Ray's Daily

Ray’s Daily

August 14, 2019

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Three keys to more abundant living:

Caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others.

William Arthur Ward

Yesterday was full of activities that kept me away from my computer and today looks like it will be just as busy. I start with an early appointment with my cardiologist and them more things to do. So I again offer a reprint from yesteryear.

Ray’s Daily first published August 14, 2019

First I appreciate all the positive comments that readers sent on yesterday’s tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver. I had started it two days before but there was so much that might have been said that it took awhile. I am faced with the same dilemma today, I have been trying to say something about life’s journey with all its twists and turns but I am not done so you’ll see it next week. So you’ll have to live with the Daily I wrote on this day a few years ago.

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An actress friend who I hold in high regard wrote me and said, “You have the heart of a writer…and a poet.” She sent the note in response to yesterday’s daily. I appreciate what she said but a more accurate statement might have been “He is someone with a heart who tries to write.” I would hope at the end of my days they would say, “He cared.”

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Someone else sent me what Albert Einstein had to say about our reading habits. He wrote:

“Somebody who reads only newspapers and at best the books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely nearsighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else. And what a person thinks on his own without being stimulated by the thoughts and experiences of other people is even in the best case rather paltry and monotonous.

There are only a few enlightened people with a lucid mind and style and with good taste with a century. What has been preserved of their work belongs among the most precious possessions of mankind. Nothing is more needed than to overcome the modernist’s snobbishness.”

 The quote really hit home with me as I think that contemporary society often suffers from a false sense of superiority fed by those who think only as they do. I don’t think that reading the classics is an indication of any intellectual prowess; rather I think that lingering with the skilled writers of old allows us to walk slowly through fields of ideas. I don’t feel that completing the reading of anything is an accomplishment in itself, nor do I think being able to recall all that was written is all that important, with my memory that would be impossible. For me the experience is a success if it generates one thought, opens one door, or starts me examining something I would overlook otherwise. Some of my greatest satisfaction comes from contemplation that has been triggered by something I read as I often find things that I did not know about myself. Those of you who are regular readers of the daily then often hear the results of these “Eureka” moments. I don’t share my innermost secrets with others, just you, and like I have often said “I may not be all that great but this is as good as I get.”

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“Caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and leaving an impact on people, brings happiness”

Harold Kushner

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Here are some of the best Norm Peterson quotes from “Cheers”:

“What’s shaking, Norm?” “All four cheeks & a couple of chins.”

“What’s new, Normie?” “Terrorists, Sam. They’ve taken over my stomach & they’re demanding beer.”

“What’d you like, Normie?” “A reason to live. Give me another beer.”

“What’ll you have, Normie?” “Well, I’m in a gambling mood Sammy. I’ll take a glass of whatever comes out of the tap.” “Looks like beer, Norm.” “Call me Mister Lucky.”

“Hey Norm, how’s the world been treating you?” “Like a baby treats a diaper.”

“Hey Mr. Peterson, there’s a cold one waiting for you.” “I know, if she calls, I’m not here.”

“What’s going on, Mr. Peterson?” “A flashing sign in my gut that says, ‘Insert beer here.'”

“Whatcha up to, Norm?” “My ideal weight if I were eleven feet tall.”

“How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?” “Poor.” “I’m sorry to hear that.” “No, I mean pour.”

“What’s going down, Normie?” “My butt cheeks on that bar stool.”

“Pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?” “Alright, but stop me at one….make that one-thirty.”

“How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?” “It’s a dog eat dog world, Woody & I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.”

“What’s the story, Norm?” “Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer.”

“Can I pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?” “A little early, isn’t it, Woody?” “For a beer?” “No, for stupid questions.”

~~~

“Law of Volunteer Labor” People are always available for work in the past tense.

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A young man called his mother and announced excitedly that he had just met the woman of his dreams. Now what should he do?

His mother had an idea: “Why don’t you send her flowers, and on the card invite her to your apartment for a home cooked meal?”

He thought this was a great strategy, and a week later, the woman came to dinner. His mother called the next day to see how things had gone.

“I was totally humiliated,” he moaned. “She insisted on washing the dishes.”

“What’s wrong with that?” asked his mother. “I think it’s a wonderful gesture.”

“We hadn’t started eating yet.”

~~~

“Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.”

Jimmy DeMaret

~~~

Lil’ Johnny’s mother asked him what he would like for his birthday. “I’d like a little brother,” he replied.

“Oh my, that’s such a big wish,” said the mother. “Why do you want a little brother?”

“Well,” responded Lil’ Johnny, “there’s only so much I can blame on the dog.”

~~~

I used to eat a lot of natural foods, until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

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An airline captain was breaking in a new blonde stewardess. The route they were flying had a layover in another city. Upon their arrival, the captain showed the stewardess the best place for airline personnel to eat, shop and stay overnight.

The next morning, as the pilot was preparing the crew for the day’s route, he noticed the new stewardess was missing. He knew which room she was in at the hotel and called her up wondering what happened.

She answered the phone, crying, and said she couldn’t get out of her room. “You can’t get out of your room?” the captain asked, “Why not?” The stewardess replied: “There are only three doors in here,” she sobbed, “one is the bathroom, one is the closet, and one has a sign on it that says ‘Do Not Disturb’!”

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If I begin to procrastinate today instead of tomorrow, would that be considered self-improvement?

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After the birth of their child, an Episcopal priest, wearing his clerical collar, visited his wife in the hospital. He greeted her with a hug and a kiss, and gave her another hug and kiss when he left.

Later, the wife’s roommate commented, “Your pastor is sure friendlier than mine.”

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“He has the attention span of a lightning bolt.”

Robert Redford

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Sue:  Mary, what exactly is an “oxymoron”?

Mary:  It’s a phrase made up of contradictory terms, like “deafening silence.”

Sue:  Oh, I get it.  Like “Mr. Perfect”!

~~~

“I pray for a more friendly, more caring, and more understanding human family on this planet. To all who dislike suffering, who cherish lasting happiness, this is my heartfelt appeal.”

Dalai Lama

~~~

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

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

Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than fifteen years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@gmail.com. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are more than 2000 readers from around the world.