LEAVE IT TO
PEEVER
-Bumper
sticker of the week: Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and
your government when it deserves it.
-Quotes of
the week: ÒWe are here and now. Further than that, all knowledge is moonshine.Ó
H.L. Menchen
ÒSit at the
feet of the master long enough, and theyÕll start to smell.Ó John Sauget
-Doing my
best to waste another day: I woke up this morning, had a cup of coffee, and got
to wondering about the years ahead. Health, having enough money, what we should
be doing, where we should be. How will the kids be? My wife? My friends? What
good does it do to fret over these things? WhatÕs going to happen will happen.
I should be more concerned with today. With this moment. When I jump to quickly
into the future, or dwell in the past., I lose my footing. I have to stay with
the now, otherwise IÕll just waste the day, figuring I can straighten it all
out tomorrow, or tell the tale in a different way.
-IÕm about
ready to plant my garden. IÕm going to make it a little bigger this your, for
no good reason, other than it will make me feel like I am more self-sufficient.
I get tired of depending on everyone else to supply my daily needs. IÕm going
to grow me some tomatoes, some lettuce, and an onion or two, and make me a fresh,
straight out of the garden salad. That will teach the capitalists of the world
to mess with me.
-Some days
the words just donÕt come: I do most of my writing in the morning, after a good
eight hours of sleep. My brain seems to work better than, although it ainÕt a
whole lot to brag about. A headline here, a word there, a sentence from a song,
giving me ideas about what to write about. But some days it just doesnÕt
happen. Nothing seems to make sense, and none of it can be translated into
words. ThereÕs just a mumbo-jumbo of things floating around in my mind, and
none of it can find its home on the page.
-I read in
the Register-Mail theyÕre doing a lot of shoveling around Galesburg. I assume a
lot of people are putting in gardens to fend off starvation, and I did check
the obituaries, seeing there have been a lot of people that need a final
resting place. Either way, I donÕt see why the mayors so happy?
-They sure
did screw up Seminary Street. You talk about traffic. They must all be going to
Wal-Mart. Suckers. One of my favorite pastimes is counting traffic from my
front porch. Now IÕm getting up to numbers I donÕt quite understand. Damn them.
-Twenty
tips for a better life:
1. Talk to someone,
live and in-person. It is good to have personal contact with humans. Usually.
2. Sit down at the
table and eat. No music, no phone calls, no TV, no bills laying on the table to
be paid. Relax. Tell the kids the neighbor has pizza.
3. Walk a little. No
headphones, cell phone. Head up. Look around. Listen. YouÕll be amazed at what
you see and hear.
4. Read something
worthwhile. ItÕs good for the brain.
5. Get a good nights
sleep. Eight hours, maybe more, depending on your age.
6. Volunteer. Help
with things you can do something about.
7. Clear your brain of all the nonsense it has accumulated.
This may require surgery.
8. Listen to music as
much as you can. (Except when youÕre walking). Music is good for your soul.
9. Do things for your
health, like never get sick. YouÕll save a ton of money.
10. Give up hatred and revenge.
TheyÕll suck the life right out of you.
11. No one is in charge of your
happiness, although someone may be in charge of your sadness.
12. If you canÕt afford it, donÕt
buy it.
13. Dance more.
14. Give up your three worst habits.
15. Never buy a used bed.
16. Try not to ever turn right.
ItÕs a dead end road.
17. Believe in something greater
than yourself. This does not include beer.
18. Be skeptical of technology.
There are a lot of things we donÕt need.
19. John Mc- who?
20. And finally, in your darkest
hour, remember this: It will not be fame and fortune that sustains you, but
whether or not you were willing to help those in need. Someone, say, like me.