Spring, 1969, The old man had escaped the military and was now sitting on a warming stone ledge in Washington Square. Looked so much like Maynard G. Krebs, he could’ve signed autographs.
And he was too late.
The beatniks were gone, replaced by scruffy addicts and disturbing drug dealers. Hippy wannabes. Vietnam vets in grungy uniform leftovers. Too late again.
But he sat there and tried to take it all in. Take note, as it were.
Suddenly a voice.
Are you a writer?
Perhaps.
Everybody wants to be a writer, man.
I wonder what normal people wonder about, the old man wondered.
Just smiling goes a long way toward making you feel better about life. And when you feel better about life, your life is better. With an optimistic, positive attitude toward life, the possibilities for your second prime are tremendous. – Art Linkletter.
Linkletter expressed these thoughts on smiling, positive attitude and a second prime when he was 94. He died a few years later. Still smiling.
The pain became a game. Like Cool Hand Luke eating hard-boiled eggs while locked in a prison work camp.
Some men you just can’t reach.
Anybody who says ‘I always figure things out’ soon learns a new lesson too late.
No need to repeat yourself over and over and over again. I ignored you just fine the first time.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. – Helen Keller
In a short time, too short, today, right now, will be a long time ago.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sometimes it’s better not to know. Not to know better.
So when is this old-enough-to-know-better supposed to kick in?
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
The most dangerous are the last to fall. I may be wrong but I doubt it.
You can be the recipient of the blow or you can be the cause of the blow. – Shayne Skov
I’m still shakin’ it, boss.