Slice of Life Story - The Age of the Sage

Ah Saturday! -A chance to let your thoughts meander a little. For reasons I can’t fully explain my thoughts today are about becoming venerable. I have reached that age where I feel a little more qualified to offer sagely advice. Advice acquired from the wisdom that living brings. Maybe one day I could squat in a cave on the side of a remote mountain and deliver one off advice to confused and worried souls. They could climb up to my humble abode and I could provide the name of that tune they have been humming for days but for the life of them cannot recall the title. Now that would be fulfilling. I know how annoying it is to have an unrecognisable tune circling your brain like a blow fly in a jar. I might also offer one off pieces of advice to soothe trouble minds. So if this is to be my future career move, I need to develop a manifesto:

The Wright Thoughts

Embrace simple pleasures
Take time to listen to music every day
Always wear comfortable underwear
If the sign says fast food think about it slowly
Don’t meditate in the middle of the road
Stop feeling guilty if your favourite ice cream flavour is vanilla
Hold hands
Wherever you are- be there!
Try to find a job that brings you satisfaction
Make certain the person you marry is your best friend
Avoid conservatives. They only want to paint the town beige.
Don’t throw bricks straight up
Sleep in a comfortable bed
Sand between your toes is okay. Sand in your shorts isn’t
Never wear tight clothes on a long trip
Put things back the way you found them- except large maps.
Don’t be afraid to pick up litter
Never take the words I love you for granted
Remember its just one big ocean- keep it clean
Don’t feel guilty about disliking cats
Go to Venice at least once in your life
Every stop is a place to start
You are not an adult until you’ve cleaned gunk out of the sink with your bare hands.
Always take your socks off before you get into bed
Drive until you come to a T intersection if that’s what you want to do
Never forget that sheep are stupid
Breathe in, breathe out, move on (Thank you JB)
Laugh at yourself. Seriously, don’t take yourself too seriously
Don’t worry if you get tongue tied trying to pronounce Namibia
Play hide and seek in the supermarket occasionally
Listen to the songs of birds
Lie on the grass and watch the clouds float past –but not during a thunderstorm!
Never pee into the wind or dare someone to slap you in the face with a wet fish
Skip down the street if the mood takes you.
Grow old disgracefully
It’s possible to be a devotee of  Vivaldi and Jimmy Buffett simultaneously
Anyone can be a poet
A piece of technology may be idiot proof but not teacher proof
Kids are different
Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall
Write! It enables you to live life twice!


Further consideration about a prospective future as an oracle leads me to think more about caves; the associated cold and dampness and the prospect of sharing with bats. Afterall, my knees are somewhat arthritic already. So, I am now reconsidering my future plans. Maybe it might be simpler to envision a future as a balloon seller?

Comments

  1. Bonnie K20 March 2010 at 20:16

    Damn, I could post my comment...sometimes this world makes me crazy...
    Okay, trying again...
    I love your list Alan. Love it.
    I was listing my faves just before I was rudely stopped in my tracks.
    Here's a few:
    Write! It enables you to live life twice!
    Avoid conservatives. They only want to paint the town beige.- perfect for the coming health care vote in the US tomorrow.
    Have a good one,
    bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lennye20 March 2010 at 23:09

    What a great list!!! It is chockfull of sage advice!!! However, I'm conservative and I don't want to paint the town beige...I would choose a much brighter color as I was singing Margaritaville.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kevin Hodgson21 March 2010 at 00:01

    Nice list.
    I like: Lie on the grass and watch the clouds float past –but not during a thunderstorm!

    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tracey21 March 2010 at 01:35

    Great list-- you totally had me until the disliking cats line, I'm a bit too felinophilous to let that go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Stacey21 March 2010 at 13:59

    That's a great list to live by.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karren Colbert21 March 2010 at 15:04

    I love your list. I bet each thought has a slice of life story hiding behind it. I'm especially curious about the slap in the face with a wet fish. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more