See A Penny, Pick It Up

and all the day you'll have good luck

I seem to live my life by the aphorisms I learned as a child. And there’s a reason why they came into being and why they continue to carry water. You know, “a stitch in time saves nine”—although these days it seems too many people discard things at the first sign of imperfection. (Perfection, by the way, is unattainable in my opinion.) Then there’s “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” which still applies in even more senses than originally intended. All of which leads me to this morning’s topic of preconceived notions.

What on earth has led us to this point where someone whose mouth is even more unfiltered than mine could have reached the higher levels of power (albeit without much prestige) on the world’s stage? The very thought of classifying work by either race or gender is so out of touch with our modern sensibility that the utterer should be shunned (if that’s still a thing). I’m very thankful for the humorous memes that have been generated, though. Laughter is the best medicine is another one of those old sayings which forever holds true. Unfortunately, some people have very little sense of humor and in particular absolutely no ability to laugh at themselves. Thank goodness for our current President, who is very human and in touch with the better angels of our nature. He may stumble ocasionally, but he has such a loving heart and has the vast experience and diplomacy to navigate the world’s increasingly complex waters—and earth and space, both near and far. Believe me, we do not need someone as unfiltered as I am anywhere near the levers of power, and in particular no one with a similar trait but also a malevolent intent. At least I sometimes comfort myself with the thought that I didn't mean to offend when I blurt out something best left unsaid. And as you will see from the early morning timing of today’s post, I am feeling a sense of urgency to awaken all and sundry to the pending disaster if we don’t all register every eligible voter we can find and make sure they get out and vote against a wannabe tyrannical DICTATOR.

Now that I’ve unloaded to all and sundry, let me get back to my pleasant Sunday thoughts. Every time I eat an apple, which is every day because of that other great saying, “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away” (or at least prolongs the time between visits), I remember a woman I once watched on the C Train. If you’re not familiar with the NYC subway system, that won’t mean much to you, but I’ll explain that the C is the one that stops at every station and takes much longer to cover the length of its run than the speedier express A. Riding the C is fun for those who are not in a rush, and it affords a wonderful opportunity to observe your fellow passengers. So as I was saying, this woman had already reached the core of her apple when I first noticed her way downtown. She continued to nibble away at that core until she finally got off before I did and it was way uptown. Years later, I think of her during my daily apple eating, and I try to get every last bit of flesh from the heart of the fruit. Occasionally I go so far as to have to spit out a pit, so I have learned my lesson almost too well.

Now as I and some of my friends are nearing the end of the line, so to speak, we are determined to get the last possible morsel of enjoyment out of this one life each of us is given (depending on your beliefs, I guess). Coincidentally, the daily calendar of quotes I keep in my bathroom had something similar last Sunday. I have not researched this quote but I saved the page and have enjoyed pondering it all week. It is purportedly a quote from Elizabeth the First from England whose last words are rumored to have been “All my possessions for a moment of time” to which I say Hear, Hear!

So, take all of this with a grain of salt, live your days as you see fit, cope with the bad as best you can, and enjoy the hell out of whatever comes your way. TTFN