Interesting Quotes By Guys Named Don (With Unnecessary Pictures)

DON DRYSDALE, baseball player

"Some of these guys wear beards to make them look intimidating, 

but they don't look so tough when they have to deliver the ball. 

Their abilities and their attitudes don't back up their beards."

"I hate all hitters. I start a game mad and I stay that way until it's over."

DON MATTINGLY, baseball player

"I like being close to the bats."

DON MEREDITH, football player and commentator

"If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas."

DON KING, boxing promoter

"If you cast your bread upon the water and you have faith, you'll 

get back cash. If you don't have faith, you'll get soggy bread."

DON CORNELIUS, Soul Train host

"You can bet your last money, it's gonna be a stone gas, Honey!"

DON SHULA, football coach

"Success is not forever, and failure isn't fatal."

DON WILLIAMS, JR., country singer

"A man can never hope to be more than he is 

if he is not first honest about what he isn't."

"What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact."

DON ADAMS, comedian

"I've been paying alimony since I was 14 and child 

support since 15. That's a joke, but not by much."

DON RICKLES, comedian

"I think if I took therapy, the doctor would quit. 

He'd just pick up the couch and walk out of the room." 

"Some people say funny things, but I say things funny."

DON CHEADLE, actor

"I believe that you are what you have to defend, and if you're a black 

man that's always going to be the bar against which you are judged, 

whether you want to align yourself with those themes or not. You

can think of yourself as a colorless person, but nobody else is gonna."

"I think it's intoxicating when somebody 

is so unapologetically who they are."

DON IMUS, radio talk show host

"My goal is to goad people into saying something that ruins their life."

DON JOHNSON, actor

"I can do whatever I want –  I'm rich, I'm famous, and I'm bigger than you."

"Once you become famous, there is nothing left to become but infamous."

DON KNOTTS, actor

"I felt like a loser. I was unhappy as a child most of the time. 

We were terribly poor and I hated my size."

DON JUAN MATUS, "Man of Knowledge"

(as told to Carlos Castaneda)

"Self-importance is man's greatest enemy. What weakens him is feeling 

offended by the deeds and misdeeds of his fellow men. Self-importance 

requires that one spend most of one's life offended by something or someone."

DON QUIXOTE (as written by 

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)

“All I know is that while I’m asleep, I’m never afraid, and I 

have no hopes, no struggles, no glories — and bless the man who 

invented sleep, a cloak over all human thought, food that drives 

away hunger, water that banishes thirst, fire that heats up cold, 

chill that moderates passion, and, finally, universal currency with 

which all things can be bought, weight and balance that brings the 

shepherd and the king, the fool and the wise, to the same level. 

There’s only one bad thing about sleep, as far as I’ve ever heard, 

and that is that it resembles death, since there’s very little 

difference between a sleeping man and a corpse.”

DON CHERRY, sports commentator

"I think I'm a good Canadian, but I'm not the greatest Canadian."

"People think common sense is common, but it's not."

DON EVERLY, singer

"Old men need applause, too."

DON HENLEY, singer/musician

"Sometimes you get the best light from a burning bridge."

DON McLEAN, singer/songwriter

"Each thread of life that you leave will spin 

around your deeds and dictate your needs."

"This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you."

"I met a girl who sang the blues, and I asked her for some 

happy news. But she just smiled and turned away. I went down 

to the sacred store where I'd heard the music years before, but 

the man there said the music wouldn't play. And in the streets, 

the children screamed, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed. 

But not a word was spoken – the church bells all were broken. 

And the three men I admire most – the Father, Son, and the Holy 

Ghost – they caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died."

DON HO, singer

"If you're looking for a role model, Duke's the guy."

"I've had too much fun all these years. I feel really guilty about it."

Things I Found While Cleaning Out My Bookbag

So, I was cleaning out my bookbag (which I take with me practically everywhere) for the first time in a long time the other day, and these were some of the more interesting things I found in there...


1)  An Almost Empty Bottle Of TUMS:  I guess I've been a bit acid-y of late. Ooh, and look – it's over a year past its expiration date. Nice!

2)  An Empty Box Of Nasonex:  I put this in my bag a couple of months ago to remind myself to call in a refill on my prescription. I still haven't called. And I wonder why my breathing and allergies have been awful of late!

3)  An Unopened Tube Of Blistex:  As I write this, my lips are chapped, and I have absolutely no excuse!

4)  A Mostly Clean Spoon:  I have no idea when I used this last – probably for lunch one day, but that could have been months ago for all I remember.

5)  A Shiny New Quarter:  I could have used this last week when I was a quarter short of being able to buy a Mountain Dew out of the machine. Oh well, I need to cut down on my soda intake anyway.

6)  A Young Fiyah "Fiyahworks" CD:  I ordered this directly from the artist (he's a Christian rapper who I'm "friends" with on Facebook) a few weeks ago, listened to it a few times, then assumed I'd lost it. But there it was all along. Yay!

7)  Fourteen Blank Note Pads:  Most of these I've taken from hotels where we've stayed – you're supposed to take them, right? I'm surprised there were only fourteen of them, to be quite honest.

8)  A Wednesday Night Church Bulletin From Late August:  There were actually several of these in my bag, but this was the oldest of the lot.

9)  A List Of Titles I Brainstormed For Possible Future Stories:  Some of these have potential, I suppose, while others are just bizarre. I mean, really, how interesting can a story called "Matching Socks" possibly be?

10)  A Tattered Receipt From A Bill When We Renewed Our Better Homes And Gardens Subscription:  You can see from the date that I paid it in early February. And yet, we're still not living in a Better Home and we still don't have a Garden to speak of. I think I should ask for my money back.

11)  A Page Of Notes I Took During An Easter Drama Rehearsal:  Must have been a pretty good run-through, as evidenced by my note two-thirds of the way down the page: "I'm not taking any notes 'cuz I'm too busy enjoying this scene – good work, everyone! Just work on the dropped lines here & throughout & you'll be all good!"

12)  A Mostly Empty Package Of Chewing Gum:  I have no idea how old this is, but I'm not taking any chances. To the trash it goes...

13)  My Spare Cell Phone Charger:  Fortunately, my regular cell phone charger hasn't given out yet, so I didn't need this one. But at least I know where it is now if I do need it.

14)  An Old Grocery List:  Ah, I remember it fondly. We ate like royalty that week. Well, like royalty on a much tighter budget. Okay, not exactly like royalty at all. But it sure tasted good.

15)  A Retro-Style Pencil Case:  We bought this "Mr. Bump" pencil case for me to corral my many pens and pencils securely in one place inside my bookbag. I guess I forgot to actually put it to work, because it was empty when I found it.

16)  Approximately Forty-Five Pens And Pencils:  Speaking of all those writing utensils, here they are. About a third of these are now safely ensconced in the above-pictured pencil case. The others are tucked away in a zippered pocket where they can't fall out.

17)  A 2011-2012 Carolina Hurricanes Schedule:  We never went to any of the games. Probably because I'd lost this and we didn't know when they were playing. Also, probably because my wife hates hockey, and I only like it a little bit, and then only in person and never on television.

18)  A Ticket Stub For The Casting Crowns Concert We Went To In March:  If memory serves me, this was at the then-named RBC Center in Raleigh. The opening acts were Lindsay McCaul, Royal Tailor, and Matthew West. Casting Crowns played a lot of songs from their new album, Come To The Well. It was great!

19)  A Donation Receipt From The Salvation Army:  Apparently, there were so many things in this batch that I had to attach a list. Just one of the many Salvation Army runs I made earlier this year as we were trying to de-clutter in preparation to sell our house (which still hasn't sold, but we're hopeful).

20)  A Folder Tab That Reads "Yaktrax/Little Hotties":  I'm not sure where this came from, but if I had to guess, I would say from some folder at my work. I believe Yaktrax is a brand of cold-weather boots, and Little Hotties is a brand of hand-and-foot-warming products, both of which I have written about in the past. The tab must have fallen off a folder and into my open bookbag at some point. Might as well get rid of it – I think it would only serve to confuse my wife and anyone else who might happen to find it in my bag.

Songs (And Bands) With States In The Titles: Part 5 Of 5

Today is the 5th and final installment in this mini-series of posts where I post a song (or a song by a band) with a U.S. state in its title. I've gone through the states alphabetically, ten states at a time. If you are just starting here, you may want to back up and catch the earlier installments. Part 1 covers the states from Alabama to Georgia – you can read it here. Part 2 spans from Hawaii to Maryland – you can read it here. Part 3 goes from Massachusetts to New Jersey – you can read it here. Part 4 spans from New Mexico to South Carolina – you can read it here. Today, I'll cover the final 10 states, from South Dakota to Wyoming. Like each installment before, I've included actual video links for each song (or band) whenever possible. In some cases, when I couldn't pick just one song (or band), I have included two of them. Enjoy!

41)  SOUTH DAKOTA:  My, I do love a good story-song! And this is a good one. Ladies and gentlemen, Nanci Griffith singing "Deadwood, South Dakota"...

And because I know you all can never have too much of South Dakota or The Bee Gees, here's a little bit of both in one song. The Bee Gees singing "South Dakota Morning"...

42)  TENNESSEE:  Though I don't necessarily agree with or understand the "theology" in this song (they're not a Christian band), this is an interesting song and fits the theme, and it's old-school hip-hop, for Pete's sake. Yes, please! This is Arrested Development with their song, "Tennessee"...

But really, what would a Tennessee entry be without a country song? Well, we don't have to find out. Here's The Wreckers with their song, "Tennessee"...

43)  TEXAS:  Well, this one was most definitely hard to narrow down to just two. So I narrowed it down to three. Let's face it – all the best songs about Texas are country songs. First up (this one was a no-brainer), it's George Strait's "All My Ex's Live In Texas"...

Next up, Waylon Jennings' "Luckenbach, Texas"...

And finally, Alabama's "If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You've Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band)...

44)  UTAH:  This was a difficult one, too. After much deliberation, I finally settled on a band with "Utah" in its name. This hard-rocking song is by a group called Everyone Dies In Utah, and it's called "Bed, Bath, & Beyoncé"... (LOL!)

45)  VERMONT:  And now for something completely different (and much easier on the ears). This is Jo Stafford, singing the classic song "Moonlight In Vermont"...

46)  VIRGINIA:  These guys may not be from Virginia, but apparently they've spent enough time there to consider it their "second home." Enjoy "Oh Virginia" by Blessid Union Of Souls...

47)  WASHINGTON:  This state was harder than you might think. Finally, I ran across this high-energy pop singer from Papua New Guinea who just happens to go by the mononym Washington (her first name is Megan) singing a song called "Holy Moses"...

48)  WEST VIRGINIA:  There's nothing more poignant than hearing a singer sing passionately about their home state. Here, country/bluegrass singer Kathy Mattea sings a medley of two great songs about West Virginia (albeit only one of which contains the state's name in the title): "Green Rolling Hills Of West Virginia" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads"...

49)  WISCONSIN:  This state also wasn't too easy to come up with a song for. I had to go back to 1945, as a matter of fact. Here's "Beautiful Wisconsin" sung by Ken Griffin. I'm warning you, it's the longest three minutes you'll ever experience. Try not to fall asleep...

50)  WYOMING:  Since Wyoming's such a lovely state (so my wife tells me), let's do two songs in its honor. First up, Neil Young's wonderful instrumental song, "Emperor Of Wyoming"...

This was a nice little ditty, too, that prominently features the state. It's called "Ticket To Wyoming" by The Ocean Blue...

BONUS TRACK – WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Last but not least, we should include a song about the capital of our great nation. While it's not technically a state, that doesn't mean we shouldn't show D.C. some love, too. Here's The Magnetic Fields' "Washington, D.C."...

Words I Wish I Wrote: 10 Inspiring Quotes About Autumn

Ah, autumn...my favorite time of year. I could probably come up with a bunch of inspiring things to say about autumn if I really tried. But it's Sunday, a day to rest, and I'm trying to do just that. So enjoy these words that I wish I had written about my favorite season...


1)  "Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."  ~  George Eliot

2)  "Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay."  ~  Robert Browning

3)  "There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!"  ~  Percy Bysshe Shelley

4)  "Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."  ~  Carol Bishop Hipps

5)  "No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."  ~  John Donne

 

 6)  "A hidden fire burns perpetually upon the hearth of the world.... In autumn this great conflagration becomes especially manifest. Then the flame that is slowly and mysteriously consuming every green thing bursts into vivid radiance. Every blade of grass and every leaf in the woodlands is cast into the great oven of Nature; and the bright colours of their fading are literally the flames of their consuming. The golden harvest-fields are glowing in the heart of the furnace.... By this autumn fire God every year purges the floor of nature. All effete substances that have served their purpose in the old form are burnt up. Everywhere God makes sweet and clean the earth with fire."  ~  Hugh Macmillan

7)  "In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter, morning and evening—no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air."  ~  Alexander Smith

8)  "Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.  Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."  ~  Samuel Butler

9)  "Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale."  ~  Lauren DeStefano

10)  “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”  ~  Nathaniel Hawthorne

The 20 Most Popular Movies The Year I Was Born (1978)

These were the top-grossing movies at the box office in 1978, the year I was born. I've seen a few of these, have heard of most of them, but am also completely unfamiliar with several of them.

How many of these have you seen? Are any of them among your favorites all-time? Feel free to comment to share your own experiences.


1)  GREASE

2)  SUPERMAN

3)  NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE

4)  EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE

5)  HEAVEN CAN WAIT

6)  HOOPER

7)  JAWS 2

8)  HALLOWEEN

9)  DAWN OF THE DEAD

10)  THE DEER HUNTER

11)  REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER

12)  CONVOY

13)  FOUL PLAY

14)  THE END

15)  CHEECH & CHONG'S UP IN SMOKE

16)  CALIFORNIA SUITE

17)  MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

18)  COMING HOME

19)  THE LORD OF THE RINGS

20)  HOUSE CALLS