Weblog 133
August 24, 2008~ 12:00am
I turned 57 this past week, and I have to say that the passing of this birthday left me cheerful. It came and went with a peacefulness and joy I really don't know the origin of, except perhaps I'm learning to age gracefully, grateful for the time I've been given-- the realization of how quickly it passes-- and how wondrous it all is. A good face is one that shows its life-
- one where the tread is visible- that's an honest face. It doesn't really matter that the culture seems enamored of youth- youth is breathtaking- but all youth must change and extend into middle and then into senior years unless one dies while still in its bloom, and despite what advertizers push us toward, I believe that deep down folks are accepting of the aging process and are not in denial at all-- that's just Wall Street talking, it's not real life.
We love to look at faces. From the time we're babies babbling in the cradle, the human face engages us like no other image. It remains fascinating through all its phases and ages. It's a changing map- right up to the pared down, skull seen just under the surface of the truly old.
The elasticity and light in the eyes and the skin tone of children brings on a tenderness we can't explain. It appears to be so 'untouched' and ripe with possibility. Here's me at three-
big-eyed, dressed up and ready for everything. That's all 3 year olds, and it makes the heart ache- that kind of youthful vulnerability. You can see me also up in the corner of this site, in a picture taken 2 years ago-- and she's the same person morphed by years, but at heart, it's the identical, delighted youngster. More experience, more pains and disappointments surely, but an equal number of accomplishments and triumphs.
We are seeds cast on the wind. We travel far, we drop and take root and bloom and change to the seasons, but the seed is what stays- deep down. Under the same skies, with its casing burst open to the world: young and old and in the middle- we are one and the same. We are wonders, each of us. We don't give ourselves nearly enough credit simply for going on, for remembering how to laugh- for plying our spirits, for opening wide and curious to the world- and we're traveling somewhere curiously strange but somehow familiar. We're all of us hoboes, bumming around, but going home. We feel it in our bones.
August 26, 2008~ 6:45pm
What you are looking at, might very well be my next home.....
I signed up to sponsor my three grandsons in a 'reading competition' where sponsors pledge a certain amount for every PAGE read. Isaac is the oldest. He's almost nine but has an IQ somewhere in the stratosphere. He taught himself to read at 4....Isaac reads Algebra books. LOL!! His younger brothers are 7 and 5 years old, and therefore get a boost in what is paid per page: 10 cents for Eli, and a quarter a page for Gabe.
I just got an email this morning.
"Warning! Isaac read 168 pages last night."
Goodbye, retirement funds......hello Poor House.
Ah, and something for you to browse if you like OLD POSTCARDS.......................I LOVE THIS SITE!
Go on....click on that little cutie, "Jeanne D'Arc". (She looks like Red Riding Hood to me, but who cares? She's marvelous!) One of the things that will amaze you as you browse is the prevalence of racial and religious prejudice that was openly acceptable- and not really that long ago. Of course such things still exist, but it's certainly not politically correct to display such things, nor would a commercial enterprise get very far using the types of advertising that was quite commonplace at the beginning of the twentieth century.
These old postcards are like stepping inside a Time Machine. I often go there to browse--- and the cards are always changing, so go on......get lostin there for a while.
August 28, 2008~ 5:15am
Do you hate ADOBE? I know I do. It takes forever to load, it BLOATS your hard drive, it needs constant updates, etc. I was amused when I happened upon Dear Adobe- and found that so many other folks hate it too. If you want a truly lightning fast PDF reader, one that is a small application of only 1 MB (!) that will load faster than you can say "Adobe sucks!"-- GET RID of your Adobe by doing a file search and deleting all those old, fat applications, then download (yes, what else) an older version of Foxit Reader. You won't be disappointed. And check, "always use Foxit for opening PDF files". No more waiting. None at all.
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
I turned 57 this past week, and I have to say that the passing of this birthday left me cheerful. It came and went with a peacefulness and joy I really don't know the origin of, except perhaps I'm learning to age gracefully, grateful for the time I've been given-- the realization of how quickly it passes-- and how wondrous it all is. A good face is one that shows its life-
- one where the tread is visible- that's an honest face. It doesn't really matter that the culture seems enamored of youth- youth is breathtaking- but all youth must change and extend into middle and then into senior years unless one dies while still in its bloom, and despite what advertizers push us toward, I believe that deep down folks are accepting of the aging process and are not in denial at all-- that's just Wall Street talking, it's not real life.
We love to look at faces. From the time we're babies babbling in the cradle, the human face engages us like no other image. It remains fascinating through all its phases and ages. It's a changing map- right up to the pared down, skull seen just under the surface of the truly old.
The elasticity and light in the eyes and the skin tone of children brings on a tenderness we can't explain. It appears to be so 'untouched' and ripe with possibility. Here's me at three-
big-eyed, dressed up and ready for everything. That's all 3 year olds, and it makes the heart ache- that kind of youthful vulnerability. You can see me also up in the corner of this site, in a picture taken 2 years ago-- and she's the same person morphed by years, but at heart, it's the identical, delighted youngster. More experience, more pains and disappointments surely, but an equal number of accomplishments and triumphs.
We are seeds cast on the wind. We travel far, we drop and take root and bloom and change to the seasons, but the seed is what stays- deep down. Under the same skies, with its casing burst open to the world: young and old and in the middle- we are one and the same. We are wonders, each of us. We don't give ourselves nearly enough credit simply for going on, for remembering how to laugh- for plying our spirits, for opening wide and curious to the world- and we're traveling somewhere curiously strange but somehow familiar. We're all of us hoboes, bumming around, but going home. We feel it in our bones.
August 26, 2008~ 6:45pm
What you are looking at, might very well be my next home.....
I signed up to sponsor my three grandsons in a 'reading competition' where sponsors pledge a certain amount for every PAGE read. Isaac is the oldest. He's almost nine but has an IQ somewhere in the stratosphere. He taught himself to read at 4....Isaac reads Algebra books. LOL!! His younger brothers are 7 and 5 years old, and therefore get a boost in what is paid per page: 10 cents for Eli, and a quarter a page for Gabe.
"Warning! Isaac read 168 pages last night."
Goodbye, retirement funds......hello Poor House.
Ah, and something for you to browse if you like OLD POSTCARDS.......................I LOVE THIS SITE!
Go on....click on that little cutie, "Jeanne D'Arc". (She looks like Red Riding Hood to me, but who cares? She's marvelous!) One of the things that will amaze you as you browse is the prevalence of racial and religious prejudice that was openly acceptable- and not really that long ago. Of course such things still exist, but it's certainly not politically correct to display such things, nor would a commercial enterprise get very far using the types of advertising that was quite commonplace at the beginning of the twentieth century.
These old postcards are like stepping inside a Time Machine. I often go there to browse--- and the cards are always changing, so go on......get lostin there for a while.
August 28, 2008~ 5:15am
Do you hate ADOBE? I know I do. It takes forever to load, it BLOATS your hard drive, it needs constant updates, etc. I was amused when I happened upon Dear Adobe- and found that so many other folks hate it too. If you want a truly lightning fast PDF reader, one that is a small application of only 1 MB (!) that will load faster than you can say "Adobe sucks!"-- GET RID of your Adobe by doing a file search and deleting all those old, fat applications, then download (yes, what else) an older version of Foxit Reader. You won't be disappointed. And check, "always use Foxit for opening PDF files". No more waiting. None at all.
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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