"If your energy is as boundless as your ambition, total commitment may be a way of life you should seriously consider." Dr. Joyce Brothers
"I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile." Walter Chrysler
"I can think of nothing more boring for the American people than to have to sit in their living rooms for a whole half hour looking at my face on their television screens." Dwight D. Eisenhower
"I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top." An English Professor, Ohio University
"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." Jack London
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." George Bernard Shaw
"No matter how small, acknowledge the achievement." Greg Henry Quinn
"A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts." Colette
"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you." Rita Mae Brown
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive." Thomas Jefferson
"If I feel depressed I will sing. If I feel sad I will laugh. If I feel ill I will double my labor. If I feel fear I will plunge ahead. If I feel inferior I will wear new garments. If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice. If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come. If I feel incompetent I will think of past success. If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals. Today I will be the master of my emotions." Og Mandino
"Don't complain because you don't have. Enjoy what you've got." H. Stanley Judd
"There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government." Benjamin Franklin
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it." Upton Sinclair
"Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane." Philip K. Dick, Valis
"Never answer a critic, unless he's right." Bernard M. Baruch
"New York now leads the world's great cities in the number of people around whom you shouldn't make a sudden move." David Letterman
"Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors." Francois de La Rochefoucauld
"Somebody is always doing what somebody else said couldn't be done." Author Unknown
"I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents." Sir Winston Churchill
"One has a greater sense of intellectual degradation after an interview with a doctor than from any human experience." Alice James
"In politics, absurdity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte
"Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it." Kathleen Casey Theisen
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." Mark Twain
"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." Peter Steiner, cartoon in The New Yorker, July 5, 1993
"Do each daily task the best we can; act as though the eye of opportunity were always upon us." William Feather
"Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man doesn't have to experience it." Max Frisch
"The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever." Anatole France
"All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you." Rainer Maria Rilke
"All the President is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway." Harry S Truman, Letter to his sister, Nov. 14, 1947
"Patriotism is the conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it." George Bernard Shaw
"You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." Will Rogers, New York Times Aug. 31 1924
"Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats." Howard Aiken
"Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom." Soren Kierkegaard
"When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken." Benjamin Disraeli
"Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good." Thomas Sowell, Is Reality Optional?, 1993
"An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows." Dwight D. Eisenhower
"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." P. J. O'Rourke
"Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made." Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism
"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Love thy neighbour as yourself, but choose your neighbourhood." Louise Beal
"Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world." Lily Tomlin
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear." Mark Twain
"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." Adlai E. Stevenson Jr., Speech in Detroit, 7 Oct. 1952
"Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter because nobody listens." Nick Diamos
"You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning." Billy Wilder
"Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters." Margaret Halsey
"It is fun to be in the same decade with you." Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a letter to Winston Churchill
"If only every man would make proper use of his strength and do his utmost, he needs never regret his limited ability." Marcus T. Cicero
"We've got to have a dream if we are going to make a dream come true." Denis Waitley
"No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined." Harry Emerson Fosdick
"I have too much respect for the idea of God to make it responsible for such an absurd world." Georges Duhamel
"Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves." Gene Fowler
"A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to." Granville Hicks
"I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs." Samuel Goldwyn
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
For good Southerners..
This Proud Georgian Thinks Pledge of Allegiance To State Is A Great IdeaBy Dick Yarbrough
(2/28/07) I must confess that there have been days when I wasn't sure if Rep. Bobby Franklin's elevator stopped on every floor. The Cobb County Republican can think up some pretty goofy stuff — even for a member of the Georgia General Assembly — that makes you wonder if he needs a day job or if he is just pulling our leg. Last year Franklin's claim to fame was his valiant effort to have red clay declared Georgia's "official dirt." Sadly, the measure failed, and we are all dirt poorer for that.
However, I rise proudly to his defense today. Franklin is taking a lot of ribbing from his colleagues in the Legislature for pledging allegiance to Georgia every morning before getting down to the serious business of trying to decide whether the state's official pest should be the deer fly or Jimmy Carter. Franklin says, "I'm a proud Georgian, and it's just the right thing to do." He'll get no argument from me.
The Georgia pledge, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1935, goes as follows: "I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the principles for which it stands: Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation." It was written by Eugenia Sexta Eavenson Strickland, born in Elbert County and buried in Hart County. According to her biography, she was a pretty important person in her day — hence, all the extra names. (Note to the New Georgia Encyclopedia folks at UGA: Ms. Strickland gets no mention in the encyclopedia. That doesn't seem right. After all, she did compose the Pledge of Allegiance to Georgia. In order to get any information about her, I had to Google the lady. I don't think a woman of her stature should be Googled. It's not very dignified.)
If I have any criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance to Georgia, it is too short. Granted, Ms. Strickland was well-intentioned, but she left out a lot of stuff that should have been included. After the part about Wisdom, Justice and Moderation, I would suggest this addition: "I pledge that I will honor the Sweet Vidalia Onion, eat only Georgia peaches, pecans and barbecue, and that I will never put sugar on my grits or let sushi touch my lips. I further pledge that I will always be in awe of living in a state with beautiful mountains in the north and pristine beaches in the south, and will forever wonder why God blessed us above all others. I pledge also that when I die, if I can't go to heaven, I will gladly accept an eternity of warm autumn Saturday afternoons in Sanford Stadium, on the campus of the University of Georgia, the oldest state-chartered university in the nation, located in Athens, the Classic City of the South. Amen and amen." That should just about cover it.
My other quibble with the Georgia Pledge of Allegiance is that anybody can say it and not mean it. What is to keep some Yankee from taking the pledge but snickering under his breath at us because of the way we talk? Once Rep. Franklin gets the red clay matter handled, I would urge him to make the pledge some kind of loyalty test for people moving here. First, there will be no Spanish version. If you can't say it in English, you ought not to be here. Assuming you are here legally — a big assumption — all new residents would be required to recite the following: "As a transplant from (State), I pledge not to talk loud and act like an expert on everything. I pledge not to butter my sandwich bread, talk about the War Between the States or eat rutabagas. If I do not honor this pledge, I agree to be sent back to (State), where it snows ten months a year and all of the factories are rusted."
Living in the Great State of Georgia is a high privilege and honor, and asking us to swear allegiance to the state doesn't seem too much to ask. So what if we don't have an official dirt?
That's just God's way of keeping us humble. Amen and amen.
(2/28/07) I must confess that there have been days when I wasn't sure if Rep. Bobby Franklin's elevator stopped on every floor. The Cobb County Republican can think up some pretty goofy stuff — even for a member of the Georgia General Assembly — that makes you wonder if he needs a day job or if he is just pulling our leg. Last year Franklin's claim to fame was his valiant effort to have red clay declared Georgia's "official dirt." Sadly, the measure failed, and we are all dirt poorer for that.
However, I rise proudly to his defense today. Franklin is taking a lot of ribbing from his colleagues in the Legislature for pledging allegiance to Georgia every morning before getting down to the serious business of trying to decide whether the state's official pest should be the deer fly or Jimmy Carter. Franklin says, "I'm a proud Georgian, and it's just the right thing to do." He'll get no argument from me.
The Georgia pledge, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1935, goes as follows: "I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the principles for which it stands: Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation." It was written by Eugenia Sexta Eavenson Strickland, born in Elbert County and buried in Hart County. According to her biography, she was a pretty important person in her day — hence, all the extra names. (Note to the New Georgia Encyclopedia folks at UGA: Ms. Strickland gets no mention in the encyclopedia. That doesn't seem right. After all, she did compose the Pledge of Allegiance to Georgia. In order to get any information about her, I had to Google the lady. I don't think a woman of her stature should be Googled. It's not very dignified.)
If I have any criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance to Georgia, it is too short. Granted, Ms. Strickland was well-intentioned, but she left out a lot of stuff that should have been included. After the part about Wisdom, Justice and Moderation, I would suggest this addition: "I pledge that I will honor the Sweet Vidalia Onion, eat only Georgia peaches, pecans and barbecue, and that I will never put sugar on my grits or let sushi touch my lips. I further pledge that I will always be in awe of living in a state with beautiful mountains in the north and pristine beaches in the south, and will forever wonder why God blessed us above all others. I pledge also that when I die, if I can't go to heaven, I will gladly accept an eternity of warm autumn Saturday afternoons in Sanford Stadium, on the campus of the University of Georgia, the oldest state-chartered university in the nation, located in Athens, the Classic City of the South. Amen and amen." That should just about cover it.
My other quibble with the Georgia Pledge of Allegiance is that anybody can say it and not mean it. What is to keep some Yankee from taking the pledge but snickering under his breath at us because of the way we talk? Once Rep. Franklin gets the red clay matter handled, I would urge him to make the pledge some kind of loyalty test for people moving here. First, there will be no Spanish version. If you can't say it in English, you ought not to be here. Assuming you are here legally — a big assumption — all new residents would be required to recite the following: "As a transplant from (State), I pledge not to talk loud and act like an expert on everything. I pledge not to butter my sandwich bread, talk about the War Between the States or eat rutabagas. If I do not honor this pledge, I agree to be sent back to (State), where it snows ten months a year and all of the factories are rusted."
Living in the Great State of Georgia is a high privilege and honor, and asking us to swear allegiance to the state doesn't seem too much to ask. So what if we don't have an official dirt?
That's just God's way of keeping us humble. Amen and amen.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Quotes for February
"Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog; fewer when pursued by a mad woman; only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion." Robertson Davies
"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." Edward Abbey
"Everyone rises to their level of incompetence." Laurence J. Peter, "The Peter Principle"
"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." George Bernard Shaw
"Quit worrying about your health. It'll go away." Robert Orben
"Too much consistency is as bad for the mind as for the body." Aldous Huxley
"You're never too old to become younger." Mae West
"A cult is a religion with no political power." Tom Wolfe
"They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse." Emily Dickinson
"No good deed goes unpunished." Clare Booth Luce
"It is bad luck to be superstitious." Andrew W. Mathis
"Anger is the feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind." Evan Esar
"Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people." Kin Hubbard
"If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done." Peter Ustinov
"Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars." Fred Allen
"Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf." Lewis Mumford
"Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing." Wernher von Braun
"Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work." Robert Orben
"The power of hiding ourselves from one another is mercifully given, for men are wild beasts, and would devour one another but for this protection. " Henry Ward Beecher, "Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit", 1887
"Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others." Samuel Johnson
"No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other." Jascha Heifetz
"Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm." John F. Kennedy
"Ours is the age that is proud of machines that think and suspicious of men who try to." H. Mumford Jones
"Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be." Jim Horning
"A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not be endured with patient resignation." Bertrand Russell, Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 10
"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand." Mark Twain
"Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet." Mae West
"Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it." Anthony J. D'Angelo
"Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." George Bernard Shaw
"Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one." Bill Bradley
"I detest life-insurance agents; they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so." Stephen Leacock
"Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance." William Shakespeare
"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible." Albert Einstein
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." Abraham Lincoln
"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress." John Adams
"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." Friedrich Nietzsche
"Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!" Henry David Thoreau
"I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back." Henny Youngman
"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." Vince Lombardi
"Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense." Carl Sagan
"Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man." J. Robert Oppenheimer, speaking of Albert Einstein
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." Oscar Wilde
"Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows." David T. Wolf
"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." Ronald Reagan
"Your ability to communicate is an important tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients and customers." Les Brown
"Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone." Hodding Carter
"The nice thing about being a celebrity is that when you bore people, they think it's their fault." Henry Kissinger
"If you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me." Alice Roosevelt Longworth
"To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend." Jacques Derrida
"Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life." Herbert Henry Asquith
"The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher." Thomas Huxley
"Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles." Pat Paulsen
"The great thing about television is that if something important happens anywhere in the world, day or night, you can always change the channel." From "Taxi"
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." E. F. Schumacher
"When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest." William Hazlitt
"Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth." Rex Stout
"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function." Unknown
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle
"Adventure is just bad planning." Roald Amundsen
"It's not living alone if you keep a rifle under the bed." Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters, 1999
"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." Franklin P. Jones
"Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it's worse when they are wearing dark glasses and have streamers in their antlers because then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot." Ellen DeGeneres
"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." Edward Abbey
"Everyone rises to their level of incompetence." Laurence J. Peter, "The Peter Principle"
"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." George Bernard Shaw
"Quit worrying about your health. It'll go away." Robert Orben
"Too much consistency is as bad for the mind as for the body." Aldous Huxley
"You're never too old to become younger." Mae West
"A cult is a religion with no political power." Tom Wolfe
"They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse." Emily Dickinson
"No good deed goes unpunished." Clare Booth Luce
"It is bad luck to be superstitious." Andrew W. Mathis
"Anger is the feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind." Evan Esar
"Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people." Kin Hubbard
"If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done." Peter Ustinov
"Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars." Fred Allen
"Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf." Lewis Mumford
"Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing." Wernher von Braun
"Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work." Robert Orben
"The power of hiding ourselves from one another is mercifully given, for men are wild beasts, and would devour one another but for this protection. " Henry Ward Beecher, "Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit", 1887
"Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others." Samuel Johnson
"No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other." Jascha Heifetz
"Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm." John F. Kennedy
"Ours is the age that is proud of machines that think and suspicious of men who try to." H. Mumford Jones
"Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be." Jim Horning
"A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not be endured with patient resignation." Bertrand Russell, Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 10
"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand." Mark Twain
"Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet." Mae West
"Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it." Anthony J. D'Angelo
"Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." George Bernard Shaw
"Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one." Bill Bradley
"I detest life-insurance agents; they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so." Stephen Leacock
"Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance." William Shakespeare
"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible." Albert Einstein
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." Abraham Lincoln
"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress." John Adams
"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." Friedrich Nietzsche
"Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!" Henry David Thoreau
"I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back." Henny Youngman
"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." Vince Lombardi
"Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense." Carl Sagan
"Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man." J. Robert Oppenheimer, speaking of Albert Einstein
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." Oscar Wilde
"Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows." David T. Wolf
"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." Ronald Reagan
"Your ability to communicate is an important tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients and customers." Les Brown
"Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone." Hodding Carter
"The nice thing about being a celebrity is that when you bore people, they think it's their fault." Henry Kissinger
"If you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me." Alice Roosevelt Longworth
"To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend." Jacques Derrida
"Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life." Herbert Henry Asquith
"The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher." Thomas Huxley
"Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles." Pat Paulsen
"The great thing about television is that if something important happens anywhere in the world, day or night, you can always change the channel." From "Taxi"
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." E. F. Schumacher
"When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest." William Hazlitt
"Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth." Rex Stout
"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function." Unknown
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle
"Adventure is just bad planning." Roald Amundsen
"It's not living alone if you keep a rifle under the bed." Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters, 1999
"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance." Franklin P. Jones
"Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it's worse when they are wearing dark glasses and have streamers in their antlers because then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot." Ellen DeGeneres
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Quotes for January
"Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things." Robert Louis Stevenson
"If you're going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill
"Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps." Chinese Proverb
"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history." Dan Quayle
"No one ever went broke by saying no too often." Harvey MacKay
"It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative." John Burroughs
"Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him." James Allen
"Nothing changes your opinion of a friend so surely as success - yours or his." Franklin P. Jones
"The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity." Francis Maitland Balfour
"The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced." Frank Zappa
"I have only one superstition. I touch all the bases when I hit a home run." Babe Ruth
"It is not by the gray of the hair that one knows the age of the heart." Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
"We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine." H. L. Mencken
"Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." Otto von Bismarck
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle
"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." Will Rogers
"Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem." Henry Kissinger
"Life is just one damned thing after another." Elbert Hubbard
"I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down." Mitch Hedberg
"Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." Edwin Hubbel Chapin
"Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four." Katharine Hepburn
"It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously." Peter Ustinov
"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less." Rabbi Julius Gordon
"No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living." Marie Beynon Ray
"As a rule, adversity reveals genius and prosperity hides it." Horace
"Do every act of your life as if it were your last." Marcus Aurelius
"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art." Tom Stoppard
"It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power." David Brin
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Aldous Huxley
"An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist waits to make sure the old one leaves." Bill Vaughan
"A word of appreciation often can accomplish what nothing else could accomplish." B.C. Forbes
"I'm just a person trapped inside a woman's body." Elayne Boosler
"The National Rifle Association says, 'Gun's don't kill people. People do'. But I think the gun helps." Eddie Izzard
"Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise." Bertrand Russell
"These days an income is something you can't live without--or within." Tom Wilson
"Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either." Gore Vidal
"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable." Oscar Wilde
"We do what we must, and call it by the best names." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Be not deceived with the first appearance of things, for show is not substance." English Proverb
"Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom, they will discover your ignorance." Saadi
"Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind." Robert Green Ingersoll
"If you're going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill
"Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps." Chinese Proverb
"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history." Dan Quayle
"No one ever went broke by saying no too often." Harvey MacKay
"It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative." John Burroughs
"Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him." James Allen
"Nothing changes your opinion of a friend so surely as success - yours or his." Franklin P. Jones
"The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity." Francis Maitland Balfour
"The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced." Frank Zappa
"I have only one superstition. I touch all the bases when I hit a home run." Babe Ruth
"It is not by the gray of the hair that one knows the age of the heart." Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
"We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine." H. L. Mencken
"Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." Otto von Bismarck
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle
"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." Will Rogers
"Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem." Henry Kissinger
"Life is just one damned thing after another." Elbert Hubbard
"I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down." Mitch Hedberg
"Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." Edwin Hubbel Chapin
"Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four." Katharine Hepburn
"It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously." Peter Ustinov
"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less." Rabbi Julius Gordon
"No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living." Marie Beynon Ray
"As a rule, adversity reveals genius and prosperity hides it." Horace
"Do every act of your life as if it were your last." Marcus Aurelius
"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art." Tom Stoppard
"It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power." David Brin
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Aldous Huxley
"An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist waits to make sure the old one leaves." Bill Vaughan
"A word of appreciation often can accomplish what nothing else could accomplish." B.C. Forbes
"I'm just a person trapped inside a woman's body." Elayne Boosler
"The National Rifle Association says, 'Gun's don't kill people. People do'. But I think the gun helps." Eddie Izzard
"Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise." Bertrand Russell
"These days an income is something you can't live without--or within." Tom Wilson
"Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either." Gore Vidal
"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable." Oscar Wilde
"We do what we must, and call it by the best names." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Be not deceived with the first appearance of things, for show is not substance." English Proverb
"Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom, they will discover your ignorance." Saadi
"Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind." Robert Green Ingersoll
Friday, January 19, 2007
I <3 Jack Kingston
Georgia congressman opposes pro-Gators resolution
ESPN.com
Congressman Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) rarely goes against GOP opinion in key votes on Capitol Hill. But on Tuesday, the eight-term Congressman really found himself in the minority.
Kingston, who has represented District 1 in southeast Georgia since 1993, was the only member of Congress to oppose House Resolution 39, which commended "the University of Florida Gators for their victory in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and for winning the national college football championship."
His reason? Kingston grew up in Athens, Ga., home of the University of Georgia, his alma mater and one of the Gators' fiercest rivals. Kingston still lives in Savannah, Ga., and flies to Washington weekly.
"Any time you can see Ohio State lose, it's a good day," said Kingston, who also attended Michigan State for two years. "However, there's just so far you can go. The Bulldog tendency in me hit and I had to vote no in a good, friendly rivalry."
The House resolution passed by a vote of 414-1. Eight other congressmen from Georgia voted yes, two voted present and two others didn't vote at all. The resolution was sponsored by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and 19 other representatives from Florida.
The Gators defeated unbeaten and then-No. 1 Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS title game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., to win the school's second national championship in football. The Gators also won a national championship in men's basketball last season, becoming the first Division I-A school to hold both titles concurrently.
"I supported Florida in the game and wanted them to win and win big," Kingston told ESPN.com Thursday. "I'm obviously going to be partial to the SEC."
Such resolutions typically pass unanimously in Congress. For example, House Resolution 43, which commended "the Boise State University Broncos football team for winning the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and completing an undefeated season," passed by a vote of 415-0 on Tuesday.
ESPN.com
Congressman Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) rarely goes against GOP opinion in key votes on Capitol Hill. But on Tuesday, the eight-term Congressman really found himself in the minority.
Kingston, who has represented District 1 in southeast Georgia since 1993, was the only member of Congress to oppose House Resolution 39, which commended "the University of Florida Gators for their victory in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and for winning the national college football championship."
His reason? Kingston grew up in Athens, Ga., home of the University of Georgia, his alma mater and one of the Gators' fiercest rivals. Kingston still lives in Savannah, Ga., and flies to Washington weekly.
"Any time you can see Ohio State lose, it's a good day," said Kingston, who also attended Michigan State for two years. "However, there's just so far you can go. The Bulldog tendency in me hit and I had to vote no in a good, friendly rivalry."
The House resolution passed by a vote of 414-1. Eight other congressmen from Georgia voted yes, two voted present and two others didn't vote at all. The resolution was sponsored by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and 19 other representatives from Florida.
The Gators defeated unbeaten and then-No. 1 Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS title game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., to win the school's second national championship in football. The Gators also won a national championship in men's basketball last season, becoming the first Division I-A school to hold both titles concurrently.
"I supported Florida in the game and wanted them to win and win big," Kingston told ESPN.com Thursday. "I'm obviously going to be partial to the SEC."
Such resolutions typically pass unanimously in Congress. For example, House Resolution 43, which commended "the Boise State University Broncos football team for winning the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and completing an undefeated season," passed by a vote of 415-0 on Tuesday.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Quotes for December
"If there is something to gain and nothing to lose by asking, by all means ask!" W. Clement Stone
" If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges." Pat Riley
"The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention." Richard Moss
"Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half-sorrow." Swedish Proverb
"The human mind can bear plenty of reality, but not too much of intermittent gloom." Margaret Drabble
"Sometimes I found that in my happy moments I could not believe that I had ever been miserable." Joanna Field
"Not what we have, but what we use, not what we see, but what we choose -- these are the things that mar or bless human happiness." Joseph Fort Newton
"The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another's keeping." Claudius Claudianus
"Naturalness is the easiest thing in the world to acquire, if you will forget yourself -- forget about the impression you are trying to make." Dale Carnegie
"Appreciate life instead of resisting it." Judy Tatelbaum
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes
"Always keep your composure. You can't score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score." Bobby Hull
"Better a friendly refusal than an unwilling consent." Spanish Proverb
"If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer." St. John Chrysostom
"A graceful and honorable old age is the childhood of immortality." Pindar
"It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them." George Eliot
"Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." St. Francis De Sales
"A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind." John Neal
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein
"The reason why so little is done, is generally because so little is attempted." Samuel Smiles
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." Jawaharlal Nehru
"A stumble may prevent a fall." English Proverb
"As soon as we attract enough attention in the world to play a part in it, we are set rolling like a ball which will never again be at rest." Charles Joseph
"Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else." Ivern Ball
"Only one thing registers on the subconscious mind: repetitive application -- practice. What you practice is what you manifest." Grace Speare
"Don't be afraid of showing affection. Be warm and tender, thoughtful and affectionate. Men are more helped by sympathy than by service. Love is more than money, and a kind word will give more pleasure than a present." Sir John Lubbock
"I have long been of the opinion that if work were such a splendid thing the rich would have kept more of it for themselves." Bruce Grocott
"Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment." Marcus Annaeus Seneca
"When facing impossible conditions, sometimes it is in your best interests to retreat." Confucius
"Most people have seen worse things in private than they pretend to be shocked at in public." Edgar Watson Howe
"There is no nonsense so gross that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine of it and defend it with every weapon of communal stupidity." Robertson Davies
"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools." Herbert Spencer
"He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. There nearly always is method in madness. It's what drives men mad, being methodical." G. K. Chesterton
"Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he's talking about." Sam Ewing
"It is a common delusion that you make things better by talking about them." Dame Rose Macaulay
"Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority." Thomas H. Huxley
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." John Wooden
"With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another."Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
"Never go out to meet trouble. If you will just sit still, nine cases out of ten someone will intercept it before it reaches you." Calvin Coolidge
"When it comes time to do your own life, you either perpetuate your childhood or you stand on it and finally kick it out from under." Rosellen Brown
" If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges." Pat Riley
"The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention." Richard Moss
"Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half-sorrow." Swedish Proverb
"The human mind can bear plenty of reality, but not too much of intermittent gloom." Margaret Drabble
"Sometimes I found that in my happy moments I could not believe that I had ever been miserable." Joanna Field
"Not what we have, but what we use, not what we see, but what we choose -- these are the things that mar or bless human happiness." Joseph Fort Newton
"The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another's keeping." Claudius Claudianus
"Naturalness is the easiest thing in the world to acquire, if you will forget yourself -- forget about the impression you are trying to make." Dale Carnegie
"Appreciate life instead of resisting it." Judy Tatelbaum
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes
"Always keep your composure. You can't score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score." Bobby Hull
"Better a friendly refusal than an unwilling consent." Spanish Proverb
"If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer." St. John Chrysostom
"A graceful and honorable old age is the childhood of immortality." Pindar
"It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them." George Eliot
"Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." St. Francis De Sales
"A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind." John Neal
"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein
"The reason why so little is done, is generally because so little is attempted." Samuel Smiles
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." Jawaharlal Nehru
"A stumble may prevent a fall." English Proverb
"As soon as we attract enough attention in the world to play a part in it, we are set rolling like a ball which will never again be at rest." Charles Joseph
"Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else." Ivern Ball
"Only one thing registers on the subconscious mind: repetitive application -- practice. What you practice is what you manifest." Grace Speare
"Don't be afraid of showing affection. Be warm and tender, thoughtful and affectionate. Men are more helped by sympathy than by service. Love is more than money, and a kind word will give more pleasure than a present." Sir John Lubbock
"I have long been of the opinion that if work were such a splendid thing the rich would have kept more of it for themselves." Bruce Grocott
"Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment." Marcus Annaeus Seneca
"When facing impossible conditions, sometimes it is in your best interests to retreat." Confucius
"Most people have seen worse things in private than they pretend to be shocked at in public." Edgar Watson Howe
"There is no nonsense so gross that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine of it and defend it with every weapon of communal stupidity." Robertson Davies
"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools." Herbert Spencer
"He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. There nearly always is method in madness. It's what drives men mad, being methodical." G. K. Chesterton
"Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he's talking about." Sam Ewing
"It is a common delusion that you make things better by talking about them." Dame Rose Macaulay
"Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority." Thomas H. Huxley
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." John Wooden
"With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another."Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
"Never go out to meet trouble. If you will just sit still, nine cases out of ten someone will intercept it before it reaches you." Calvin Coolidge
"When it comes time to do your own life, you either perpetuate your childhood or you stand on it and finally kick it out from under." Rosellen Brown
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
I'm thankful for...
I know the Pilgrims started Thanksgiving long before our lives got too busy. But since the Mayflower landed, Americans (myself included) have become far too busy and self-absorbed to really sit down and be thankful for all of our blessings. So, in the spirit of my favorite holiday, I'm taking a minute to reflect on my wonderful, blessed life and be truly thankful.
I am thankful for:
My wonderfully dysfunctional family. After everything we've been through, I have 4 people who will let me scream, rant, cry, screw up, and laugh. I also look genuinely forward to being there to reciprocate. That doesn't mean we're perfect, but I'm very thankful we aren't.
Tay and Reed, I'm really proud of y'all.
Mom, thanks for showing me how to be a strong woman who can stand up for herself and bring so much joy to others just by her presence, even if it's in passing.
Friends that:
Make me laugh
Understand how I think and how to cheer me up
Call me or e-mail me to see how I am, even if we don't really stay in touch
I can carry on a conversation with for hours
Try and try again to get together when we know our schedules are too busy to allow it
Let me call them at wildly inappropriate hours for any reason, whether I'm happy, upset or drunk (or all at once)
Will drink with me when I need a drinking buddy
Do something I want to do even though I know they don't want to
Listen to political war stories although I know they don't care
Know the political war stories so we can laugh about them together
Vote because I ask them to
Appreciate my sense of humor, which ranges from illogical to downright vulgar
Take me to their bar
I've known for a while and we've just recently become close again
Let me sing in the car, crash at their house, date their friends (even if they foresee the train wreck), tell me it's a bad idea but don't hold it against me when I do it anyway
I wouldn't hang out with normally but, because I have, they broaden my horizons
Drive aimlessly around or sit on the couch because we want to spend time together but there's nothing else to do
Have ever used the excuse "Whitney's mom has cancer" to get out of something
Let me talk about anything, from complaining about boys or work, to telling them what happened last night even though it's WAY too much information
Buy me flowers because I cried
Still send me thank you cards
Make me sit in the emergency room with them
Talk baseball with me
Watch Mel Brooks movies
Have the same "What are we doing next?" conversation 30 times over
Will tell me I'm immature, unnecessarily confrontational, and short
Cuddle with me and watch movies
Change my flat tire in Buckhead
Like my crazy music
Tell me I'm making bad decisionsT
ell me when they're proud of me
Know the stories from high school or middle school
Share my crappy choices in TV
Don't mind me being an elitist
*I really want to put some of the things that were funny over the last election cycle here. Inevitably, they would hurt someone's feelings, but we all know that's what made them funny. I'll refrain, in a show of self-control that we all know I don't really possess. *
Friends like: Molly, Taylor, Ricky, my big brother Chris, Marty (sorry about Mexico and the Civil War), Michael, Adam, Justin, Heather (and her beautiful baby girl who I can't wait to meet), Byron, Derrick, Patrick, Tom Dodd, Goodies, Amelia, Wylly.. all my angels.
That I had the opportunity to work for someone I believed in and with people I loved for a year. Not everyone gets that opportunity. I'll be the first to admit we got our asses' kicked. But, the cards were stacked against us, and Gary's proud of us. That's all I need.
That I get the new opportunity to work for someone who is going to do amazing things for Georgia.
Georgia small towns because they're all crazy in a unique way. (By the way, a good rule of thumb when traveling: A Georgia city is rarely pronounced the way you think.)
Georgia and US politics, and the grace and wisdom of our leaders.
The American political system, because (let's face it) not all of our leaders have grace or wisdom, and they all have the potential to screw up drastically. Even Republicans.
The men and women in uniform who put their lives on hold to keep us safe. Especially my soldiers, Tommy, Mike, Cory, and Josh.
Breast cancer research that helped my mom and so many other wonderful, strong women survive and that other women won't have to fight. Also, The Susan G. Komen foundation and others who work to make sure the research is fully funded.
Warm weather in November.
Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Richard Bach's Illusions.
The artists that satiate my need for music that no one else listens to.
Baseball season and Brian McCann.
Men that play guitar, drink, are protective, wear cowboy hats, look great in suits, are respectful, take out my earrings when I'm drunk, have a sense of direction (literally and figuratively), are successful, make me laugh, let me act silly and reciprocate, cuddle, know how to be proud of a woman for more than her looks but show her off just the same, and don't subscribe to the Elementary School Teacher Theory. No, they don't need to possess all of these traits; a few will do just fine.
That my heart was good and shattered once and I still survived.
Chocolate cake, red wine, the trip I'm planning to Italy, Georgia back roads, sushi, Harry Potter movies, random drunk boys in bars that give me something to talk about for weeks, strong and fruity drinks, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, insightful quotes, Sunday morning news shows, the Varsity (my hang-over cure), AIM (so I have other people to talk to when I'm bored), Shakespeare Tavern, the Georgia Aquarium, the Kangaroo farm (I still haven't been yet), awkward conversations and situations that are funny later, the humor that comes from people watching and being easily amused, and the million other small things that get me through the day.
The health, well-being, and sense of humor possessed by all of my friends.
Considering I've edited this several times, I'm thankful for all the people and things I've forgotten still.
Finally, and most importantly, a Savior who has given me so much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for:
My wonderfully dysfunctional family. After everything we've been through, I have 4 people who will let me scream, rant, cry, screw up, and laugh. I also look genuinely forward to being there to reciprocate. That doesn't mean we're perfect, but I'm very thankful we aren't.
Tay and Reed, I'm really proud of y'all.
Mom, thanks for showing me how to be a strong woman who can stand up for herself and bring so much joy to others just by her presence, even if it's in passing.
Friends that:
Make me laugh
Understand how I think and how to cheer me up
Call me or e-mail me to see how I am, even if we don't really stay in touch
I can carry on a conversation with for hours
Try and try again to get together when we know our schedules are too busy to allow it
Let me call them at wildly inappropriate hours for any reason, whether I'm happy, upset or drunk (or all at once)
Will drink with me when I need a drinking buddy
Do something I want to do even though I know they don't want to
Listen to political war stories although I know they don't care
Know the political war stories so we can laugh about them together
Vote because I ask them to
Appreciate my sense of humor, which ranges from illogical to downright vulgar
Take me to their bar
I've known for a while and we've just recently become close again
Let me sing in the car, crash at their house, date their friends (even if they foresee the train wreck), tell me it's a bad idea but don't hold it against me when I do it anyway
I wouldn't hang out with normally but, because I have, they broaden my horizons
Drive aimlessly around or sit on the couch because we want to spend time together but there's nothing else to do
Have ever used the excuse "Whitney's mom has cancer" to get out of something
Let me talk about anything, from complaining about boys or work, to telling them what happened last night even though it's WAY too much information
Buy me flowers because I cried
Still send me thank you cards
Make me sit in the emergency room with them
Talk baseball with me
Watch Mel Brooks movies
Have the same "What are we doing next?" conversation 30 times over
Will tell me I'm immature, unnecessarily confrontational, and short
Cuddle with me and watch movies
Change my flat tire in Buckhead
Like my crazy music
Tell me I'm making bad decisionsT
ell me when they're proud of me
Know the stories from high school or middle school
Share my crappy choices in TV
Don't mind me being an elitist
*I really want to put some of the things that were funny over the last election cycle here. Inevitably, they would hurt someone's feelings, but we all know that's what made them funny. I'll refrain, in a show of self-control that we all know I don't really possess. *
Friends like: Molly, Taylor, Ricky, my big brother Chris, Marty (sorry about Mexico and the Civil War), Michael, Adam, Justin, Heather (and her beautiful baby girl who I can't wait to meet), Byron, Derrick, Patrick, Tom Dodd, Goodies, Amelia, Wylly.. all my angels.
That I had the opportunity to work for someone I believed in and with people I loved for a year. Not everyone gets that opportunity. I'll be the first to admit we got our asses' kicked. But, the cards were stacked against us, and Gary's proud of us. That's all I need.
That I get the new opportunity to work for someone who is going to do amazing things for Georgia.
Georgia small towns because they're all crazy in a unique way. (By the way, a good rule of thumb when traveling: A Georgia city is rarely pronounced the way you think.)
Georgia and US politics, and the grace and wisdom of our leaders.
The American political system, because (let's face it) not all of our leaders have grace or wisdom, and they all have the potential to screw up drastically. Even Republicans.
The men and women in uniform who put their lives on hold to keep us safe. Especially my soldiers, Tommy, Mike, Cory, and Josh.
Breast cancer research that helped my mom and so many other wonderful, strong women survive and that other women won't have to fight. Also, The Susan G. Komen foundation and others who work to make sure the research is fully funded.
Warm weather in November.
Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Richard Bach's Illusions.
The artists that satiate my need for music that no one else listens to.
Baseball season and Brian McCann.
Men that play guitar, drink, are protective, wear cowboy hats, look great in suits, are respectful, take out my earrings when I'm drunk, have a sense of direction (literally and figuratively), are successful, make me laugh, let me act silly and reciprocate, cuddle, know how to be proud of a woman for more than her looks but show her off just the same, and don't subscribe to the Elementary School Teacher Theory. No, they don't need to possess all of these traits; a few will do just fine.
That my heart was good and shattered once and I still survived.
Chocolate cake, red wine, the trip I'm planning to Italy, Georgia back roads, sushi, Harry Potter movies, random drunk boys in bars that give me something to talk about for weeks, strong and fruity drinks, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, insightful quotes, Sunday morning news shows, the Varsity (my hang-over cure), AIM (so I have other people to talk to when I'm bored), Shakespeare Tavern, the Georgia Aquarium, the Kangaroo farm (I still haven't been yet), awkward conversations and situations that are funny later, the humor that comes from people watching and being easily amused, and the million other small things that get me through the day.
The health, well-being, and sense of humor possessed by all of my friends.
Considering I've edited this several times, I'm thankful for all the people and things I've forgotten still.
Finally, and most importantly, a Savior who has given me so much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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