Hope

Friday Night Clam Bake – #13: The Chaotic Cultivation of Cribbed Comments

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Note: I pulled this one out of the archives because there are some (unintentional at the time) reflections, in ways big and small, on the world right now…

 

Howdy, Clam Bakers.

Some of you may have already seen the cryptic tweet from the Home Office indicating that, due to circumstances somewhat beyond our control, the main campfire at Bonnywood Manor has been temporarily shuttered until the local Hazmat Team can attend to the situation. I can’t really go into the details, as there may be pending litigation, but suffice it to say that the extravaganza of entertainment for this evening has been put on hold and the casks of elderberry wine have been stoppered until further notice.

(Subtext to the above paragraph: I spent too much time today piddling around with ideas for a fresh post that the hour has grown late and I must now resort to illusion and smoky-mirrors in the hope of cobbling together a feasibly-interesting submission.)

Therefore, and with greatly-muted fanfare, I now present quotes from folks that are not me. This diversionary tactic reeks of desperation and a yearning need for relevance, of course. But at least my possible transgression ties into last week’s Clam Bake, thus somewhat supporting the questionable possibility that I have a minimal degree of method to my madness. Besides, perusing the quotes that another person relishes is often the best way to get to know them. Then again, it can also be the best way to realize that perhaps you have gone a click too far.

In any case, please peruse and reflect. It’s the right thing to do until something better comes along to occupy your time.

 

“The mere attempt to examine my own confusion would consume volumes.”  – James Agee

 

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life:  it goes on.”  – Robert Frost

 

“I’m not like a poker player. I’m not into bluff.  My way is to look someone in the eye and tell them the way I’m intending to go. My cards are always on the table.”  – Tori Amos

 

“There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.”  – Marie Antoinette

 

“Beware of the person of one book.”  – Thomas Aquinas

 

“Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone.”  – Mary Astor

 

“We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don’t know.”  – W. H. Auden

 

“Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.”  – Jane Austen

 

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.”  – John Barrymore

 

“I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that’s ever happened to me has taught me compassion.”  – Ellen DeGeneres

 

“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice that it always coincides with their own desires.”  – Susan B. Anthony

 

“Nothing that you do will ever feel good if you let people convince you that you have no choice.”  – Fiona Apple

 

“The things that we love tell us what we are.”  – Thomas Aquinas

 

“A word after a word after a word is power.”  – Margaret Atwood

 

“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“When people are laughing, they’re generally not killing one another.”  – Alan Alda

 

“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”  – Fred Astaire

 

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” – Douglas Adams

 

“Nothing is ever the same as they said it was.”  – Diane Arbus

 

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people.” – Virginia Woolf

 

Cheers.

 

Previously published. Very slight changes made for this post.

 

Categories: Hope

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28 replies »

      • How can I move from this mess into full blown chaos? I can’t handle the pressure of supporting anyone who thinks I can support anything other than my delusions! Here’s a Groucho quote at least slightly in keeping with the cerebral tone this was written in that applies, sadly to a certain leader; ‘These are my principles and if you don’t like them… Well I have others.’

        Liked by 1 person

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    • Agree, completely. My blood family doesn’t get it, for the most part, willfully choosing the path of despair. But my chosen family? They make the best of it, and that’s a much finer target…

      Liked by 1 person

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  12. Did I ever tell you that my freshman English teacher’s name was James Agee? No?

    Well, his quote rings true for me. I’ve spent the first half of my life confused and trying to find answers. The second half, I still seek answers but I’ve given up my need to understand them. It’s far more pleasurable.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • First, I’m all agog that James Agee taught you how to diagram a sentence. Well, I’m assuming he did, because my own teachers were really invested in my knowing how to do so. Not that I’ve ever diagrammed since then. Because, why?

      Second, I fully appreciate your Second Half. Right there with you…

      Liked by 1 person

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