Ray's Daily

“Life’s like a play; it’s not the length but the excellence of the acting that matters”

Seneca

The world rotated a couple of more times since we last connected. It will again tomorrow, the day after and every day after that. No matter how hard we try it will never stand still. Light to dark to light again and another twenty four hours are gone forever. This past weekend was like any other, there were thousands of newborns entering the stage for the first time while thousands of others had the curtain fall for the last time. Meanwhile you and I continue to play the parts we have either chosen or been given.

We move from infancy, to becoming child actors, principle players, character actors and then finally we become seasoned stage veterans. Each stage of life provides us the opportunity to continue to contribute, but via ever changing roles. In my case I love being able to play the parts I am capable of and enjoy the opportunities I am given to play a new part. I regret little of the past and look forward to tomorrow and the each new scene.

All of these thoughts were triggered as I thought about two events that happened on Saturday. The first was during my participation in a Kiwanis sponsored clean-up and beatification project at a local elementary school. I was unsure about how much I would be able to contribute due to some lingering health limitations but I should not have worried for they found a part I could play. I was teamed with two twelve year old middle-schoolers from another part of the city and they made sure I did some good while also making sure I stayed within my limits, they did the bulk of the heavy work. It was great. I was dazzled by the intelligence, dedication and good humor displayed by these two young girls. The glimpse of the future I saw in them gives me great hope.

When I got home that afternoon I learned that and old friend and colleague had played her last part. My friend was a respected psychologist, author, consultant, radio personality and more. We first met about thirty years ago when we both served on a state committee and where we both were known to challenge the status quo. We soon became close friends and confidants and tilted many windmills together. She had me meet with her graduate students, participate in some of her group sessions, and we often developed plans to help our state do a better job with education, mental health and employment. The gift she gave me was a belief in me that I did not yet have in myself.

Yes the play goes on and life continues. My two young new friends will soon play principle parts and from what I have seen they will be great. My old friend will no longer be on center stage but thousands have been her fan over the many years she gave so much. Her legacy does not just exist in the memory of those she touched but also in the better world she helped to build.

~~~

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.”

Henry David Thoreau

~~~

George, a career Army officer I once met, was jumpmaster for his unit and was taking up a few novices for a drop.  The flight was pretty rough, and, after a while, George called off the jump because of high winds.  As the plane headed back to base, and the pilot pulled off an unusually smooth landing, two of the neophytes got airsick.  “How come you could take that rough flight, but you couldn’t handle the smooth landing?” asked George.

“Well, Sir,” one trainee explained, “we’ve always jumped out of planes. We’ve never actually landed before.”

~~~

Something popped into my mind and left right away. Maybe it was lonely.

~~~

After a long, dry sermon, the minister announced that he wished to meet with the church board following the close of the service. The first man to arrive and greet the minister was a total stranger.  “You misunderstood my announcement.  This is a meeting of the board members,” explained the minister.

“I know,” said the man, “but if there is anyone here more bored than I am, then I’d like to meet him.”

~~~

A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.

~~~

A little old lady gets onto a crowded bus and stands in front of a seated young girl. Holding her hand to her chest, she says to the girl, “If you knew what I have, you would give me your seat.” The girl gets up and gives up her the seat to the old lady. It is hot. The girl then takes out a fan and starts fanning herself.

The woman looks up and says, “If you knew what I have, you would give me that fan.”

The girl gives her the fan, too. Fifteen minutes later the woman gets up and says to the bus driver, “Stop, I want to get off here.”

The bus driver tells her he has to drop her at the next corner, not in the middle of the block. With her hand across her chest, she tells the driver, “If you knew what I have, you would let me off the bus right here.”

The bus driver pulls over and opens the door to let her out. As she’s walking out of the bus, he asks, “Madam, what is it you have?”

The old woman looks at him and nonchalantly replies, “Chutzpah.”

~~~

A fool and his money rarely get together to start with.

~~~

A Psychology professor was giving a lecture on Bi-Polar Disorder.

“Let us establish some parameters,” said the professor. “Now then, Bennett, what is the opposite of joy?”

“Sadness,” replied Bennett.

“And the opposite of depression, Ms. Buston?”

“Elation and joy, sir.”

“And you Morris, how about the opposite of woe?”

“I believe that would be giddy up, sir.”

~~~

If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.

John Kenneth Galbraith

~~~

An elderly Irishman walks into a pub in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more. The bartender says to him, “You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it; it would taste better if you bought one at a time.”

The Irishman replies, “Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in America, the other in Australia, and I’m here in Dublin. When we all left home, we promised that we’d drink this way to remember the days when we all drank together.”

The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there. The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way: He orders three pints and drinks them in turn.

One day, he comes in and orders two pints. All the other regulars notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, “I don’t want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your great loss.”

The Irishman looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eye and he laughs. “Oh, no,” he, says, “everyone’s fine. I’ve just quit drinking.”

~~~

Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.

Wayne Dyer

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.

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