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Quips and Quotes is designed to provide valuable insightful thoughts

The Little Train That Could

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A friend from Everglades City, Judy, posted this comment in response to my last posting about changing WTF from its use of the f-bomb to an alternative mindset, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. She stated:  A creative mindset for making a positive reversal in life’s endeavors!

After reading Judy’s comment I was encouraged to change my thoughts and behavior. It seems my mind has become scattered. My goal to write a memoir keeps slipping down the priority list. There are so many things to do. To seriously write I need a clutter free desk. I need my kitchen table to look like it is ready for a meal and not for an  array of photos to be sorted.

 I want my backyard to look more inviting with the trash can and air conditioning condenser hidden by a nice concrete wall, I want the deck in the front yard to be adorned with selected stones taken from other areas of my wooded 4  acre lot. I want to socialize with friends who are going out of their way to keep me safe to enjoy life’s little pleasures. Then, there are the daily OM lessons I subscribed to. For pete’s sake I need to take the time to learn what OM stands for. Lastly, I need to stop thinking about buying the 40  foot trimaran I have my eye on until I get more information about it.

While thinking about what to think about I went downstairs to warm up my cup of joe. Peeking out the kitchen window I saw the little wooden train my friends, Debbie and Richard, convinced me to buy for $5 at yesterday’s garage sale. Since I first read the classic book, “The Little Train That Could,” it has been a favorite. During my career as a school counselor I frequently read it to students of all ages. Now, that great symbol of encouragement sits right alongside my driveway leading to my door.

While staring at the primary colored train my mind did make a positive reversal. With a  few deep breaths I made a mental list of my priorities. First, tidy up my desk so I can spend two hours focused on writing my memoir.  Second, go outside to put more blocks on the wall. Third, experiment with a 60s hairstyle for tonight’s sock hop. Three things are plenty for one day. All else will wait until tomorrow.

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**For those interested in learning more about this classic “children’s” story, written by Watty Piper – pen name for Arnold Munk, I encourage you to do a google search. I was happy to know that “The Little Train that Could” is ranked along with Alice in Wonderland as one of the top 100 children’s stories.

 

 

 

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Hemingway’s way of writing…

According to Jeff Goin’s blog (Goinswriter.com) Hemingway once remarked on his writing process during those early days in Paris as a fledgling writer:

All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.

So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then

because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.

Isn’t there at least one true sentence you can say?

 

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Take It In

“Take it all in, it’s as big as it seems, count all your blessings and remember your dreams…” -Jimmy Buffet

This quote was e-mailed to me from my new friend and author, Laura Carter, in Navajo Ranch, Colorado.    It is  apropos because for 69 years I lived at sea level.  Now, I am living in a cozy cabin at 7000 feet above sea level. Though the air is thinner, out the window is a fourteener begging to be climbed.

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Ignorance & Arrogance

“You can’t dispel ignorance with arrogance.”

Heard on a radio news broadcast

Seems similar to the inability to teach someone who is knowledgeable…

 

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Sun never sets,,,

To say the sun never sets implies it is worldwide. Historically England had colonies around the world. Therefore it could be said “the sun never set on the British flag.

Wikipedia (September 24, 2017) states it this way:

          The sentiment expressed by these words first appeared in Christopher                                     North’s1829 work Noctes Ambrosianae. The actual words used by Christopher North were ‘His Majesty’s dominions, on which the sun never sets’ (as these words were written in 1829, the “Majesty” in question would have been King George IV).Sep 11, 2009

Geographically there are places in the world where the sun never sets. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Alaska, Iceland and Greenland experience 24 hours of sunlight for about half the year. For those not accustomed to daylight during the midnight hours it is a worthwhile experience. Rather than rise in the east and set in the west, the sun continues to move across the horizon. Definitely, it is the view that validates how the earth rotates around the sun. Or is it that the sun rotates around the earth?

 

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An Ah-ha …

Here is an idea whose time has come. It is regarding the challenge of two people deciding to share a residence. In this particular case we will describe the characters as neat freak and la-de-da. Specifically this article will discuss an idea of deciding who gets to take how much of a prized possession.

Neat freak adamantly controls the amount of space each person is allowed. The division of space is approximately a 60/40% split. La-de-da gets the extra space. When it comes to shoes, however, neat freak finds it difficult to understand why la-de-da has more than 20 pairs of shoes. As a result of three moves in two months La-De-Da is deciding which pairs to give up.

In the meantime a counter defense is needed.  When Neat Freak carries out the box of shoes words will puke out. These words might include, “You can’t take this many shoes?”, “Why do you need pink ones?” “One pair of shower shoes is all you need.”

Like I stated in the opening paragraph, the ah-ha moment had me drop one of the packing boxes. Then, hurriedly the laptop was put on the charger. This was followed with turning on the iPhone and connecting the personal hotspot in the ‘settings.’

So, here is the plan:  When Neat Freak makes a disparaging remark about the number of shoes, La-De-Da will whisper in an assertive, flirtatious tone with something like, ” Yes, there are a lot of shoes. Let’s limit the number to the same number of tools in your toolbox. Oh, yea, and about that bird you like on the kitchen table, we need to negotiate a better place. Like my dolls kept in the backroom, perhaps birdie can live in the man cave or outside on the deck or in the garden…..

Let me know what you think. 

Sassythesailor@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sailmeom.com

Found this website and believe it is worth sharing. Here is an excerpt that speaks to me. This is especially true after my soliloquy on Sea of Life Parts I and II which was posted a few minutes ago. How timely???

3) Know the difference between fear and anxiety.

After reading a really wonderful series of blog posts by a fellow sailor and therapist, I know that what I feel is actually anxiety.  Not panic-attack level, medication-necessary anxiety, just run-of-the-mill Jewish Grandma worry. Understanding more abouthow my brain works has been helpful. It hasn’t cured me,,,but perhaps reading up on how you feel can make a difference. By understanding what’s happening in your brain chemistry,You can let feelings pass through you and acknowledge them, and ultimately let them go in a moment of zen, or treat them professionally if necessary.

http://www.sailmeom.com/stories/2016/10/25/fear-anxiety-boats

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On the Sea of Life, Part II

As stated in the Sea of Life Part I blog entry, each line I read in the poem below was questioned. My brain kept repeating, ‘what if’ until it reached such a crescendo that I had to literally get out of my easy chair and write about it to help quell the voices within. Each line in the poem as it was presented are in the left column. On the right is my response as I rationalize my behavior in order to make sense out of my choices.  At the least doing so became an interesting insight into my cynicism. . . Let me know your thoughts . . .

There is so much more to life than finding someone who will want you, or being sad over someone who doesn’t What if finding someone who will want you is fulfilling? Ever watch the gleam in the eyes of people in their 70s or 80s holding hands as they stroll along?

Sadness is a normal part of rejection in our bitter sweet life. What if one allows a limited amount of time to be sad while allowing time to be happy in each day. What if I quit being sad over my husband’s death? That would be the ultimate sadness….
There is a lot of wonderful time to be spent discovering yourself without hoping someone will fall in love with you along the way What if I have spent my life discovering myself without hoping someone will fall in love with me along the way, but what if my being is overwhelmed with the quest to taste love’s lasting pleasure?
And it doesn’t need to be painful or empty What if we need pain to feel relief?
You need to fill yourself up with love What if it gets tiring? What if a message from a friend adds to fulfillment?
Not anyone else What if others want to add love to your life?
Become a whole being on your own What if you are a whole being? What if being whole needs defining?
Go on adventures What if my adult life has been an adventure? Buying my own sailboat, teaching myself how to sail, sailing solo from Bermuda to Florida? These are not adventures,,,, surfing in Jeffreys Baai, trekking the Lares Valley
Fall asleep in the woods with friends What if I have slept in the woods with friends and along?
Wander around the city at night What if I spent more nights I can remember or count wandering the streets of New York City? It doesn’t get more citied than New York…
Sit in a coffee shop on your own What if I spent many a morning or mid day sitting in a coffee shop alone? What if I told you at age 21 I did so in the French Quarter? Just sipping a latte watching others come and go?
Write on bathroom stalls Yea, what if I told you I have written on walls around the world?
Leave notes in library books What if I have written and continue to leave notes in books I read, whether in the library or in a campground, marina book swap.
Dress up for yourself What if I took a pix of myself wearing my brand new size 27 stretch skinny jeans, that I proudly sasshaed around in, and didn’t need a complement to stick my chin up, and boobs out, cause I knew I looked good!
Give to others What if I continually donate time and money to others?
Smile a lot What if I smile most of the day? Even when I was at Linda’s I practiced the wonderful mantra she shared with me, “chin up, boobs out, smile, smile, smile.
Do all things with love What if I believe I do all things with love? I avoid judgement… I respond
Don’t romanticize life like you can’t survive without love What if romanticizing just comes into my brain? I can survive, I will survive, that is not an issue. What if I choose to survive with a mate with whom there is mutual love?
Live for yourself What if living for myself is the only way I can live? Indeed I firmly believe everyone does. Even Mother Theresa lived for herself; her way of living for herself meant helping the poor, indigant and ill.
Be happy on your own What if I can be happy on my own but the daunting ‘work’ to live on my own is eased with the loving companionship of a mate
It isn’t less beautiful, Promise What if beauty is in the eye of the beholder

 

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“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”     Antoine de Saint-Exupery (taken from Ellen MacArthur’s book, ‘Full Circle’)

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