We know less today than we will know tomorrow, but there are never enough tomorrows to learn all we do not know today. That fact can be cause either for complaint or for celebration. It is a choice we make, based either on our outlook or on our circumstances—or both. When that boundless knowledge we pursue is sought purely for the sake of expanding knowledge and the wonder that accompanies it, we can choose to acknowledge the beauty of all we learn or we can opt, instead, to complain that we will never know all we want to know. When we are chasing knowledge to solve life or death problems—a cure for a deadly disease, for example—celebration erupts when we find it. But even dead-end explorations can bring us one step closer by reducing what we need to know to achieve our aims. Pessimism and optimism accompany us wherever we go.
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Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
~ Mahatma Gandhi ~
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Argentina and New Zealand. With a bit of Italy thrown in. And an American diversion. That describes last night’s “World Tour of Wines” dinner. Wines from all three countries were featured, along with dishes created with either Argentinian or New Zealand influences. The evening was fun, lively, and informative. Aside from enjoying the food and wine, we learned that one of the hosts of the event, a friend we have known for several years, will be signing the Star-Spangled Banner at the September 5 Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball game in Little Rock. When we learned that he would be signing, and that September 5 is his birthday (a major milestone birthday, at that), the group (six last night, but usually eight) spontaneously decided to go to the game. If all goes as we hope, we will find a limo or other group transportation option to take all eight of us there and return us after the game. None of us want to be the designated driver; hence the idea of a limo. Our friend told us he has been taking American Sign Language (ASL) classes in Little Rock for three years, simply out of interest in learning. The idea of watching a game between the Arkansas Travelers and the Amarillo Sod Poodles, as well as watching a friend sign the Star-Spangled Banner is appealing to me, even though I am not a baseball fan. I enjoyed watching a live game years ago, though; this should be fun. I hope it all pans out.
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An unknown friend delivered a gift for me before the church board meeting yesterday; it was on the board meeting conference table when I arrived. The gift included a spray bottle of cat-deterrent and a role of tape. Whoever it was knows that Phaedra’s annoying habit of clawing rugs (and leather furniture) triggers an anger response in me. Whoever you are, if you are reading this, thank you very much! You may well have saved one of this cat’s nine lives.
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Left front wheel bearings. $425, more or less, for parts and labor, plus tax. I hope yesterday’s diagnosis was correct. I’ll find out today. I questioned whether I should have the right wheel bearings replaced at the same time, since they have been in service for 113,900+ miles, the same as the left bearings. I was advised by the mechanic that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” At that price, I won’t. But if the right bearings fail in the near future, I’ll begin to have serious thoughts about whether I want to deal with an aging vehicle that may begin to experience more and more frequent needs for normal wear-and-tear maintenance. The costs of repair will not compare with the costs of a replacement vehicle, but increasing inconvenience and uncertain reliability would make replacement more attractive. We shall see.
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Knees, hips, and other body parts subject to failure may at some point become the objects of consideration for replacement. Unfortunately, unlike automobiles, today there is no option for whole-body replacement. If such an option were available, I might give it serious consideration. I would find appealing the possibility of replacing mine with the body of a healthy, well-toned, strong, and handsome 35-year-old. But I would insist on keeping the contents of my brain, though since I’m going through the process of replacement I might ask for some personality tune-ups. I’d have a checklist to give the physicians (or technicians…whoever does the work); more easy-going, more patient, more consistently generous, etc., etc.
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Last night’s dream requires some analysis. Private, personal, absolutely confidential analysis. I will document it, to the extent I can remember it, in a document I keep password protected and saved under an innocuous name that does not reveal anything of the subject of the dream. Usually, people seem not to want to hear about another person’s dreams. That is a good thing.
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It’s very, very late. After 8, now. The morning thus far has been long and convoluted. Perhaps it will smooth out from here on.
