{essential truths} Books

Nights like New Year's Eve
require extra caution. If you go home with
someone and they don't own any books,
do NOT have sex with them

A Single Word

After a long illness, a woman died and arrived at the Gates of Heaven. As she waited for Saint Peter to greet her, she peeked through the Gates. She saw a beautiful banquet table, and sitting all around were her parents and all the others she had loved and who had died before her.

They saw her and began calling to her. "Hello." "How are you?" "We've been waiting for you!" "Good to see you." When Saint Peter came by, the woman said to him, "This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?"

"You have to spell a word," Saint Peter told her. "Which word?" the woman asked."Love," came the response.

"The woman correctly spelled "Love," and Saint Peter welcomed her into Heaven.

About two years later, Saint Peter came to the woman and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day. While the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived.

"I'm surprised to see you," the woman said. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been doing pretty well since you died," her husband told her. "I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won the lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a big mansion. My wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation, and I went water skiing today. I fell, the ski hit my head, and here I am. How do I get in?"

"You have to spell a word," the woman told him. "Which word?" her husband asked. "Czechoslovakia," she said.

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle, the same zoom, and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.

Alice Doesn't Bank Here Anymore

A while back I was reading a post on another blog that described a very frustrating encounter with the author's bank. It reminded me of my day of greatest irritation, bank-wise, and concerns those drive-through tellers.

My bank used to be wonderful. It was a locally owned bank founded here in 1814, informally anyway, because the Deveroux brothers had the best strongbox in the area. Not too many years ago, however, they were purchased by a larger bank and soon after that by a still larger bank. Sigh. What had been remarkable personal service has fallen by the wayside.

A couple of years ago I pulled up to the drive-through teller in my Miata. This would be problematic for anyone because sitting there with your rear end only about a foot off the ground makes for quite a lengthy reach to get to the pneumatic tube thingie.

For me, it's impossible. Since I can't use my left arm, I have to reach out the left window with my right arm and then up to the device. No way, and I got out of the car so I could stand to complete my transaction.

That's when it happened. Over the intercom a disembodied voice said she couldn't serve me because I wasn't in a vehicle. I explained I couldn't reach from the vehicle, and she said, again, that she couldn't serve me unless I was in my vehicle.

Okay, that's not an option for me. Arrgghh!! I drove around, parked, and went inside to complete my transaction. When I was done, I asked to speak to the highest ranking individual and hoped it would be the branch manager. Although I had to wait a few minutes, I was soon shown into her office.

I proceeded to explain very calmly and politely what had just happened with the drive-through teller. The manager was a bit puzzled because I had, in fact, driven up, and the rule was intended to prevent walk though customers. She also noted that since I was standing beside my car, there was no danger of another vehicle hitting me. That was the real concern and the reason for the rule. I indicated it didn't matter to me what was intended.

I went on to note my physical disabilities and then said, "So that you'll understand, I'm going to put the worst possible spin on this that I can. You bank just denied me service BECAUSE I have some disabilities. That has never happened to me before. Anywhere. Is that what you want to be known for?"

I went on to explain I wasn't looking for an apology or anything other than a change in their policies that discriminate. I didn't want this to happen again - to anyone. She assured me that she would meet with the tellers to ensure that it would not.

Of course, my Miata and I have never used the drive-through teller again although I have when driving my adult-sized car. I'm just not confident things have changed, and I don't want the frustration if it hasn't. Too many of us, however, do that, and we do it all too often.

I have accommodated to them to make their lives easier. Unfortunately. Although I have to take responsibility for learning whether the changes were ever implemented, I shouldn't have to. In fact, it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

TGB

{essential truths} Restroom

Make sure you always know

where the restroom is, and

if you know of more than one,
know which is the cleanest.

Father John and His Young Parishioner

It was the Sunday after Christmas at St. Peter and Sain Paul's Church in Borden, Kent, England. Father John was looking at the nativity scene prior to packing away the figures when he noticed the baby Jesus was missing.

Immediately, Father John turned towards the vicarage in order to call the police. But as he was about to do so, he saw little Harry with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant, Jesus.

Father John walked up to Harry and said, "Well, Harry, where did you get the little infant?"

Harry replied honestly, "I took him from the church, Father John."

"And why did you take him?"

With a sheepish smile, Harry said, "Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to little Lord Jesus. I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas, I would give him a ride around the block in it."

Author Unknown   

Tree

Be Filled with Wonder

Be Devoted to Peace

Be Touched by Love

May All the Joys of Christmas Be Yours

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

This Is Your Last Chance

Originally posted on May 20, 2011

When will the world end?
That's the question.
And you know inquiring minds want to ...

Will it be tomorrow, as recently advertised? A friend asked me exactly what time the world was supposed to end on Saturday. I suggested the pre-rapture period would begin at noon (local time), but the complete destruction by fire would take a while - probably beginning at the International Date Line and moving west.

Or will it be December 21, 2012 - if tomorrow passes uneventfully - as others have prophesied? Sorry, I'm not buying that date either, and it doesn't matter what Rorschachian vagueries Nostradamus managed to record for posterity.

I have wondered what I would do with the knowledge the end was coming. Would it change my behavior? Actually, my musing had a slightly different twist. I had mentioned to a colleague that I wished to know ahead of time if when I did something, it was to be the last time - so that I could savor it more. The colleague indicated a preference for not knowing because knowing would create too much pressure and thereby interfere with the ability to enjoy whatever it was.

Hmph. Is a puzzlement! - as Yul Brynner would say. It's not really a bucket list of all those things you wanted to do at least once before you died, but it's not really the reverse of that either. We'll have to come up with our own name for this last time list. I'm open to suggestions.

If it were to be my last glass of wine, the last time to see someone I loved, the last visit to my hometown or Italy or Scotland or Charlottesville, my last kiss or sexual encounter, my last cheeseburger, or whatever - you get the idea - would I want to know? Would you want to know? Would it depend on which particular last it was - some things yes, some things no. There's where you need our heretofore unnamed list, I guess.

I seem to be arriving at the "want to know" conclusion. Consider the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence in which a highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother. When it finally happens, she can be there for only one day, and he knows that. He has a wonderful day anyway, but he was a child and perhaps not sensitive to all of the consequences of knowing.

Far more realistic and certainly more powerful was the story of Professor Randy Pausch who delivered his last lecture, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, just one month after learning his pancreatic cancer was terminal. His lecture was similar to those in which great minds are asked to think deeply about what's important to them and then deliver a hypothetical last lecture.

"What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" His lecture is profoundly moving. If you've not read it or viewed it, please do. My point though is he knew it was to be his last, and that allowed him to make it special.

I think I would want that opportunity. The reality, of course, is we are very unlikely to have the requisite foreknowledge, and therefore, it doesn't really matter. We have all, however, had those experiences where "you wish you had known" because you would have done something differently. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

What would you want? To know or not to know?

TGB

{this memory} 69

This is the story behind last Monday's {this moment}.

Ah, what a darling - my younger daughter when she was around three and about 26 years ago.

She is sitting in the study of our home in Central New York. There isn't much of a story here except to note she grew up to be a beautiful, accomplished woman - as did her sister. I love them both immeasurably. I just felt the need to say it again when other children and parents have recently had that opportunity taken away from them.

I am filled with many wonderful memories and am a most fortunate man.

TGB

Bang, Bang

With a new tragedy is forced on us weekly, it's hard not to think about guns and to ponder why it is so difficult for America to exercise even a modicum of common sense, and weekly multiple murders lead me to re-post this essay and for the third! time, although edited somewhat. The hysteria is overwhelming, and a tsunami of dollars has made reasonable legislation almost impossible.

We are on the horns of a dilemma, and it's a most uncomfortable place to be. I'm not opposed to guns and owned a rifle at one time. I do, however, see the Second Amendment differently than those loudest voices today. I think limits on ownership can be legally set, and so does the Supreme Court.

I also think if the Founding Fathers meant that amendment to apply to unlimited individual ownership (which I think they did not given the "well regulated militia" reference), then what they meant was that everyone had the right to own a musket. I have no problem with that. In fact, it solves all sorts of problems.

As a psychologist I naturally look for explanations of our self-destructive behavior, and in doing so, I considered some research from game theory dealing with "The Prisoner's Dilemma."

"You and your accomplice have been caught red-handed and placed in separate isolation cells. Both of you care much more about your personal freedom than about the welfare of your accomplice, but a clever prosecutor makes an offer. Together your best hope is to cooperate with each other by remaining silent. If so, you will each get off with a 6-month sentence. Either of you, however, can do better for yourself. Double-cross your partner, and you will go free while he serves 20 years. The problem is, if you each betray the other, you will both go to prison - and not just for 6 months, but for eight years. How should you each act?"

When you think about it, you recognize that no matter what your partner chooses, you should choose betrayal. Unfortunately, he is aware of that as well, and the inexorable tide of self-interest is going to carry you both up the river for eight years. Such is life.

In casual usage, the label "Prisoner's Dilemma" may also be applied to situations not strictly matching the criteria of the traditional game but where the players acting in their individual best interest create inefficient outcomes.

Consider patrons exiting a theater on fire. The surest method of saving the most patrons is for everyone to exit in an orderly manner. The surest method of saving yourself while everyone else is proceeding orderly is to rush the exit and get out first. If everyone rushes except you, you're toast. What typically happens is everyone, including you, rushes the exit, and many die - an inefficient outcome.

I think we can make a similar analysis of those whose reaction to the Tucson shootings is to bring their guns wherever they go. I have to admit the logic of having more guns brandished as a solution to the danger of there being guns present in the first place escapes me. Nevertheless, let's paraphrase.

Consider constituents attending an event. The surest method of keeping the most constituents safe is for everyone to leave their Glocks at home. If someone didn't though and started shooting, the surest method - perhaps - to save yourself while everyone else is dodging bullets is to brandish your weapon first. You shoot the shooter thereby saving yourself and reducing the number killed. Where we are headed, of course, is that everyone draws their weapons, and a mad gunfight ensues. Many die - an inefficient outcome. More guns is not the solution to gun violence.

By the way, don't think there are no risks for you if you are one of the few who are armed (the "good guy with a gun"). If I were the killer, I'm going to try to get you first when I see you're armed, then everyone else. And if you happen to kill an innocent in this firefight, you're guilty as charged - in spite of your good intentions. I hope you're a good shot.

It's insanity. Clearly.

TGB   

{essential truths) Pizza

If you can’t name it,

it's best to scrape it off your pizza.

{this moment} 69

A Monday ritual. A single image - no words - capturing a moment from the past - sometimes a place with many moments - but somewhere along my life's Journey over which I wish to linger a bit and savor each treasured aspect of the memories it evokes. If you are moved or intrigued by my {this moment}, please leave a comment. On Thursday in a companion ritual called {this memory}, I'll share the story of this moment.

{this moment}

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

{this moment} is a ritual copied and adapted from cath's wonderful blog ~just my thoughts. She, in turn, borrowed it from Pamanner's Blog. Check out their blogs, and if you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your {this moment} in the comments for each of us to find and see.

TGB   

Haircuts For Clergy

A Rabbi visited the local barber shop. After his haircut, he reached for his wallet as he prepared to pay the barber, but the barber said, "No, Rabbi. I don't charge the clergy for haircuts." The next morning the barber found a loaf of Jewish rye bread on his door step.

A few days passed, and a Catholic priest came in to get a haircut. He also reached for his wallet as he prepared to pay. The barber said, "No, Father. I don't charge the clergy for haircuts." The next morning he found a bottle of wine outside his front door.

Several days later a Baptist minister came in to get a haircut. He also reached for his wallet as he prepared to pay. The barber said, "No Reverend, I don't charge the clergy for their haircuts." The next morning, the barber found fifteen Baptist preachers on his doorstep, ready for a haircut!

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle, the same zoom, and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.

The Inspired Writes Back

Ahhhh. How nice it is to be recognized. My blogging buddy, Janine, has bestowed upon me the Inspiring Blog Award. That's very kind of her. The problem with these awards, of course, is you have to try to live up to them. Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

The award comes with conditions. I'm asked to share seven of my favorite phrases, reveal seven little known facts about me, and to pay homage to seven bloggers who inspire me.

I'm barely out of the gate, and I'm tweaking things a bit. Below are seven quotes from which I receive inspiration.

1. "I have worn the honors of Honor, I graduated from Virginia" - James Hay Jr.

2. "There is more to life than increasing its speed." - Mohandas K. Gandhi

3. "How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward." - Spanish Proverb

4. "Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived." - Captain Jean-Luc Picard

The others are all from from Thomas Jefferson.

5. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

6. I am "not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

7. "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God."

8. "I cannot live without books."

Yeah, I know, but it's hard to be selective, and now for seven little known facts about me:

1. Faced with a choice between a gourmet dinner and a perfect cheeseburger, I'm likely to take the burger. I wouldn't say I'm on a quest for the perfect burger, but I haven't found it yet anyway. I hope I don't; the fun is in the journey. I even wrote an essay about it in high school, about the perfect burger's replacement by fast food.

2. I can't stand cold weather, yet I went to graduate school in Maine and live in upstate New York.

3. Related to #2, I'd prefer to have my toes in the water and my ass in the sand.

4. I can't go to the movies without buying popcorn and a soda.

5. I'll retire after three more semesters. Eager.

6. I like big books,

7. and I cannot lie.

And for the seven fellow bloggers who inspire me and whom I am nominating:

1. Janine Ripper (right back at you)

2. Claire Verner (you are simply amazing)

3. Megan Rorie (she inspired me to start blogging)

4. Cath Tittle (when I grow up, I want to be like her)

5. Marie Nikodem Loerzel (she always finds the humor in life AND she can do an upside-down Jesus)

6. Muriel Jacques  (love your stories of life in London and your willingness to be different)

7. Stuart Nager (a much admired fluency in story writing)

Phew.

TGB   

{this memory} 68

This is the story behind last Monday's {this moment}.

Ah, she is so cute - my older daughter when she was a bit less than two and well over a quarter century ago.

We were visiting the Chittenango home of a good friend (no longer living) of my wife. Judging by our clothing it must have been a warm summer's day. Although I don't recall for sure, my daughter was likely engaging in one of her performances. She had an extensive repertoire of children's verse, and she could and would recite perfectly any of several dozen.

Quite precocious. Today she is a specialist in pediatric oncology, and Chittenango has a yellow brick sidewalk. It is, after all, the birthplace of Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz.

I am filled with many wonderful memories and am a most fortunate man.

TGB

Be-witched

I'm uncertain I've consistently been each of these, but having such aspirations has surely helped me flourish along the River of Life.

Be adventurous.
Be amazed.
Be at peace.
Be colorful.
Be dependable.
Be fair.
Be fearless.
Be generous.
Be gentle.
Be honest.
Be humble.
Be impulsive.
Be irresistible.
Be kind.
Be loving.
Be of good cheer.
Be optimistic.
Be passionate.
Be quirky.
Be rambunctious.
Be respectful.
Be thankful.
Be yourself.

But above all else,
Be here now.

TGB  

{this moment} 68

A Monday ritual. A single image - no words - capturing a moment from the past - sometimes a place with many moments - but somewhere along my life's Journey over which I wish to linger a bit and savor each treasured aspect of the memories it evokes. If you are moved or intrigued by my {this moment}, please leave a comment. On Thursday in a companion ritual called {this memory}, I'll share the story of this moment.

{this moment}

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

{this moment} is a ritual copied and adapted from cath's wonderful blog ~just my thoughts. She, in turn, borrowed it from Pamanner's Blog. Check out their blogs, and if you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your {this moment} in the comments for each of us to find and see.

TGB   

Thou Shalt Not Steal

There were two priests who rode bikes to church every Sunday, and one day one of the priests showed up to work without his bike.

The first priest asked where his bike was, and the other priest said, "I don't know, but I think it's been stolen!"

Then first priest said, "Well, what you need to do is read off the ten commandments in your homily, and when you get to 'Thou Shall Not Steal,' someone will confess to the crime."

The next time the two saw each other the priest had his bicycle back. "I see you have your bike back! Did you do what I said?," the one priest said.

The other said, "Well, kind of. When I was reading the commandments and got to Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery, I suddenly seemed to remember where I had left it."

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle, the same zoom, and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.

Mighty Finn - Update #8

Oh, my goodness. Where does the time go? Has it really been over a month since my last update. Well, that's life - it gets going pretty fast sometimes.

Here I am in Oxford, all dressed up.

We had a very nice room on Banbury Road

in the Old Parsonage Hotel.

Plenty of room there to practice my crawling.

I'm pretty much an expert now, by the way, and 

I can really scoot when I want to ...

 ... although I have to admit there are times

when I don't seem to be able to get anywhere.

I'm getting pretty good at standing too. 

Hey! I see you checking out my coolie.

When I got home to New York, I spent some time with my cousin.

He shared some of his toys with me.

And one of my older cousins told me I was a chick magnet

and asked me to go out drinking with him.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this.

And this ... I love apples, 

but why do they have to put these little stickers on them.

I have learned an important secret, but don't tell anyone.

Life's too short to wear boring socks.

{poetically plagiarized} 16: Ferris

I sure can't disagree with him because I know I can't always tell just by looking. Can you?

TGB   

   Poems with Disabilities

     I'm sorry-this space is reserved
     for poems with disabilities. I know
     it's one of the best spaces in the book,
     but the Poems with Disabilities Act

     requires us to make all reasonable
     accommodations for poems that aren't
     normal. There is a nice space just
     a few pages over-in fact (don't
     tell anyone) I think it's better

     than this one, I myself prefer it.
     Actually I don't see any of those
     poems right now myself, but you never know
     when one might show up, so we have to keep
     this space open. You can't always tell

     just from looking at them, either. Sometimes
     they'll look just like a regular poem
     when they roll in—you're reading along
     and suddenly everything
     changes, the world tilts

     a little, angle of vision
     jumps, focus
     shifts. You remember
     your aunt died of cancer at just your age
     and maybe yesterday's twinge means

     something after all. Your sloppy,
     fragile heart beats
     a little faster

     and then you know.
     You just know.
     And the poem
     is right
     where it
     belongs.

by Jim Ferris, 2000

(essential truths} Question

It's not enough to learn to read.

Learn to question what you read.

Better yet, learn to question everything.

{picture perfect} Greenland

At about 38,000 feet, Heathrow to JFK.
"And from the windows on the right you see Greenland"
"No, those aren't clouds but the edge of the polar ice cap."
Copyright © 2012 Amy E.C. Brown

Two Brothers

There were two evil brothers. They were rich and used their money to keep their evil ways from public scrutiny. They even attended the same church and appeared to be perfect Christians.

Then their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could the new pastor see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true. As a result the church membership grew in numbers, and soon a fund-raising campaign was undertaken to build a new assembly.

When one of the brothers died unexpectedly, the remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building. "I have only one condition," he said. "At the funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word and deposited the check.

The next day at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on like this, he finally concluded, "but compared to his brother, he was a SAINT."

Author Unknown   

Tree

Almost every day I photograph this tree near my office window - always from the same angle, the same zoom, and about the same time of day. This is my favorite image from the past week.

TGB   

Copyright © 2012 Thomas G. Brown

To view a video set to music that contains 135 images taken over 12 months, click here.

For the 2010 collection of images, click here.
For the 2011 collection of images, click here.
For the 2012 collection of images, click here.