Things I've Lost (And Things I Haven't)

Someone I knew -- not well, but well enough -- passed away yesterday after a long illness. I can only imagine what his family is going through right now. Loss is never an easy thing to deal with. The loss of a life is by far the worst. Other losses can also be devastating, though. The possibility of further losses to come can make for an uncertain future.

Which got me thinking...here are a few things I've lost, and a few more that I haven't (so far, at least)...

THINGS I'VE LOST...

 My Focus

My Perspective

Respect (For Others, Of Others)

Friends

Time

Money

Sleep

THINGS I HAVEN'T LOST...

  Weight

 My Hair

My Mind

Heart

My Faith

My Way

Myself

Things I Find Fascinating: Vintage Ads With Creepy Clowns

I may have said before that I was done with the Vintage Ads mini-series, but these Creepy Clown ads were simply too good to pass up. For those of you who are coulrophobic (afraid of clowns), you might want to skip this one. Or better yet, face your fears and power through that by giving these a look-see. Enjoy?

Buy our baking soda, or else this spiky-haired clown will haunt your

dreams. Well, he might haunt your dreams either way, but still...

you really should buy our baking soda. Because you can't tell what the

clown is hiding behind his back. Maybe a balloon. Maybe a hatchet.

Join Bozo The Clown each weekday at 5:00 as he

decapitates himself on live TV for your entertainment!

Kids – and parents, too! – will laugh their heads off!

Come to the circus. We have candy to eat, balloons to

enjoy, games to play, and clowns with hundreds of razor-sharp 

teeth with which to bite you! It's fun for the whole family!

Nothing says fun like a drunken

clown with a Ten High smile!

Cultured clowns prefer Old Dutch International Beer.

Or, as they like to call it, happy-happy-joy-joy juice.

Scoopy's Cake Cups: The Fun Time Treat!

Try 'em, you'll like 'em! They're to die for!

Aww, poor little guy! He's out of Schlitz! But I think he'll be alright.

Judging by the redness of his nose, he's already had a snootful.

It looks like the clown and the giant are truly enjoying their "happy

moment" – but I'm not sure it has anything to do with Beech-Nut Gum.

"Hovis Bread is more nourishing than Beef Steak and White Bread and

[is] much more digestible. Supplied to the Queen and Royal Family. Cure

for Indigestion. Absolutely necessary for all growing children." Which is why

they chose a creepy Shakespearean clown as their spokesperson, I suppose.

Trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to eat.

If you don't, I don't care, I'll shred you up like a grizzly bear.

As if the anthropomorphic Kool-Aid pitcher wasn't already creepy

enough, they had to go and add a clown into the mix. (Pun intended.)

Spoons to scoop out your liver. Forks to spear your spleen.

Knives to chop you up. And clowns to give you nightmares.

I drink your blood. Mmm, so tasty! Goes down smooth...like chocolate.

Was this one of those Afternoon Specials they used to make

during the '70s and '80s? If so, I missed this one. Shucks!

If you want to grow up big and strong and creepy like me,

try Bluebird's Circus Brand Fruit Drinks. It's Grrrr....ape!

Ah-h-h...no! Go away. Far away. And put down my flower.

If you're old enough not to pee your pants when

you see this picture, then you're old enough to 

smoke Clown Cigars. (I'm not old enough.)

This picture is conclusive proof that clowns are demons.

After all, have you ever seen a clown and a demon

in the same room? Hmm? Me neither. See? Proof!

Come to the circus. We'll be here waiting for you. 

With bells on. And giant shoes. And chainsaws.

I don't think any kid, anywhere, at any time period in history,

would willingly stick their hand in this clown's mouth to 

deposit their savings. Think about it: It's made of iron. Better

to clamp down on your child's fingers, my dear. The 

eyes move. Your child feels like he's being watched.

The tongue moves. There's no good reason for that. No,

thank you, Humpty Dumpty. I'm sticking with the pig.

Thought-Provoking Quotes About Winning And Losing

1)  "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."  ~  Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor/politician


2)  "I never thought of losing, but not that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life."  ~  Muhammad Ali, boxer


3)  "If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?...Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."  ~  Vince Lombardi, football coach


4)  "Sometimes by losing a battle, you find a new way to win the war."  ~  Donald Trump, businessman


5)  "Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning."  ~  Erwin Rommel, soldier


6)  "You must never be satisfied with losing. You must get angry, terribly angry, about losing. But the mark of the good loser is that he takes his anger out on himself and not his victorious opponents or on his teammates."  ~  Richard M. Nixon, U.S. president


7)  "One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards."  ~  Oscar Wilde, writer


8)  "Life is about losing and about doing it as gracefully as possible...and enjoying everything in between."  ~  Mia Farrow, actress


9)  "About the only time losing is more fun than winning is when you're fighting temptation."  ~  Tom Wilson, cartoonist


10)  "Victory is fleeting; losing is forever."  ~  Billie Jean King, tennis player


11)  "The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning."  ~  Adlai Stevenson, politician


12)  "The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart."  ~  Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer


13)  "I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may be just little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing."  ~  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball player


14)  "If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything."  ~  William Lyon Phelps, author


15)  "There is winning, and there is misery."  ~  Bill Parcells, football coach


16)  "Life is more about losing than winning."  ~  John Thorn, historian


17)  "Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning."  ~  Paul Wellstone, politician


18)  "A loser doesn't know what he'll do if he loses, but talks about what he'll do if he wins, and a winner doesn't talk about what he'll do if he wins, but knows what he'll do if he loses."  ~  Eric Berne, psychologist


19)  "You play to win the game."  ~  Herm Edwards, football coach


20)  "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."  ~  Abraham Lincoln, U.S. president

Things I Find Fascinating: Words You Can Make Using Letters From The Phrase "Election Day"

After all the hoopla, Election Day is finally upon us. No more annoying political ads, no more mud-slinging. After today, it's all over but the crying. In honor of Election Day, here's a number of words you can make using letters from the words "Election Day." The words may or may not be associated with the included pictures of the candidates. I'll leave that for you to decide. Enjoy!


1)  DECENT:  a) Conforming to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc., as in behavior or speech.  b) Respectable; worthy.  c) Adequate; fair; passable.  d) Kind; obliging; generous.  e) Suitable; appropriate.

2)  NOTICE:  a) An announcement or intimation of something impending.  b) A notification of the termination, at a specified time, of an agreement, as for employment, given by one of the parties to the agreement.

3)  LATENCY:  The state of being present but not visible, apparent, or actualized.

4)  DECLINE:  a) To express courteous refusal; refuse.  b) To draw toward the close.  c) To fail in strength, vigor, character, value, etc.; to deteriorate.

5)  ELATION:  A feeling or state of great joy or pride; exultant gladness; high spirits.

6)  ACTION:  a) The process or state of acting or being active.  b) Something done or performed; act; deed.  c) Energetic activity.

7)  LATINO:  A person of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent.

8)  CANT:  a) To talk hypocritically.  b) To speak in the whining or sing-song tone of a beggar; to beg.

9)  DENIAL:  a) An assertion that something said, believed, alleged, etc., is false.  b) Disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing.  c) Refusal to recognize or acknowledge.

10)  LEADEN:  a) Dull, spiritless, or gloomy, as in mood or thought.  b) Oppressive; heavy.  c) Sluggish; listless.

11)  CLONE:  A person or thing that duplicates, imitates, or closely resembles another in appearance, function, performance, or style.

12)  DONATE:  a) To present as a gift, grant, or contribution.  b) To make a donation of, as to a fund or cause.

13)  DELAY:  a) To put off to a later time.  b) To impede the process or progress of; retard; hinder.

14)  ELITE:  a) The choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group of persons exercising the major share of authority or influence within a larger group.

15)  CLEAN:  a) Free from dirt; unsoiled; unstained.  b) Free from foreign or extraneous matter.  c) Characterized by a fresh, wholesome quality.

16)  IDEAL:  a) Conceived as constituting a standard of perfection or excellence.  b) Regarded as perfect of its kind.  c) Existing only in the imagination, not real or actual.

17)  DICEY:  Unpredictable; risky; uncertain.

18)  ALIEN:  a) A resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization.  b) A foreigner.  c) A person who has been estranged or excluded.  d) A creature from outer space; an extraterrestrial.

19)  DECAL:  A specially prepared paper bearing a picture or design to transfer to wood, metal, glass, etc.

20)  NEEDY:  In a condition of need or want; poverty-stricken; impoverished; extremely poor; destitute.

21)  TODAY:  a) This present day.  b) The present time or age.

22)  YODEL:  a) To sing with frequent changes from the ordinary voice to falsetto and back again, in the matter of Swiss and Tyrolean mountaineers.  b) To call or shout in a similar fashion.

23)  OLD:  a) Far advanced in the years of one's life.  b) Of or pertaining to the latter part of the life or term of existence of a person.  c) As if or appearing to be far advanced in years.

24)  IDOL:  a) An image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.  b) Any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.  c) A figment of the mind; a fantasy.

25)  DONE:  a) Completed; finished; through.  b) Worn out; exhausted; used up.

26)  TACO:  An often crisply fried tortilla folded over and filled, as with seasoned chopped meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

27)  OILY:  a) Smeared or covered with oil; greasy.  b) Smooth or unctuous, as in manner or speech.

28)  END:  Termination; conclusion.

Things I Find Fascinating: Top 20 Songs The Year I Was Born (1978)

Since I've already done the top movies and top novels the year I was born, it was inevitable that I would get around to doing the top songs as well. Apparently, 1978 was a great year for the Bee Gees (and Bee Gees solo artist Andy Gibb) and the Grease soundtrack. Having grown up listening to oldies and mix stations, I'm familiar with a lot of these songs (sadly). That doesn't mean, however, that I'm a fan of a lot of these songs. Disco has never been, nor will it ever be, one of my favorite styles of music, and disco is extremely well-represented here. Maybe these songs will dredge up happy memories of your younger days. Maybe you're too young to remember any of these songs and you just need a good laugh at your parents' (or grandparents'?) music. Either way, here they are...


1)  Andy Gibb  ~  "Shadow Dancing"

2)  Bee Gees  ~  "Night Fever"

3)  Debby Boone  ~  "You Light Up My Life"

4)  Bee Gees  ~  "Stayin' Alive"

5)  Exile  ~  "Kiss You All Over"

6)  Bee Gees  ~  "How Deep Is Your Love"

7)  Player  ~  "Baby Come Back"

8)  Andy Gibb  ~  "Love Is (Thicker Than Water)"

9)  A Taste Of Honey  ~  "Boogie Oogie Oogie"

10)  Commodores  ~  "Three Times A Lady"

11)  Frankie Valli  ~  "Grease"

12)  Paul Davis  ~  "I Go Crazy"

13)  John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John  ~  "You're The One I Want"

14)  Samantha Sang  ~  "Emotion"

15)  Eric Clapton  ~  "Lay Down Sally"

16)  Rolling Stones  ~  "Miss You"

17)  Billy Joel  ~  "Just The Way You Are"

18)  Wings  ~  "With A Little Luck"

19)  Yvonne Elliman  ~  "If I Can't Have You"

20)  Chic  ~  "Dance, Dance, Dance"

BONUS TRACKS  –  SOME HIT SONGS 

FROM 1978 THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE...

1)  Anne Murray  ~  "You Needed Me"

2)  Dan Hill  ~  "Sometimes When We Touch"

3)  Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway  ~  "The Closer I Get To You"

4)  David Gates  ~  "Goodbye Girl"

5)  Paul Simon  ~  "Slip Slidin' Away"

6)  Kansas  ~  "Dust In The Wind"

7)  Foreigner  ~  "Hot Blooded"

8)  Queen  ~  "We Will Rock You"

Immature Thoughts On Love

I was going through some of my old writings the other day, and I dredged up a few high school English class journal entries in which I had written about love -- in particular, "true love." The inner workings of a teenage mind were on full display in these pieces, one of which was actually directed at the object of my affection -- although now I can't even remember who she was. So much for that love being "true." Anyway, these are good for a laugh, I suppose. I did manage to squeeze a few moments of clarity in among oodles of teenage melodrama and angst. But mostly, it's just funny. If you are a teenager, if you have a teenager, or have ever been a teenager, you can probably relate. Enjoy...


1

Once you've found someone you know you should be with, then all the time you spent alone wishing to have someone to love, all the times you spent dreaming of things you thought would never happen to you – all these things seem pointless, mere remnants of a forgotten life. After you have someone, soon you forget how it felt not to have someone, to be alone, to have nobody. Regret is abandoned, hope is looked forward to. The future is no longer frightening, but steadily progressing.

It's hard to tell when you first fall in love. It starts deep inside with a feeling that makes you so happy that you question your sanity, brought on by a certain look in her eyes, the way it felt the first time you held her hand, the first time you put your arm around her, and held her close to you.

When this feeling surfaces, the most important things in the world seem dwarfed in comparison. You feel you are at the top of the world. Finally you have a partner, an affectionate counterpart who cares as much about you as you do for them. Someone who truly likes you, and wants to be around you, and share your feelings, your joy, your pain. There's nothing like it. It's the greatest feeling on earth. Suddenly, you realize you have fallen in love...


2

True love is not loving someone for what they wear, or how they wear it; what they say, or how they say it; what they do, or how they do it. True love is loving someone for who they are.

Your true love may a dream or a reality; the melody or the lyrics; the poem or the poet; the house or the home.

True love is not what life makes you, but what you make of life.

True love may be old or young; it may be rich or poor; weak or strong.

True love is whatever you want it to be, not what others want it to be.

True love is as much a part of life as life is a part of true love.


3

You have shown me more love than any other person ever has. I have taken it, often taking it for granted. I  have tried a million times to sort out every feeling that ever crossed my mind or entered my heart. But even if I had forever, everything would not be clear. One thing is clear, though: I love you.

It took me a long time, longer by far than it should have taken, to decide in my heart if I truly did love you. Did my love consist solely of my loving the idea of you as my girlfriend? Loving you because you are the first person to ever take my feelings seriously and to show me your feelings openly and honestly as well? Because you truly seemed to like me for me? For a while, these distorted concepts of love enthralled me, enveloped me, and deceived me. I was a slave to my own mind, fooling myself, denying myself of true happiness with you.

I guess at first I found the situation too difficult to believe. Me – loved and adored by another human being. Never! It was only when I realized "never" had come that I opened my eyes to the real truth. I opened my eyes to you. I saw beyond the exterior. I saw beneath flesh and bones, and took a glimpse at your soul, and envisioned our souls taking leave of our bodies and intertwining as one. That was when I realized I loved you.

Immediately, I knew I had to tell you. To tell you that what you felt was not unreflected. That there burns within me a fire that can only be quenched by you and the love you have inside you. But my heart kept silent; my lips uttered not a word. I suppose I was afraid that if I told you, by some strange chance, you might not feel the same, and I would be devastated to hear the empty words escape my lips, unreturned.

When the time finally felt right, I took a chance. When I first told you that I loved you, and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my words were true and that my feelings were truly my own, I had never felt so relieved. You repeated those three precious words and my heart melted. I felt the honesty in the touch of your hands. Later, I read the answer on your lips. It was then that I realized that I had finally found what I had been searching for all of my life – true love.

True love is not conditional; it is unchanging, no matter the circumstances, nor over the passage of time.