On Sliding into Second Base as a Metaphor for Life
The idea is to make your upper body evaporate while your lower limbs thin into twin javelins. First, commit yourself totally to this risk. Then run as fast as you can, straight ahead. Don’t look back. Don’t look over your shoulder for the ball that may arrive before you. Launch yourself into space just as [...]
Another Road…
Being an addendum to my Feb. 10 posting entitled ‘On Roads’…
I have a little black book in which I write down or paste in all the aphorisms I read and want to remember. It’s vaguely organized by aphorist, but I usually know where in the bulging book to look for something, usually even if I’m [...]
On Watching ‘The War of the Worlds’
Last Saturday night I watched The War of the Worlds with my sons. This was the 1953 George Pal version, not the recent Spielberg remake. The boys were very excited. We had prepared a little cinema in the living room, dimmed the lights. I even allowed them to eat chocolate while they watched, an unheard-of [...]
On Being An Amateur
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… A violinist is performing a fiendishly difficult solo at Carnegie Hall. His bow arm is a blur; sweat is pouring down his brow. He finishes with a flourish and the crowd goes wild. “Encore! Encore!” they shout. So he plays the same piece again, and when he [...]
On Roads
A friend recently told me this story. He was driving through rural Vermont a couple of years ago when he came to a crossroads. There were two signposts, each pointing in a different direction but both bearing the name of his destination. So he pulled the car over, got out and approached a local man [...]
Even More Assorted Aphorisms
Being the latest batch of wonderfully wise witticisms sent to me via the Web…
From Matt, my cousin, presumably explaining why he hasn’t been in touch in more than 12 years:
You wouldn’t worry so much about what people think of you if you knew how seldom they do.
From Gavin Bolus:
The hypocrisy of people who say that [...]
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