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- Pascal on Man
The more see of men, the better I like my dog.
- A Good Eve
Two days after my 82nd birthday, i sit with my thoughts after a quiet day pursuing home tasks to complete. Today, was marvelous.
My favorite and most emotional moment came when my grandson, Sam Gander, sent me a text that would make any grandparent tear up. Talking to my two daughters, one in Las Vegas, one in Austin, Texas were real close to Sam’s text in my emotional moments.
A call from my Vandy running mate, Cy Fraser, from Orcas Island, Washington in the San Juan Islands took me back to wonderful times both back in Old Hickory, Nashville, and Lebanon, but our times together since then.
The birthday wishes on Facebook moved me enough to try and thank folks personally rather than sent out a generic thanks. i may have done just that but suspect i may have missed a few while i wrestled with the electronic world.
Maureen and i celebrated on the eve of the birthday. We went to the San Diego Symphony and had a light dinner afterward.
The San Diego Symphony presented Johannes Brahm’s Piano Concerto, No. 1 in D Minor, Opus 15, and Anton Dvorak’s Symphony #7 in D Minor.
Since Mrs. Gwaltney taught me piano for a couple of years, which i gave up after the eighth grade because i was devoted to football. i did go to Peabody College and participate in a recital, playing a classical piece i do not recall. i have been intrigued but not involved with classical music since then. Cy Fraser introduced me to Handel’s “Water Music” and Dvořák’s 9th , “The New World” Symphony while we were at Vanderbilt. They since have been constantly on my play lists, and i keep adding new found ones i enjoy. The two we heard on Sunday have been added.
While listening, i looked about the impressive hall. It was full, nearly all attendees were old, but there were younger folks in the audience. i wore a sports coat but chose not to wear a tie. It didn’t matter. All manner of dress, both men and women, were on display. There was one guy in tee shirt, Bermuda shorts, flip flops, and a baseball cap. i saw several in tuxedos.
Style of dress did not seem to make a difference. .
When the music begin to play, it was, as they say, quiet as a mouse. i compared the silence while the orchestra performed to what was going on in most of the television sets in the country: the NFL playoffs.
None of the symphony attendees were screaming, making weird gestures, and contorting faces. Of course, there were no visible cameras to egg them on. None were booing the the referees, the other team, nor their own team when they played poorly. Of course, the only team was the symphony orchestra, and there were no refs. No one in the orchestra made a play and then self-promoted with silly dances.
Since i was a sports reporter and editor, i’ve always wanted to watch a sports event where no one screamed, made an idiot of themselves, nor booed as if they expected to impact the outcome. That doesn’t happen.
Sitting there on Sunday, i was entranced by the complexity of the music and the flawless coordination of all of the musicians, especially the incredible pianist, Marc-Andrè Hamelin, the guest conductor, Thomas Guggies, and the orchestra.
If you have never been to a symphony performance, i suggest you try it if you can. i think you would enjoy it. And i am sure you would not get hoarse from screaming while listening.
- Parkinson’s Second Law
Expenditures rise to meet income.
- Eighty-Two
Even at this age, i just keep learning.
i have learned to live with maladies, injuries, and possible improvements and cures. i’ve learned how lucky i am to have avoided any serious ones up until this past year.
In regard to those maladies, i have confirmed that Preventive Maintenance as i learned it in the Navy on my first ship and practiced until the last ship serves one well if they practice it in their personal health.
i have learned that politics is nasty, that those in the field spend more time getting reelected and hating the opposition than serving the people.
i have learned there are lots of people, smart, good people even, who will believe anything if it makes them feel good about what they already believe, and hate, not understanding is the major factor for disregarding truth, and that hate is driven in turn by fear.
i have learned that every group of people regardless of how they are grouped are the same. Those groups have good, well-intended people who are concerned with the welfare of all the group. Those groups have people just trying to make a living and not make waves. They all have scoundrels with no concern about others who will stoop to the lowest level of the human kind to get what they want. In fact, nearly all groupings are mirrored by the others.
i have learned that “easier” is not the path to happiness and satisfaction, that hard work is satisfying, and doing a job well can give one a feeling of accomplishment, regardless of the complexity or difficulty.
I have learned that college and professional sports are no longer “sports.” They are now careers in the entertainment business. i still watch to see great athletes perform, but i’m now limiting my watching to teams that are my favorites. i do this with a sense of humor when fans frothing at the mouth do really stupid things to be on the screen, and when commercials are stupid, which is most of the time. i don’t laugh at sports announcers or many supposedly sports media experts: i cry.
i have learned that “dressing up” for occasions, even just a dining out with my wife or friends makes me feel good about myself. i try to follow Dave Carey’s dictum of dressing up one level from the group with whom you are meeting is a good practice. (Apparently, this is not the case with anyone two decades younger than me, and i do not fault them.)
i have learned that treating folks as equals, dealing with them truthfully, and not trying to impress one’s own beliefs upon them can produce wonders.
i have learned that younger folks treat older folks differently. i am a “has been,” and my thoughts are viewed as antiquated, not in touch. There is a touch of respect and understanding, even caring, but they won’t listen to what i have to say.
i have learned that my memories are precious and a fuel to keep on living as best i can.
i have learned that living has no right answer. If you have your right answer, it won’t be the right answer for others. Compatability of right answers are as good as it’s going to get.
i have learned to consider all of the possible risks and benefits of whatever decision is facing me before making a decision, any decision. This should be done with the knowledge that even that may not bring about the results i desire.
i have learned i should live attempting to do what’s right. Often that is the toughest of the choices.
And i have learned that my friends, regardless of political, religious, financial beliefs are a treasure to me, and i appreciate them all.
So, today, i wish all of you the best on my happy 82nd birthday. We’ve got several more left, i think, but i still hope all of you outlast me…and i hope to live as long as my father, one month shy of 99, and my mother, one month shy of 97.
- Harper’s Magazine Law
You never find an article until you replace it