And I heard from an old classmate from Pleasant Hill school days, he wanted to share how people had touched his life. He shared a memorial he created for a Northeast High School Class of 1964 reunion in which he included a poem, which I will include here. Beautiful and poignant.
One day your life will end,
And all that will remain
Are the moments when you've lived your life
to the fullest...
And if you're lucky
Those moments live on
In the lives of the people you have touched.
Omar Khayyam
Can anyone touch that? Andrew?And all that will remain
Are the moments when you've lived your life
to the fullest...
And if you're lucky
Those moments live on
In the lives of the people you have touched.
Omar Khayyam
Who has touched your life? Tell them, because lives do end.
Downtown Seattle is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. All the highrise cranes are festooned with colorful lights, there is glitter and glimmer on every door, sky high trees in every foyer, but best of all is the Seattle Space Needle with its gianormous Christmas tree sitting on top, soaring sixty stories up above the city casting its benevolent glow over all. At four-thirty in the morning it touches my life.
Was your Thanksgiving all you wanted or needed it to be? Did it touch your life? I know Jean and Cathy touched Brittany's life.
I overheard two old duffers in a parking lot. As one old duffer was collecting Trader Joe's shopping carts he explained to the other old duffer, obviously a stranger, "I'm not a nice guy, but these carts all over are ...." I didn't hear the why, but for some reason that delighted me. Hearing him say "I am not a nice guy..." touched my life.
Speaking of parking lots Jeff, have you found another one to entertain me? Have you and Julia made it to the Crystal Bridges Museum yet now that the hub-bub of the grand opening is over? I know you have hiked the trails, but have you actually darkened the doors of the great American art world class museum? You and Julia touched my life and I want to return to "do" the museum with you at some point in my old age.
I remember telling Joe Elliott once that I didn't want to die young, and he said, "Jan, it's too late." That touched my life.
Jerry is reading -- a lot. He sent me this message:
Just finished a book that was very interesting. I told you after reading "Cellist of Sarajevo" I wanted to read more about the Balkan's. I found a book written in 1920 by M E (Mary Edith) Durham, "Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle". Look her up on wikipedia and then if you are interested read the book. It is available online, free download. I know you are smarter than me and you may understand it. About halfway through the characters, kings, countries, wars I could not keep straight, so I just kept reading, and then you understand the Balkan's. And that is you can't understand the Balkan's. I read one other book but I think this one is better. I have one more to go. "The Balkans - Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers, 1804-1999".
AND THEN SENT ME HIS READING LIST:
Downtown Seattle is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. All the highrise cranes are festooned with colorful lights, there is glitter and glimmer on every door, sky high trees in every foyer, but best of all is the Seattle Space Needle with its gianormous Christmas tree sitting on top, soaring sixty stories up above the city casting its benevolent glow over all. At four-thirty in the morning it touches my life.
Was your Thanksgiving all you wanted or needed it to be? Did it touch your life? I know Jean and Cathy touched Brittany's life.
I overheard two old duffers in a parking lot. As one old duffer was collecting Trader Joe's shopping carts he explained to the other old duffer, obviously a stranger, "I'm not a nice guy, but these carts all over are ...." I didn't hear the why, but for some reason that delighted me. Hearing him say "I am not a nice guy..." touched my life.
Speaking of parking lots Jeff, have you found another one to entertain me? Have you and Julia made it to the Crystal Bridges Museum yet now that the hub-bub of the grand opening is over? I know you have hiked the trails, but have you actually darkened the doors of the great American art world class museum? You and Julia touched my life and I want to return to "do" the museum with you at some point in my old age.
I remember telling Joe Elliott once that I didn't want to die young, and he said, "Jan, it's too late." That touched my life.
Jerry is reading -- a lot. He sent me this message:
Just finished a book that was very interesting. I told you after reading "Cellist of Sarajevo" I wanted to read more about the Balkan's. I found a book written in 1920 by M E (Mary Edith) Durham, "Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle". Look her up on wikipedia and then if you are interested read the book. It is available online, free download. I know you are smarter than me and you may understand it. About halfway through the characters, kings, countries, wars I could not keep straight, so I just kept reading, and then you understand the Balkan's. And that is you can't understand the Balkan's. I read one other book but I think this one is better. I have one more to go. "The Balkans - Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers, 1804-1999".
AND THEN SENT ME HIS READING LIST:
I have been reading to much. Since the 1st of September I have read:
"Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner, one of your book club selections I think. I liked the history part of it, but the human side not so much.
"Lion of Liberty" by Harlo Giles Unger - A little different account of one of our founding fathers.
"Education of a Wandering Man" by Louis L'Amour - He quit school because it was getting in the way of his education. An avid reader. He hooked me when he said you can travel the world if you can read.
"The Last Stand" By Nathaniel Philbrick - Custer all over again.
"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand - I'm sure you have heard of it.
"The Autobiography of Malcom X" by Malcom X and Alex Haley - I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. I lot of his ancient history was off but the last 400 years he got about right. The history of slavery and the blacks in America.
"State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett - Parade Magazine had a list of 12 Great Summer Books. This was one of them. Not a bad book but...
"The Balkans: A History of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Rumania & Turkey" - 4 different people, each wrote a history from different prospective. Fits right in with the Balkans.
"Where the River Ends" by Charles Martin - Just a book I found on the markdown table. Depressing
"Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle" by Durham, M E (Mary Edith) - Already spoke about this one.
"White Heat" - by M J McGrath - Another one off the 12 Great Summer Books list. Not a bad book but...
I've started "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson - Another one off the 12 Great Summer Books list.
Also "The Balkans - Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999" by Misha Glenny.
Also "Dune Road" by Jane Green - maybe will finish it, maybe not. Markdown table.
Unfortunately most of these authors have other books I would like to read. I'm gonna run out of time.
Did you ever read "The Semi-Attached Couple" by Emily Eden?
Touching lives is a funny thing. Sometimes it is direct ( think Jean here), sometimes it is financial (think Janice here), sometimes it is removed (think James here), sometimes it hurts a bit (think mom and dad here), sometimes it is special (think James here), sometimes it is funny (think Jeff here), sometimes it is _____, you fill in the blank.
You have all touched my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment