“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
―Philip Freneau
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
I Done Got Old
“You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”
QUESTION: If, indeed, "He exists," why don't we see clearer, more convincing evidence to that effect?
ANSWER: Because, we have to reach out to Him with the openness, eagerness, and naive curiosity of a little child, and with the humility of a mature adult willing to admit he or she could be wrong about all previous assumptions.
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said, “And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head – Do you think, at your age, it is right?”
“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son, “I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again.”
“You are old,” said the youth, “as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door – Pray, what is the reason of that?”
“In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, “I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of this ointment – one shilling the box – Allow me to sell you a couple?”
“You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak For anything tougher than suet; Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak – ‑ray how did you manage to do it?”
“In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife; And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, Has lasted the rest of my life.”
“You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as ever; Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose – What made you so awfully clever?”
“I have answered three questions, and that is enough,” Said his father; “don’t give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? Be off, or I’ll kick you downstairs!”
~ Lewis Carroll by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) c. 1857
Donald Trump vs. Chris Christie...admit you laughed.
ReplyDeleteknow that He exists.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere –– in silence ––
He has hid his rare life
From our gross eyes.
’Tis an instant’s play ––
’Tis a fond Ambush ––
Just to make Bliss
Earn her own surprise!
But – should the play
Prove piercing earnest ––
Should the glee –– glaze ––
In Death’s –– stiff –– stare ––
Would not the fun
Look too expensive?
Would not the jest ––
Have crawled too far?
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
QUESTION: If, indeed, "He exists," why don't we see clearer, more convincing evidence to that effect?
ReplyDeleteANSWER: Because, we have to reach out to Him with the openness, eagerness, and naive curiosity of a little child, and with the humility of a mature adult willing to admit he or she could be wrong about all previous assumptions.
Jeb Bush vs Hillary Clinton. Admit it, you're not laughing anymore.
ReplyDeleteI would likely actively campaign for Hitlery at that point. ;) But it's going to be a fun ride up until then.
ReplyDelete"Help Hitlery Destroy America"
ReplyDelete"Yes We Did! Yes We Did!"
ReplyDelete“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
ReplyDelete“And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head –
Do you think, at your age, it is right?”
“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,
“I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.”
“You are old,” said the youth, “as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door –
Pray, what is the reason of that?”
“In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
“I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment – one shilling the box –
Allow me to sell you a couple?”
“You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak –
‑ray how did you manage to do it?”
“In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.”
“You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose –
What made you so awfully clever?”
“I have answered three questions, and that is enough,”
Said his father; “don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I’ll kick you downstairs!”
~ Lewis Carroll by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) c. 1857
An incorrigible old fool. Yep, that pretty well sums me up. :)
ReplyDeleteHoo sed dat? I dint heer no wun say nuffin like dat, EffJay.
ReplyDeleteYou maybe incorrigible, old boy, but you are no one's fool.
Even I, decrepit spent force though I be, have enough wit to see that. (;-s
Not you, FT. I said that. Age sucks for us "spent forces"... it shows no deference to wit.
ReplyDelete