That does it, then. We’ll have to forgo any sort of opening at all. I don’t know how that will affect the overall quality of the process, or the resulting mess, but, it’s all we’ve got now. Oh, well, I suppose they can’t ALL be exciting and wonderful. It might be nice to come close to it just once, though. You’d think the universe would at least respect the effort we expend to get it done, but, NOOOO….

Okay, we’d best get on with this, before it turns ugly. I’m resorting to an old technique; it’s rather ruthless, so, please, don’t hold it against me. I’m only thinking of you…. Well, saving my own ass enters into it, but, hey, that’s what multi-tasking is all about, init?

Shall we Pearl?….

From 9/8/2012:

It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf.  But the gulf lies elsewhere. It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought. — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe

“It is hard to let old beliefs go.  They are familiar.  We are comfortable with them and have spent years building systems and developing habits that depend on them.  Like a man who has worn eyeglasses so long that he forgets he has them on, we forget that the world looks to us the way it does because we have become used to seeing it that way through a particular set of lenses.  Today, however, we need new lenses.  And we need to throw the old ones away.” — Kenich Ohmae, The Borderless World

“If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.” — The Cowboy’s Guide to Life

“Hurting yourself is not sinful — just stupid.” — Robert Heinlein

“Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like the roads across the earth. For actually there were no roads to begin with, but when many people pass one way a road is made.” — Lu Hsun

“Depend not on fortune, but on conduct.” — Publius Syrus

“A bone to the dog is not charity.  Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.” — Jack London

“It is good for a man to eat thistles and to remember that he is an ass.” — E. S. Dallas

“If you can’t say something nice, say something surrealistic.” — Zippy the Pinhead

There you go; what did I tell you? Someday, I’ll write a manual for people to create their own pearls, but, I don’t know if it will sell. You see, the entire process hinges on learning one simple thing; if you get that, it’s easy…. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it now, it’s all in the wrist….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can’t explain why I slept for almost eight hours, unless it was the past few weeks catching up to me. Whatever. It’s done, and, for a throw-together-quickly piece, it ain’t bad. Hopefully, y’all will feel the same; if not, well, there’s always tomorrow. See y’all then, if I’m still capable of coherent thought…. (No snickering….)….