Entries Tagged 'Humor' ↓

 
This cartoon inspired me to look up some famous last words. My favorite was Alex the parrot’s:

You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you.

Now I wouldn’t say “You be good.” When I hear the term “be good” I laugh and think of Henry David Thoreau’s:

The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?

And if I were aware that they were my last words I wouldn’t say the “See you tomorrow.” But I would say “I love you” to my daughter. We’ve said that enough over the years that nothing more would need to be said. My husband doesn’t feel comfortable with the “L” word, so I would say, “I want you to know how much I appreciate you. Thank you.”

And just in case they’re not around when I shuffle off, I tell them often now so they might think of those words anyway.

What about you? Which last words would you choose?

 
How much time do you spend learning from the past? Preparing for the future? Living in the present? I don’t spend much time thinking about the past, but I do like making plans, so there is an element of the future in that. But even there I tend/try to enjoy the process right now. What about you?

Also, do you have any favorite words of wisdom?

Anna Kroylova.

Our local Friends of the Shelter not only manage to find homes for the dogs and cats coming through our local shelter, they provide medical care for needy animals in Northern New Mexico. They also actively support spay/neutering of pets because in general there are more needy dogs and cats than homes for them. It’s one of the most effective ways of reducing animal suffering.

As part of this outreach they from time to time give out vouchers so people can spay/neuter their animals for free. In a recent campaign they’ve added more incentive: the promise of a $20 gift card for people who actually use the vouchers.

 
They passed out the above handouts in front of the Espanola Walmart a few weeks ago. The yellow dog in the first picture was part of the publicity.

Walmart had given permission for them to use its parking lot, but to make sure its customers weren’t disturbed it posted a couple of security guards. Apparently the guards thought the event needed a bit more livening up, because one of them phoned Animal Control, saying a big yellow dog was loose. The Animal Control officer was not upset by the joke:

Anna Kroylova.

Anna Kroylova.

 
Have you ever had fun while doing good?

 
One thing I’ve tried to do in life is to get my ego out of the way, live my values and not worry about what other people think. I thought I was starting to learn how to do this, but a recent study implies it’s not a matter of experience, it’s that a part of my brain is starting to deteriorate. Whatever. That works for me too.

What about you? Do you find it easier to get your ego out of the way and to ignore the judgments of other people as you get older?

 
Do you think our political system is broken? Fixed? Do you think your vote makes much difference?

Politicians in the state of Tamil Nadu, India are convincing people that their vote does affect their lives. The two leading parties are debating issues such as how to stop corruption and how to solve the problem of electricity shortages, but the race will probably be decided on the perks they’re offering if their side wins. As the Wall Street Journal points out in It’s Not the Economy, Stupid, It’s the Free Blenders and Sheep, the two parties are offering such things as blenders, food grinders, free sheep for poor families, etc. Is it really any worse than most political situations? It does have one advantage, it gets out the votes!

What do you think?

As I’ve already mentioned, I was very sick with chest pains last Monday morning and went to the emergency room. I knew it wasn’t a heart attack, but I also knew they would have to check for that first. So I was lying on the table and the doctor came in to give me a nitroglycerin tablet to put under my tongue, and to apologize in advance for the headache it would probably give me. It was for diagnostic purposes.

In fact it didn’t give me a headache. Instead my blood pressure fell to 70 over 40, which made me even sicker and got the attention of the nurses. One was frantically trying to attach my IV to some saline solution, and I said I was feeling nauseous. She said something like, “Try to hold the barf until I’m done here.” I thought she meant wait until she was out of the way, and I laughed. I said, “I would like to have something to vomit into.” So another nurse quickly got a plastic basin out of the cupboard and put it on my stomach, which was reassuring, even though I ended up not needing it.

I also told them the pill hadn’t completely dissolved…my mouth was so dry that a good part of it was left. One of the nurses took it out, which we all thought was a good idea.

In the meantime the nurse did get me hooked up to the saline solution which brought my blood pressure back up and we were back to where we started. It didn’t seem so bad any more. As one of the nurses said, “She’s really sensitive to nitroglycerin, isn’t she?” Apparently I was that. Who would have guessed?

Anyway, that was my little adventure this week. What have you been doing for excitement lately?

 
Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist? Do you agree with the above graffiti, that pessimists don’t enjoy life? I don’t. I’m basically a cheerful pessimist…I’ve always figured any way of life that ends up in old age (possibly) and death (definitely) is not going to be perfect. The world is always going to be full of problems but that doesn’t mean we have to curl up and die. Another approach is to view Life As a Shared Adventure. It works for me. What works for you?

It also helps me to seek out humor:

 
Have you seen any good cartoons, heard any good jokes lately?

Leo Reynolds. Creative Commons license.

 
Man has always assumed he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much–the wheel, New York, wars, and so on–while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man for precisely the same reason.
–Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
 
That quote reminds me of what a friend said to me years ago. One day she stopped and looked at me with amazement: “Maybe you do know something after all, Jean. I always thought you were so happy because you were stupid.”

If you had to choose between being happy or being thought intelligent and wise, which would you choose?

 
The world is changing fast. Are you concerned about some of these changes? Do you personally feel safe? Do you have your own “secure den and pack you can trust”?

On a completely different note, have you heard of the new “manly”, no-girls-allowed diet sodas? You can’t blame Dr. Pepper for trying, but do you think the drinks will sell?

And have you heard that the U.S. Army’s new physical training includes yoga and resting? It’s not as macho, but it’s more effective.

The world is indeed changing.

 
Does that sound like the ideal life for you? If not, what would be missing? What would your ideal life be like?