8/29/08 Living life

Life's too short to keep your car mats clean.
~Theresa Overall

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Rodney and I drove together to Moose River Outpost for Labor Day weekend. I had just been in New York the week before and had told him that one of the things I treated myself to in New York was a "real" car wash where someone else vacuums for you with those powerful machines and had scrubbed all sorts of parts that I never get to when I clean my car. I even had my car mats cleaned. We drove to camp, unloaded our stuff into the cabin on the west side of the lake and then got back in the car to drive to the North Lodge--our central headquarters for the weekend of fun. We, of course, now have dirt on our shoes from the camp. Rodney tries to shake the dirt off his feet and then apologizes for getting my clean car mats dirty. I replied, "Life's too short to keep your car mats clean." I didn't realize how profound it was when I said it, but Rodney did. He said, "That should be on a bumper sticker!" And so I've put it in the next best place if you can't afford to have a bumper sticker made . . . here in my quotes blog.

7/26/08 on growing old (or not)

I have no time to grow old. I am too busy for that.
-- George MacDonald

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Saw this in an email signature line of a friend (actually, it was the
signature line of a friend of his which I saw in the forwarded email
so I don't know the person who had this quote).

7/26/08 If you want to build a ship...

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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I saw this on the signature line of a member of a listserv that I'm on. Who knew that a quote about ship building could really be about inspirational teaching. :-)

7/25/08 spotted on a Facebook bumper sticker

"Do what makes you happy, be with who makes you smile, laugh as much as you breathe, and love as long as you live."

I can't find an author in my research and I can't read what's in the lower right corner of the bumper sticker. If you know more about this quote, please comment and let me know.

7/1/08 at the petting zoo next to Crestholm Ice Cream and Farm Stand

About spitting: Well behaved llamas will not spit at well-behaved
humans. Spittting is rude, no matter who does it. Llamas only spit as
a last means of communication with their herdmates. By the way,
llamas rarely, if ever, bite or kick. Spitting usually of saliva or
some food, indicates a) their place at feeding time, b) their
displeasure with another llama's behavior, or c) their pregnancy
status (Yes I am, mister, so bug off). No llama was ever harmed by
spit -- just offended. Please DO NOT spit at, or harass, the llamas.
Spitting is rude. unless you are another llama with a specific
'message', your attempt to get these two ladies to spit is useless,
rude, and potentially harmful. Spitting spreads germs into their
living space. Pleas respect their health, home, and dignity. Well-
behaved llamas will not spit at well-behaved humans.

Ron Chapman rule

My favorite radio DJ back in Dallas was Ron Chapman. I listened to him for years . . . nay, decades! He was clever, humble, smart, fun, and very good with people. He was also a great observer of life. One of the things he often said was, "There's never a sign without a story." Think about it. People don't usually put up a sign unless something happened to motivate it. And there are some signs that really make you wonder what the story was.

Ron retired several years ago, but he came out of retirement to fill in for Paul Harvey recently. He's doing it pretty regularly according to my mom who's a pretty faithful Paul Harvey listener. I know he'll be good at it as soon as he stops imitating Paul Harvey and starts being himself, but it won't be the same as his morning DJ gig because he let listeners call in and they provided soooo much material. ;-) He knew how to work his audience and how to make his audience make his show work.

In honor of Ron, I'm creating a label in my posts called "Ron Chapman Rule" and that is a special category for unique signs that I find.

6/28/08 Seen in a bookstore in Kennebunkport, ME

You are not alone . . . 1,000* unforgettable Senior Moments by Tom . . . uh . . . Friedman

*of which we could only remember 246

You gotta love the packaging: "Forget to pick up a copy today!"

"Amnesia Loves Company." . . . do you think that's a PR slogan or the name of the company? Either way, it's great!!