far
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
******************
Helen Keller
***********************
Hello Athens Georgia
**********************
There was a time years ago when I was doing alright financially and had some free time. I read an ad in the paper that a big, world wide philanthropic organization (which I won't name) was looking for volunteers on a part time basis. So I went to the address listed in the ad. When I walked in I found a neat, clean office and three people sitting at desks not doing anything. I went up to the first desk and said I was applying for the volunteer work listed in the paper. She smiled and took out from her desk a 4 page application, handed it to me with a pencil and told me to have a seat at a table in the corner to fill it out.
It took about 20 minutes. While I was filling it out no one spoke and when I brought it back to her she said I had to take it to the personnel director, and pointed to the man in a brown suit sitting a few feet away. I stepped over to him , handed it to him along with the pencil. He smiled, put the application in a basket on his desk without looking at it and said that if they needed me they would call. I left. I never heard from them.
A couple of days later I got a call from a friend saying he was involved in a civil rights program and that they needed more volunteers was I interested. I joined up and after filling out a one page application I was up to my ears in work: stuffing envelops, washing dishes, changing light bulbs. Within 2 days I was interviewing other volunteers, reading their applications and urging them in directions that best matched their talents, experience and interests.
In short I was doing exactly what the suit in the big, fancy, international organization was not doing. And I know I and my buddies in our shirt-sleeves-rolled-up manner had some positive results for other people's rights.
DB - The Vagabond
(never give up)
**************************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
Come on. Picked up two more answers. Where's yours?
NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.
Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 9 responers so far
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
******************
Friday, April 15, 2011
Sights And Sounds
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence.
Helen Keller
******************
Hello Borneo
*********************
The electricity went off in the neighborhood this evening. I was suddenly transformed into darkness and also into silence. I couldn't listen to music. I couldn't read, write or paint. So I sat still in my room to watch and listen.
There is a different kind of music in the silence. It's not the familiar songs in memory but a never ending and never repeating symphony of sound. It does not ask to be heard, but will sing for whomever listens. It is a music that can not be played on any earthly instruments and all the music of earth is not much more than a mumble compare to it. Musicians will try to capture it and invite it to live on their strings. But it sings on above the fingers and lips that can only whisper it.
There are visions in the darkeners beyond describing in terms of the daily fiction we live, with our duties, our day dreams and our night dreams. It transcends the very fundamental beliefs of humans. It sprays an abundance of beauty not known or understood by all the artists who strive to grasp and reproduce it.
The sounds and sights of stillness do not try to invade our lives. They play their immortal games with joy and don't care who knows it.
I'm grateful to have been taken, unwillingly, to the place where wonders live of silent sounds and invisible sights.. I must do it more often.
DB - The Vagabond
************************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.
Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
4 answers so far
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
******************
This Week's Contest
This is one I put up a few years ago and people seemed to enjoy it, so here it goes again.
You are now ordered to take a famous remark, a cliche or otherwise and restate it in the most verbose manner possible. Example:
Night is an inappropriate time for the manufacture of animal feed.
(Make hay while the sun shines.)
Get it? Ken Riches won this contest the last time, so you're up against some heavy competition.
5 entries so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
Good luck. Enter as often as you wish. The decision of the ornery, biased, curmudgeon is final.
DB
******************
Helen Keller
******************
Hello Borneo
*********************
The electricity went off in the neighborhood this evening. I was suddenly transformed into darkness and also into silence. I couldn't listen to music. I couldn't read, write or paint. So I sat still in my room to watch and listen.
There is a different kind of music in the silence. It's not the familiar songs in memory but a never ending and never repeating symphony of sound. It does not ask to be heard, but will sing for whomever listens. It is a music that can not be played on any earthly instruments and all the music of earth is not much more than a mumble compare to it. Musicians will try to capture it and invite it to live on their strings. But it sings on above the fingers and lips that can only whisper it.
There are visions in the darkeners beyond describing in terms of the daily fiction we live, with our duties, our day dreams and our night dreams. It transcends the very fundamental beliefs of humans. It sprays an abundance of beauty not known or understood by all the artists who strive to grasp and reproduce it.
The sounds and sights of stillness do not try to invade our lives. They play their immortal games with joy and don't care who knows it.
I'm grateful to have been taken, unwillingly, to the place where wonders live of silent sounds and invisible sights.. I must do it more often.
DB - The Vagabond
************************
SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.
Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
4 answers so far
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
******************
This Week's Contest
This is one I put up a few years ago and people seemed to enjoy it, so here it goes again.
You are now ordered to take a famous remark, a cliche or otherwise and restate it in the most verbose manner possible. Example:
Night is an inappropriate time for the manufacture of animal feed.
(Make hay while the sun shines.)
Get it? Ken Riches won this contest the last time, so you're up against some heavy competition.
5 entries so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
Good luck. Enter as often as you wish. The decision of the ornery, biased, curmudgeon is final.
DB
******************
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Being Alive
All that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
Charles Kingsley
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In today's Joy In The rain Val has a great quote from Helen Keller, "Life is an exciting business. Joy In The Rain: Helen Keller Quotes... > Helen Keller quotes
Some people are so busy living they don't even notice they're alive. We spend a lot of time searching around for things to entertain ourselves, whereas life itself is the most entertaining. It's a constant show with a complicated plot, a bunch of fascinating characters and lots of action.
It becomes even more interesting when other people are involved. If we consider other people in our "pursuit of happiness" life gets even more interesting. I have more books in my library than there are people I know. I often wish it were the other way around. To become interested in what other interesting people are interested in enriches my life. Everyone's life is worth at least one book.
That brings me to another great activity possible and rewarding and that is the sharing of life, particularly the sharing of light. What could be more rewarding than to light someone else's candle from your own?
In my broadcasting days I was a friend and colleague with an amazing announcer named Duncan. He had a sharp intellect, a quick wit and a great sense of humor. He once said to me that with all the cigarettes, coffee and liquor available he still found the best stimulation to be good conversation. I finally came to understand what he meant. The exchange of thoughts, ideas and impressions in a friendly atmosphere is a life enhancing experience. I miss that very much.
When there is down time in theatre many members of the company like to sit around and tell stories. Live theatre being such a perilous activity everyone has stories of what went wrong, what almost went wrong and what kinds of shenanigans the less enlightened were capable of. I also miss those sessions. Facebook and Twitter don't do it for me.
My neighbors are very nice people but they're not conversationalists. In the artists group I belong to the talk is usually all about the business of the next exhibit. To live life anly on an exoteric level is fine but it does get boring.
Taking the time and trouble to help someone may give rewards one doesn't expect. One day a neighbor seeing me struggle down the street came over to me and offered to drive me to the market to do my shopping. She's been doing that once a week now for about two months. In the process I've learned a lot about her life as a teacher and she has learned about my life as an actor.
Life is a great adventure and the more enthusiastically you live it the better it gets.
DB
The Vagabond
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Weekend Puzzle
Sci Fi Story
(an easy one)
A man gets on a bus in Boston at 1:45 and travels for half an hour.
When he gets off the bus it's 1:15
DB
Charles Kingsley
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In today's Joy In The rain Val has a great quote from Helen Keller, "Life is an exciting business. Joy In The Rain: Helen Keller Quotes... > Helen Keller quotes
Some people are so busy living they don't even notice they're alive. We spend a lot of time searching around for things to entertain ourselves, whereas life itself is the most entertaining. It's a constant show with a complicated plot, a bunch of fascinating characters and lots of action.
It becomes even more interesting when other people are involved. If we consider other people in our "pursuit of happiness" life gets even more interesting. I have more books in my library than there are people I know. I often wish it were the other way around. To become interested in what other interesting people are interested in enriches my life. Everyone's life is worth at least one book.
That brings me to another great activity possible and rewarding and that is the sharing of life, particularly the sharing of light. What could be more rewarding than to light someone else's candle from your own?
In my broadcasting days I was a friend and colleague with an amazing announcer named Duncan. He had a sharp intellect, a quick wit and a great sense of humor. He once said to me that with all the cigarettes, coffee and liquor available he still found the best stimulation to be good conversation. I finally came to understand what he meant. The exchange of thoughts, ideas and impressions in a friendly atmosphere is a life enhancing experience. I miss that very much.
When there is down time in theatre many members of the company like to sit around and tell stories. Live theatre being such a perilous activity everyone has stories of what went wrong, what almost went wrong and what kinds of shenanigans the less enlightened were capable of. I also miss those sessions. Facebook and Twitter don't do it for me.
My neighbors are very nice people but they're not conversationalists. In the artists group I belong to the talk is usually all about the business of the next exhibit. To live life anly on an exoteric level is fine but it does get boring.
Taking the time and trouble to help someone may give rewards one doesn't expect. One day a neighbor seeing me struggle down the street came over to me and offered to drive me to the market to do my shopping. She's been doing that once a week now for about two months. In the process I've learned a lot about her life as a teacher and she has learned about my life as an actor.
Life is a great adventure and the more enthusiastically you live it the better it gets.
DB
The Vagabond
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Weekend Puzzle
Sci Fi Story
(an easy one)
A man gets on a bus in Boston at 1:45 and travels for half an hour.
When he gets off the bus it's 1:15
DB
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