Signs, Symbols, Stores and Sir Walter Scott

So - I love Barnes & Noble. One of my top five favorite stores probably. Years ago, I was browsing through the store and saw a book about word and phrase origins. I really wanted it, but it was pricey, and I, very uncharacteristically, walked away....thinking it would always be there - I could get it another time.

Of course, I've never seen it since - (Kurt - see, this is why I should buy stuff when I see it and want it!)

Anywho - here's an entry from a similar online book. It seemed apropos today.

"BAD PENNY -- The phrase usually is heard in this country (U.S.) as 'A bad penny always turns up,' meaning that a no-good person can be counted upon to come back again and again. The expression was originally English and the unit of currency referred to was the shilling. Sir Walter Scott, in one of his early nineteenth-century novels, whereto: 'Bring back Darsie? Little doubt of that. The bad shilling is sure enough to come back again.'" From "Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988).

Learn something new every day.

Belated note to self: STOP! Don't pick that penny up!

Phil Collins (the sequel), Shakespeare, Andre Agassi and The Army

Against All Odds

Driven to succeed or just stupid,
That is the question?
Whether tis nobler in the mind to fight, wounded, to the death
Or by opposing injury, end then

Yeah – I know the real thing works better, but here is MY question:

I have a friend who ran a marathon with a broken foot. I was, and am, impressed by her stamina and determination….but, wow – what if she had never walked again? Were those 26.2 miles worth it?

Another impressive friend got me thinking about this topic the other day as he spoke about amazing moments in tennis when, against all odds, injured greats, battled on and won. (The most important of those involving the best ever, Andre Agassi…., but there are many other amazing tales of triumph.)

What is an “acceptable business risk” and what is the decision process these athletes went through when they decided to gamble their millions-of-dollars-worth bodies and play on.

I said to my friend, “There’s a point where it becomes insanity. But, right before that point it is inspiring.”

Part of why Agassi was so successful, and inspiring, is that he was willing to risk it all (and he is talented). I don’t really have to conduct a similar risk assessment – losing a Nike or Wheaties contract or being damaged for life…, but I do wonder what is at stake when I don’t choose to fight a good fight, or incorporate the counsel Polonius gave Laertes…

This above all: to thine own self, be true.

There is much this statement could imply, but for me it is more than just what not to do (like not carousing with lascivious friends or like not giving up in the face of a challenge). It also infers what TO do (like “be all you can be” or live life well….follow your dreams….etc..).

So – I ask: Is my "acceptable risk" inspiring. Can I run a broken-foot marathon?

Barry Manilow and Dr. Seuss

Julie - “This one’s for you, wherever you are”

THING 1: While I was in college, I called my Dad to tell him about a situation that felt like a disaster. He counseled me to reframe the situation as a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block. I could see that it was wise counsel, but my immediate response was not to find the stepping stones ….my immediate response was to feel like I had tripped and stubbed my toe and therefore my foot was going to fall off.

I don’t typically write the songs that make stepping stones sing. (I know, I'm a dork.)

THING 2: I was involved in a project where EVERYTHING went wrong. There was so much else going on at the time, I was very frustrated, and thought to bow out of the doomed project and move on….which would have had very unsatisfactory consequences, but… I was just done with the thing.

My friend, Julie, was also involved in the project, and called to give me a status report one day. After telling me the list of things that had, again, gone wrong, she said, “My opportunity is to find a way to make “x” part of this “y” step in the project work so we get “z” on time.

Seeing opportunities is not always my fashion ….at the Copa, Copacabana…

I just don’t think like that…., but I want to. I’ve been thinking how much happier I would be…and all of us for that matter, if we looked for the stepping stones in a challenge…..and what a world this would be if we all saw things for their possibilities, rather than for their problems

I’m going to try it right now: My opportunity is to learn people and project influencing skills at a level I’ve never been at before, without punching someone….

Well, looks like I almost made it.

Oh! The places I'll go ....when trying to share my random thoughts. :)

11 - Soaring

Victor Hugo once said, “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.”

His book, Les Miserables, lit a fire in me and I've been reading as much and often as I could ever since. When I find a book I love, I get consumed, and sometimes ignore everything else.

Here are 20 of my favorites:

- Les Miserables
- Gone With The Wind
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
- The Hiding Place
- Anne of Green Gables
- Harry Potter
- Open
- The Glass Lake
- Twilight
- The Bourne Identity
- Oliver Twist
- The Hobbit
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Dr. Zhivago
- The Grapes of Wrath
- The Good Earth
- Little Women
- Pride & Prejudice
- The Outsiders
- Shopaholic

And there are a ton of others that I love.

“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”
- A C Grayling

I love to fly. And, I love to read.

#11 on my list of Favorite Things is READING.

29 - Cinderella

Ever since I was a little girl, I have LOVED Cinderella stories. My Mom still has the classic Disney story of Cinderella memorized because she read it to me so many times. This is the very cover from that book. I love all versions of the story...books, cartoons, movies, real life... in fact, I was completely obsessed with the Princess Diana/Prince Charles story (in the beginning). I woke up at 3 a.m. to watch all the wedding proceedings. I just loved her. I loved watching her grace and love for people.

#29 on my list of Favorite Things is the CINDERELLA STORY.

35 - The Gratitude Key

Ever since I read, years ago, in The Hiding Place about expressing thanks for all things, including fleas, I have studied gratitude and seen the power of having a thankful heart. I have come to feel it is, perhaps, a bigger deal than we might think at first blush.

President Monson said, "If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.' "

I have been blessed by this virtue on countless occasions...in fact, daily. There is ALWAYS something for which to be grateful. I believe that when combined with a dose of service to others, gratitude is an extraordinary antidote for sadness.

President Monson continued, "Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love. We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude."

Who doesn't need to be lifted? And - who doesn't need to have the doors of heaven unlocked? We all do.

And, so - today, on this day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for thanks-giving.

#35 on my list of Favorite Things is GRATITUDE.

There is CHOCOLATE at the end of this book!

Does anyone know how excited I am that there are only 80 pages left ‘til the end of this book and therefore, only 80 pages left 'til I eat chocolate?

80 days may seem like a long time to those who don’t realize that it has been 14 years!!!!!!!!!

That’s 5,113.395 days with NO chocolate.

And, now I am nearing the end of that very long no chocolate book, and there is a prize at the end (not a monster).

Are you getting excited?? Do you understand what is at the end of this book?!!!! Turn the page! Do it!!

(I know – this is a dorky post, but I couldn’t just say: HOLY COW-ONLY 80 DAYS LEFT!!!, could I? And - who can resist a reference to this classic Grover book?)

The "Real" Thing

Remember that Coca Cola commercial where the people all sang that song… “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company, It’s the real thing…”?? (Yes – Joe, and several others, you were too busy not being born back when it first aired.)

Well, I’ve been singing that song since about 3 p.m. today when I fell off the proverbial wagon and had a Coke after 27 days of “sobriety”/no caffeine. Wow! I haven’t been this happy for about five years or something and definitely haven’t felt this great for the last 27 dumb days. Silly, I know, but true. I decided after four days of a terrible stomach ache, that it was time to end the fast, and after half of a large McDonalds Diet Coke– back to normal. Just like magic.

And, speaking of Real and magic – I read The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, with a couple of my nieces and a nephew last week. This book has been a favorite of mine since high school (yes, Joe….) and my choir teacher, Mrs. Hewlett, read to us about what makes “things” and people Real. Have a read:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive.

But the Skin Horse only smiled.

So – tonight, what I have to say is this: thank goodness for Coca Cola, Mrs. Hewlett, and my sweet nieces and nephews who are the Real Thing and the joy of life.

OPEN

It’s not Friday, but it is time for another list of favorites:

1. Tennis
2. Wimbledon
3. The U.S. Open
4. Andre Agassi
5. Mr. Agassi’s autobiography: OPEN

Like most sports (except swimming), I can’t play tennis well at all, but I love watching it. It is my favorite sport to watch – especially if the game is Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and Mr. Agassi wins. Two of the all-time greats. However, after reading OPEN, I won’t ever watch the game the same way again.

I kind of stumbled into the book when I was walking around the international terminal at LAX waiting for my flight to Australia and looking for something to read during those hateful 15 hours of airplane ride. I bought three books while I was looking for the one I wanted and never found. One of the three was OPEN.
OPEN was worth the money for the whole book after just the first chapter. It is an inspiring book that is more about life than sports.

Here’s one of my favorite lines from the book: “I play and keep playing because I choose to play. Even if it’s not your ideal life, you can always choose it. No matter what your life is, choosing it changes everything.”

OPEN is one of those books you just can’t put down even though you already know the ending. I would definitely recommend it. It’s an amazing story about an amazing individual.

(WARNING: OPEN may not be for everyone – were it a movie, it might get a PG-13+ for language .)

5 Friday Favorites – What’s in a name?

I took a couple of my nephews to the Nicklecade and dinner for their Christmas gift/play date a couple weeks ago (I know, I know – Christmas was over three months ago).

It was so much fun. They are great boys – smart, funny, nice, and of course I am their favorite aunt (sorry if other aunties are reading this). At dinner we discussed some “favorites.” Like, favorite baseball team (Yankees, of course), book & book series, movie, etc. It got me thinking about favorites, so here are some random favorites:

1- Heroine– Scarlett O’Hara
Don’t judge me too harshly on this – she was actually a very strong character who endured and overcame extreme hardship.

2- Book – Les Miserables
Wow – powerful read (I was lame and read the abridged version, but I was in high school and didn’t know any better). I also LOVE Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

3- Toys – it’s a tie between my new iPod Touch and my GPS
Both were Christmas gifts from my Dad and both are simply wonderful. My GPS even tells me the speed limit in the area and how fast I am going. I don’t know how I lived without this thing before (not because it helps me to stay within the speed limit though – cuz…).

4- Drink – this too, is a tie – between diet Dr Pepper and Pina Colada (non alcoholic) I also really, really, really like Ruby Red Squirt.

5- Cereal – Lucky Charms
I love those marshmallows. I stop eating when they are gone.

And, as a bonus:
Favorite lipstick name – Dog Fight.
Can you believe it? Coolest name for lipstick I’ve EVER seen. I simply had to have it (for the name). It made me so happy. Here it is:
I may never wear it (in case you can’t tell, it is dark purple), but what a cool name for lipstick. Dog Fight!

Alexander

Last week, I had one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days that come to us all. By lunch, I was starting to approach a level of upset where it might have been wise to call it a day. Instead, I foolishly went to the cafeteria for some food. I got a salad for me and a quesadilla for my brother. Seems harmless enough, right?

Would have been, but the guy behind the grill counter absolutely refused to put the rice and beans in the container with the quesadilla, and despite my repeated kind requests, told me he would get in trouble if he did what the customer wanted instead of following procedure and he plopped the rice and beans in two separate containers and then handed me all 3 containers to carry in addition to the one I already had with my salad in it.

This pushed me right over the precipice I was already precariously teetering on. When he asked if I had everything I wanted, I considered throwing the lids off the rice and beans, chucking the contents into the quesadilla container myself and hurling the superfluous and now empty containers back over the counter at him. But, thankfully, I didn’t. In an odd voice, I said, “No, I don’t have want I want, but, this will have to do.”

By the time I reached the yogurt machine, I was completely and utterly beyond any amount of rational thinking and actually was muttering to myself about stupid people and how I was so glad that the three container approach had been used instead of the customer service approach.

It was at this point, when a poor, innocent guy came up and told me that I was wrong to pick Pecan Praline as my favorite yogurt, because clearly Cable Car Chocolate is the best.

I thought, “Buddy, stop talking, please.” I said (still in the odd voice), “Oh, I’m sure you’re right, but I don’t eat chocolate.” And, his very unfortunate response was, “What?! How can a girl not eat chocolate?!!”

Face getting red. Steam coming out of head. Spikey boots preparing to kick shin.

As I started trying to pick up my 300 food containers and turned to say who knows what regrettable statement to this guy; my brother, who had been planning to meet me in my office, miraculously appeared next to me and gathered up the containers with a big shovel.

Oh, thank goodness. I don’t have to move to Australia now (not that I’d mind that too terribly much).

I don’t think I’ll ask for rice and beans with quesadillas anymore.

Tall, Dark (or Bronze) and Handsome

Okay, I confess. I succumbed to the months and months of “peer pressure” and read the vampire books. All four. In seven days. Couldn’t put the stupid things down.

I enjoyed the escape to a world where I almost believed that a leading man like Edward Cullen could exist. I haven’t seen the previews for the movie yet, so his appearance is still purely a product of my imagination – unsullied by the "imagination" of a movie producer. MY fairy tale idea of Edward is a glorified (bronze-haired, butterscotch/onyx-eyed, & pale skinned) version of a handful of handsome movie stars - a combination of my five favorites for this week:

(Selected for looks and acting ability only – nothing to do with their real lives or personalities because today we’re on a vacation in Fantasy Land. In other words, don’t judge me if you don’t think too highly of these gentlemen in real life.)

#1 – Brad Pitt
#2 – Johnny Depp
#3 – Denzel Washington
#4 – Russell Crow
#5 – Orlando Bloom

Probably in that order (depending on if we’re talking about looks or acting ability). The author of the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer, paints Edward as the most handsome of men. An intriguing prospect for a single girl like me.

The thing is, though, the best part of the way Meyer wrote the fictional character, Edward, was in fact his character – dedication, integrity, selflessness, determination, power and ability to protect others . . . but best of all – his amazing ability to love. Great qualities in a leading man – or any man for that matter.

Have a Fun Friday!