Humpday Happenings...
Today, we're going to deviate from the realm of the surreal (which describes my part of Fort Wayne SO aptly), and instead lighten things up a bit. And let's face it, we need all the break from this current reality that we can find. I mean, being forced to be mimic a "Stretch-Armstrong" as we're pulled in so many directions by the "powers that be", can get a bit tiresome, right?
Okay, so as a new-found holder of the HONEST SCRAP AWARD (and some things are actually GOOD with the word CRAP in the middle of them), AND, as per yesterday's post, I've (somehow) managed to compile a gaggle of what I call:
"My Favorite Life Lessons as quoted by other, more famous people that I wish I had a chance to sit down and talk with for a while, but never got the chance to meet." (What?...too long a title? I've GOT to work on that....)
These quotes just seem to make so damn much sense...to me, anyway..
Never fail to use any (or all) of them "liberally" (there's a word you don't see HERE in a POSITIVE tone all that much - LIBERAL....LOL)
And feel free to pass them along to however many people are in urgent NEED of them.
(because there are SO damn many out there)
These are in no particular order...nor frequency of usage by me.

"I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty."
John D. Rockefeller, Jr (1874-1900) American capitalist and philanthropist

"I speak truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare and I dare a little more as I grow older."
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French philosopher and essayist

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English writer

" When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail."
Pearl S. Buck ( 1892-1972 ) American writer Nobel prize winner 1938

"Natural hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German writer

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value."
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) American (German-born) physicist - Nobel prize winner 1921

"Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write."
John Adams (1735-1826) 2nd President of the United States of America

"If any man seeks greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both."
Horace Mann (1796-1859) American educator

"...The right to be let alone - the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized man."
Louis D. Brandeis (1858-1441) U.S. Supreme Court Justice

(and lastly, one of my very personal favorites)
" I look to a day when men are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American civil rights leader & clergyman - Nobel prize winner 1964

And there you have it...
You can probably tell that I used to spend a LOT of time reading all sorts of "stuff"...and some of it even managed to rub the hell off!
These are a few of the (all too numerous) quotes that I find myself turning to more times than I care to think...and they ALL speak as boldly TODAY, as when they were all first uttered.
There are (also) ALL the BIBLICAL passages that mean so very much, and that I have relied on lo, these many years. I have many more quotations that I could have chosen, but THESE seemed to come more readily to mind.
And there is always Murphy's Rules of Combat...another favorite of mine.
I also have a lot of Latin (Roman) quotes, and again, they are too numerous to mention. And there are also the STAR TREK quotes, the STAR WARS quotes, other MOVIE quotes, all those TV quotes, the COMIC BOOK quotes, and GARFIELD quotes...to name but a few. And I can still remember MOST of them at my age...WOW!
But (from my classical "Latin" days), I always DID like this one:
"Si vis pacem, para bellum" (If you want peace, prepare for war)
This means that having a strong society CAN prevent you from being conquered.
By reading these, perhaps you have a better idea as to what makes me so darn "complex"...!
(and why I feel a bit "out of place" in today's world, some days)
So now, on to the next group of recipients of the HONEST SCRAP AWARD.
You people are deserving of this award simply because I SAY SO...lol.
(plus, you worked your tails off to provide me with enlightenment, insight, humor, and good old chutzpah)
Again...these are in no particular order.
-- RURAL SOUTH TEXAS - I seriously love Diane's blog. She comes up with some startling facts and figures regarding the "politicking" that's going on these days, and yet still manages to mix it up with bits of "Americana".
-- SGT. SAYS - Just because he's from the "left" coast doesn't mean this LEO isn't ON THE BALL. He IS, with his "tips" and observations that serve everyone well, be they from a LEO background or just an average citizen. Common sense RULES here.
-- GADFLY - First off, I really like the header he's got going for himself...that always makes me think. But the CONTENT is what I really do enjoy. Again, another person with more common sense in his pinky, than most of D.C. has in it's Senate chamber. A good read.
-- I'M WAITING FOR GOD - Ms. N never ceases to amaze me with the fun trivia she manages to find (I have to get out on the Internet more often...LOL), and her personal views about life speak to a part of us that maybe we've put on that back burner. She is one of the more kindred souls I have found (here)...and she's from Indiana, my adopted state. (who knew?)
-- JAMI'S BLOG - Don't let the title FOOL you...She can sing, loves GOOD music (that means OTHER people that can SING), and she loves small dogs. But what I find captivating is her spunk. She admits to being "only" 5'3", but she speaks with the authority and passion of someone a LOT taller and WISER...and being just 5'7" myself...I can appreciate that.
-- THE DINO LOUNGE (posthumously) - This blog shut down on the first of 2010, but "might" make a comeback...we don't know. All I can say is that this was the ultimate trip down memory lane. Full of classic videos of Dean Martin, Sammy, Frank, and the "Rat Pack", along with old commercials and the like. It was a place one could kick off the old shoes, lean back in that stratolounger, and sip on some scotch on the rocks. It was...COOL.
Now, it's up to every one of YOU (recipients) to do something I have done, and (again) pass the award onto those YOU feel are deserving of it, just mention my blog as the one making the award so people can track back "up the food chain" to those initially presenting it, thereby getting to know even more people with views and commentary you will find fascinating. That is, after all, how we ALL become "one" as a people.
Think of it as a chance to "broaden your horizons"...for CHEAP...LOL!
No carry on luggage to get lost, no rental car worries, no sand fleas at the beach...no watered-down drinks poolside...yeah, we can certainly do WITHOUT that kinda stuff, right?
And to any of those blogs that have gone to that great Ethernet in the sky (?)...you deserve the award as much as those still blogging.
So enjoy your awards, and keep those hits coming, all of you.
Be well, make a difference today, and...as always - Stay safe out there, America.