fdelano Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Einstein, or possibly Michelangelo, could claim superiority in intellect, but, if true, what is the importance? Should the black man who picked more than a hundred pounds of cotton in a day feel less proud? Monet, and especially Van Gogh, likely believed their work to be creative and more worthy. What of Mother Teresa using up her life that others might live? Where was her vanity? If I spend my life slopping hogs and take pride in raising food for my family, am I a lesser man? When I chose to embroil myself in the killing of those proclaimed a threat to my country, was I remiss in integrity? Add your own lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger11 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Pertinent questions. No doubt our lives will shape our answers. thoughtful write all the best badge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 The questions seem to balance between talent, ambition, endeavour, the pursuit of excellence, and a defense of everyday mediocrity, with the implied message that both are equally OK. I don't think you really believe that. I liked the way you slipped in the stanza about "the killing/ of those I am taught are a threat/ to my country". That "I am taught" interjection makes all the difference! Nice to see you back writing new stuff. Bren Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 An ancient belief that we are immortal as long as our names are remembered, has been with us since the dawn of civilization. The attitude has persisted through monuments, literature, art, science, conflict and popular culture, right to the present day. Significant names of the past, present and even the future, were, are, and will still be buoyed up by proxy... of the anonymous yet necessary masses. It's an integral feature of humanity.. to want to "get on".. to feel unique; to have a voice, even if it creates a symbiotic grooming that results in social inequality. . I read an amusing quote the other day, attributed to the actor Peter O' Toole: "When did I realise I was god?... Well, I was praying and suddenly realised I was talking to myself." ....... Now look what you've started! Geoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 Thanks be to all. My vanity rises with your thoughtful comments, and I bask in thinking I made you think. I write little, but sometimes these little oddities sneak out. Seems we all see our uniqueness as better than those "commoners." ;) Bren, you are wrong--as usual: I do enjoy the finer things in life, literature, Monet and Van Gogh, an aged wine--but I have come to see the value in the old farmer out by the river who creates beautiful fields of corn and soybeans, the guy who mows my lawn and repairs everything I break, the Mexicans who can top out a tree and stay within my budget. I've yet to meet the man who doesn't like to be complimented on whatever his endeavor. The reverse is the one who deems his life superior to all others. Kinda like the Irelanders. Smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcmarti1 Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 That last "Even if" is troublesome. But who said poetry was safe? A thought-provoker here, Paco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 DCM1, Have revised that wording that seemed to jar both you and Bren. I'm sure I could find better areas to explore, since only I can answer. No doubt we all have our regrets as well as pride. I should listen more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcmarti1 Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Paco! Frank! I meant troubling LITERALLY, not Literarily. Troubling as in a real existential way. Good poetry that..... Marti DCM1, Have revised that wording that seemed to jar both you and Bren. I'm sure I could find better areas to explore, since only I can answer. No doubt we all have our regrets as well as pride. I should listen more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Understood, even along with Bren's always cogent observations. I now think it was a mistake to involve myself personally in an observation about the foibles of humanity, even though I are one. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Badger, I believe you got it exactly in a meeting of our minds: "No doubt our lives will shape our answers." Yes, we change with time, but we all meet both humble and vain, and perhaps we all are both. I think I'm babbling again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 a lovely piece of work delano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 My thanks, Barry. I love the intellectual discourse ignited here, but I truly think this one is lacking in poetic value. I am fortunate to have access to thinkers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I think you'd like Japan. Public behavior is always courteous, repairs are practically instantaneous (and necessary, considering all the earthquakes and typhoons); everybody takes his or her job seriously no matter what it is, and service is impeccable particularly in stores and restaurants. I now find it disconcerting when visiting Europe or the States to find staff members goofing off, ignoring customers and chatting to friends on their mobile phones! I think this ties in with your praise of humble tasks well done. Cheers, the Arrogant Irelander Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 1967, got an R&R to Okinawa. My navigator and I chose two girls/women at a club and took them to dinner at a great restaurant, all of us talking gibberish but having a good time. When we dropped them back at the club, untouched, they were astounded. One of the best dates I ever had. I remember the juke box playing "What is War For?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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