Relax. Chill. Take it easy, dude. Whatever it is, it can wait. Hurrying won’t get you anywhere faster, at least not anywhere you want to go.
1 – Everyone has ancestors that go back to the dawn of time. Just, some of you know their names.
2 – A good genetic package will keep you alive and kicking better and longer than even the healthiest lifestyle. I know a lot of people who indulged in orgies of drugs, booze, and all kinds of bad behavior. It looks like they will outlive all of us.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards – The Rolling Stones are still rolling along, and gathering no moss.
3 – It’s not what you don’t know that will get you. It’s what you do know that’s wrong.
4 – The truth will not set you free, but if you shout it from the rooftops, it will get you incarcerated.
5 – In the arts, dogged determination cannot overcome an absence of talent.
6 – In the real world, you don’t get medals for being “the hardest tryer.”
7 – Size matters.
8 – Your opinion is not as good as anybody else’s. An opinion backed by study, knowledge and genuine insight is better than yours.
9 – The hare beat the tortoise, but the tortoise had a better public relations department. History is written by the winners.
10 – You cannot always achieve your dream, no matter how hard you work. Sometimes, you need to go back to sleep, then dream something different.
A DOGGISH TRUTH 
THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
They are great Marilyn, I really think you have hit nails on many heads there.
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Thanks, Leanne. I sometimes wonder if I should hit MYSELF on the head. Knock myself unconscious. Wake up with reality restored to something I recognize 🙂
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I think the same, it is a strange world these days, sometimes I wish I could go back to the innocence of 30 years ago.
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I wonder how we got where we are. Even a couple of years ago, I would not have believed things could go downhill so fast.
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I would have to add: Your Facebook meme will change no one’s vote.
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Good point. Facebook in general: people only read stuff with which they already agree. It’s a big problem.
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There are a few who will argue unreasonably and facts will not sway their position. It’s usually better to move on.
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So I have learned. People go on Facebook to announce their opinions, support others of the same opinion, and get support for their opinions. They don’t go there to learn the truth.
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With all the fake news posted, there is little truth to be had.
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We are about to enter the Twilight Zone. I hope we come out alive.
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Absolutely true, everyone has a dream but not everyone could achieve it . 🙂
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Thank you. It would be better to teach our kids to appreciate their talents and use them.
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Actually Keith looks dead already and Mick is not far behind.., amazing! Pact with the Devil?
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Pickled in alcohol and drugs?
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I researched my ancestors and am not quite sure about that one. I had a great grandmother that died in 1911 at the age of 91, so I suppose I have good chances and that was my mum’s side of the family. Dad passed away at the age of 100 and 7 months. I was one of the tallest (3rd) in the school class, so if size matters I have a head start. I am not sure about achieving my dreams, most of them are horror stories.
Funny thing is I was thinking about making a list, but ran out of items. I know my list would not have been half as amusing and true as yours.
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This is another of those 3 in the morning posts. I woke up with an idea. Wrote it down, closed the computer, went back to sleep. For some reason these posts I write in my sleep have fewer typos than the ones I write when I’m awake. My unconscious is a better typist than I am. I also didn’t put in the pictures until 7 hours later!
Every time I look at Keith Richards, i realize at least I look better than SOMEONE.
You have a very good chance of longevity. 50-50 for me since mom went early and dad lived long.
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Keith Richards is genuine, he does not hide anything. And Mick Jagger became father again this week. I am not sure if that is good or bad.
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I think it is very optimistic for anyone that age. Just because you can do something, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. On the other hand, as long as mom is okay with not having dad around when the kid graduates from school. Presumably he’ll leave enough money behind to take care of anything money CAN buy.
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Hopefully there will be enough money for all of his 8 children to go round – at least I think it must be about 8 now. Let’s hope they don’t argue about who gets what.
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Brilliant summation of life. re: the two mugs who lived the hard life – it kind of shows. chuckle.
Leslie
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Doesn’t it? They look … well … thoroughly USED. But they are hanging in there. A good genetic package beats any amount of healthy living. Sad, but true. You aren’t what you eat. You ARE what all those who went before you donated to your construction 🙂
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FBL (full belly laugh and a share with my family – we all had a good laugh)
Leslie
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It’s always a little scary looking at The Stones. At least back in the Beatles vs. Stones days, I picked the survivors. 🙂 As for that dream thing, I think it’s also, sometimes, about understanding the meaning of the dream. Sometimes the important part is working toward its fulfillment. (Said the “failed” writer 😉 )
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Define “failed.” I agree mostly … but I have also met too many would-be musicians. Not they they should not be enjoying making music, but professionally? Not really. Some skill sets scream “hobby.”
Sometimes, what we want and what we have the ability to do are misaligned. I know my early dreams of novel-writing fame were not a good fit for what I do best — which are short pieces (blogging suits me well) and explaining stuff. I was really a good fit for technical and other forms of commercial writing. Not glamorous. Maybe more craft than art. Yet, not everyone is good at it, something which surprised me when I was teaching it to post-grads. It’s easy to underestimate what we can do because WE find it easy.
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You are right. We do underestimate our abilities even when we’ve worked hard for something — sometimes we don’t know we have achieved a lot.
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A lot of achievements aren’t glamorous. No one want to grow up to be a tech writer. Or even a writer of most of the stuff that teaches what you need to know in this world. You don’t get prizes. There are no glitzy award ceremonies for most of the important work of the world.
Garry WAS in a glamorous profession. I was not. He got awards, plaques, ceremonies, write-ups in newspapers. Even today, more than 15 years after he retired, people recognize him wherever he goes. No one recognizes me unless they happen to follow this blog — rather late in my personal game of life. That’s just the way it is. I worked in tech where a good salary and steady work IS the prize. No one but the few people who worked with you recognize you.
I think there’s a part of all of us that wants recognition. At least one big piece of hardware — which is how Garry refers to all those awards. When I got “Freshly Pressed,” Garry was shocked that there was no hardware.
We can’t always get what we want. The Stones got THAT right.
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I’ve found — often — that the thing I’m going after that I think I want turns out not to be what I wanted at all, I just didn’t know what was actually IN the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. Like just now. I got “famous” because my aunt in Montana and her book group are going to read The Brothers Path in January. I honestly cannot imagine fame that means more to me than that, her saying she’s proud of me and signing her card with Love you. I love all of them — and there are only 1 1/2 left (one isn’t in her mind anymore). But, at the end of the road — their road — this gold, for me, is in the pot. Sometimes I think when it comes to winning the best thing is to keep your eyes open and look around because you might not know you’ve won! 🙂
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I agree totally. I actually love our life. Others might find it dull, but it is very satisfying. A little more money would be nice, but all things considered, we are in a good place. We landed better than I imagined possible. But I would never in a million years have thought this life would suit me so well.
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Hear, hear — I’m amazed frequently that I ended up here, a place I’d dreamed of but forgot about in the midst of pursuing dreams.
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I always wanted to live in the country. There are things I miss from city life — museums and good restaurants, mainly. But I wouldn’t trade what we have for what we used to have. And we got here by such a random path. It’s funny remembering that I hadn’t any idea what small town New England life would be like or how I might (or might not!) fit into it 🙂
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It’s grand, isn’t it! 🙂
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Garry and I were just talking about that. With whatever inconveniences come with country living, I can’t even imagine living in the city or a close-in suburb. All those cars!
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I had enough in California. Glad I did it and that it was so great for so long, but now I’m happy to be here and have neighbors and friends whom I value and who value me. I love it here so much I don’t even really have words. I never expected it. I couldn’t have because I’d really never been here before. ❤
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So much salty wisdom here. And just in case I don’t get back to your place before Christmas – a very merry Christmas to both of you. And thanks for all the pleasure Marilyn and Garry posts and pix have given me over the past year. Cheers to keeping on keeping on (though might have second thoughts if I ended up looking like Keith Richard), and with eyes and mind wide open.
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I know what you mean about Keith but hey, he’s alive. Which is remarkable given that he’s a cautionary tale of how NOT to live a long life. Genetics beats a healthy lifestyle. Not fair, but true. Anyway, he reminds me that no matter how old I think I look, he looks worse! Money doesn’t make you prettier 😀
I have so enjoyed your writing. Few things make me yearn to travel, but your posts about the place you live and have lived are just wonderful.
I think most of us are going to be relatively quiet the rest of the year … all two weeks of it! I know we aren’t as busy as many people, but we are definitely busier than usual. Have a great holiday doing whatever you enjoy doing. I’ll see you on the other side of the calendar page 🙂
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