ALL ABOUT ME - PART 20

This being the last page, I thought it appropriate to include a Neil Sedaka song, "One More Ride on the Merry-go-round". A one time link should be on your left and if not, there is a link on the bottom of this page. Link can be renewed by refreshing the page. In a way, Sedaka says it all in one song.

In human experience, the past is never dead and gone. Memory and reflection bring it into our present and will drag it into our future as well. I'm convinced that we are, every day of our lives, who we have been in days that have passed. Each crossroads we face will involve choices that define us forever, because to take one path is to leave another behind. And what we leave behind is not merely another life we may have lived, but another self we may have been. Isn't that the story of us all?

So what's in my future? I will never be a mountain climber nor an artist. I will never sing in the Metropolitan Opera nor in front of a shrieking crowd in Yankee Stadium. And I will never hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" as I accept a gold medal. Over time, doors close and options dwindle. One day you realize that you are whatever it is you are going to be, and if you are lucky, you are happy with what you became.

One word about "luck" as I've used it many times in this bio ... this can be seen in the Hebrew word for luck: "mazal" as you all probably heard the expression, "mazal tov" meaning good luck. In Hebrew the word mazal or luck is spelled mem, zayin, lammed. A great Hassidic sage once suggested that mem stands for makom (place), zayin stands for zman (time): one must be in the right place at the right time. But that is not sufficient. We also need the lammed, which stands for limmud (learning). The individual who finds himself, or happens to be, really whom G-d places in the right place at the right time, must learn how to take advantage of the opportunity and that depends on the individual's initiative ... that's the learning part.

I'll stop here and summarize by saying I've been lucky to have had a very good life. I think I mention words to that effect throughout this website and maybe the real theme is ... L'chaim ... meaning "To Life" a popular toast in Jewish life.

And "life" certainly should be toasted to; what greater gift can you have. It should be taken seriously because there is much to be done. There is joy, of course, and all the emotions that we are tested with (happiness, sorrow, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise, to mention Ekman’s six universal emotions). But as a gift, life is the greatest. We ask children what they are thankful for, fair question; and they say for my toys, for my doll, for my parents, and for my family. How many children will say, "for my life."

So here is a great opportunity to teach a lesson to children; no gift will ever match the one called "Life" ... and why is it that? That's because life is an opportunity. 'Cause it's an opportunity that even angels don't have. But it's an opportunity for what? That's a biggie, but basically to deal with this world, to do something with it. And if I go into any more detail now, you will accuse me of preaching on the Internet; better people can do that.

I thank everyone in this world for helping to make my life a good one; I certainly didn't do it myself. And there is no question about it; we must always thank our parents for being instrumental in giving us this life; the key word there is "instrumental". And for mundane reasons too; someone must have fed us and cleaned us when we were infants; we certainly didn't do it ourselves.

And the religious say we owe everything to the One who makes it all possible. It must have been providential (a coincidence?) that just before starting this bio, I put some religious Ideas and thoughts ... Life After Death ... that is part of an entire section I called ... Jewish Studies ... this section makes some interesting reading. It seems I'm always the teacher, a nasty habit. That's when I started this bio; just before entering a hospital for some minor operation. I wanted to leave something for the grandchildren to read ... just in case (you know).

To my grandchildren I once read that you'll find with every setback, opportunities for growth become possible, opportunities to grow and move forward. And then with a little triumph, further triumphs become likely; that's the way it is. So you'll see that in every situation, there is a positive potential. In other words, living teaches us how we must take the drudgery of our everyday life and transform it to something elevating. Take that advice and like in that show I was once in, you'll climb every mountain. Apropos, there was once a Jew named Reb Zushe of Annipoli, who used to say:

"When I get into the World to Come, I am not afraid that they will ask me, why did you not reach the level of Abraham. I am not Abraham, I am not on his level, and I am not blessed with his talents and capabilities. What I am afraid of is that they will ask me, why weren't you Zushe? Why didn't you achieve your potential? Why didn't you use your talents and capabilities?"

Nobody is asking us to become what we are not. Each of us is different; each of us has our own individual character traits and talents, which make us the special person each of us is. Are we using them to the fullest? Are we getting the most out of them? Are we achieving our true potential? Am I? Did I? Not really. Are you?

These pages were the most fun for me to write; of course, bringing back many memories, most very pleasant, some sad, and some best left out (discreetly omitted). Those days are gone and probably never to be repeated again in this changing world. But I could pass the memories on to my grandchildren about how great things were and that there was a life before Nintendo. It is said that one can never go back, and it is probably true. For what one remembers is probably no longer there, at least as it once was. But sometimes, it so nice to sit back, close your eyes and go home.

EPILOGUE

What is the sum total of a life? I'm thinking of a line spoken by Colonial Nicholson to Colonial Saito in that great film, Bridge on the River Kwai. Nicholson and Saito are meeting mid-span on the beautifully engineered bridge as the sun sets, exchanging views and reflecting on its magnificent beauty. As Saito stands behind him, Nicholson leans over one of the guardrails and looks out over the river while delivering a personal reverie about his years of military service. He reflects on his "good life," particularly as a regular officer in India (the ultimate destination of the Japanese railroad route that he has helped to construct). And he says:

"There are times when suddenly you realize you're nearer the end than the beginning. And you wonder, you ask yourself, what the sum total of your life represents. What difference your being there at any time made to anything. Hardly made any difference at all, really, particularly in comparison with other men's careers. I don't know whether that kind of thinking is very healthy; but I must admit I have some thoughts on those lines from time to time."

Much of what I've written included comments about other people. These people were and are a part of my life and as such, I felt some comments about them should be made. And in doing so, one walks a fine line (and a dangerous line) that is between describing and judging. Even describing can be dangerous. Say something negative and you are guilty of slander, a very serious sin. And if you say something positive, and you might be guilty of inviting disagreement and that leads to negative comments leading back to slander. There is no getting away from it; it's best to talk about idea; if you have to, talk about things; it's best not to talk about people.

So what's that they say? ... "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people" ... well, here it's forgiven; after all, these people played and continue to play a big part in my life.

In judging another person or another person's deeds we should be very careful not to ascribe a single motive, either good or bad. Every human deed derives from a mixture of motivations, some selfless and some selfish. Every wrongful deed still contains a spark of what's noble, and every good deed contains a taint of what's selfish. This does not mean that there is no distinction between good and evil, just that the distinction in practice is never absolute as it is in theory. For this reason I think we must be subtle and wise in judgment, and never be too quick to utterly condemn or to overly praise any deed or character trait of a person.

And to carry this one step further, we must apply the same criteria in judging ourselves. Knowing that the human psyche is of a composite nature, containing good and evil motives at all times, we must not be too harsh in judging ourselves, and neither should we ever find ourselves utterly innocent. As we should be charitable in judging others, we should be equally charitable in judging ourselves. And from a religious view, it seems ever since Adam's first sin in the Garden of Eden, good and evil have been thoroughly mingled in every creature. There is no holy deed that is not also tinged with some negation, or which does not contain at least a shadow of impurity. If I've learned anything, I've learned that people sure are complicated.

Web wisdom, plain and simple, would suggest that in writing online, one should avoid excessive embellishment in language, as well as in the design and gadgetry on any page. It would say stick to basic sentence structures, and keep sentences, as well as paragraphs, short. Go with just one idea per paragraph and one point per sentence. Say what you have to say to make your point, but say no more than that.

Use plain language; ordinary words like "use" will always sound better than words like "utilize." Many college teachers in our city system love to "utilize" words like "utilize" ... how sad. Plain English is simple, honest, and without hype. It doesn't let cleverness obscure meaning. Be unambiguous and use words exactly as they are really defined, and use any given word to mean the same thing every time you use it. Appropriate to this (or is it “apropos”) I'll share some advice sent to me from some newsletter I subscribe to:

"It is said that in the English language every noun can be verbed, but there's nothing more grating on the ears than the gratuitous "verbification" of nouns in a modern workplace exchange. From 'productizing an idea' to 'administrating the plan' and 'incentivizing the workers' these verb-forms are about as graceful as a sumo wrestler performing a ballet. Don't get me wrong -- there's nothing sinful about coining new words, or using existing ones in creative ways, but these Latinate constructions just don't work. There are already countless words that can do the job very well."

I know I haven't made all my sentences and paragraphs simple; unfortunately I wrote the way I think (maybe a bit convoluted). I apologize for that. I know I've been guilty of needless words, and for this I apologize. Sometimes my thinking, and eagerness to explain leads me in all directions. I think it was William Strunk, a commentator on "writing style" who said, "vigorous writing is concise."

This commentator continues, "a sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts". My great philosophy teacher, Alice Jourdain (who later married her own teacher, Dietrich Von Hildebrand), said the same in her aesthetic course many years ago. Apology accepted? If you reached this point, thank you for your patience.

Ernest Hemingway was a master of the concise style. An example: Someone asked him if he could write a real short story. He answered that he could write a meaningful, sensitive story with only six words, and he wrote the following:

"For Sale ................. Baby Shoes ................ Never Used."

I think this story says more than all the pages in the Sunday's NY Times.
What is for sale? Why were they never used? What do you think?

The Hemingways and suicide adds a sad note to the Hemingway saga ... there have been five suicides in the Hemingway family over four generations - father Clarence; siblings Ursula, Leicester and Ernest; and granddaughter Margaux. The curse just barely skipped a generation; Hemingway's youngest son, Gregory, dying of causes that put a lot of strain on the term "natural."

A similar line, a little more levity meant here:

Parachute for Sale ……. Used Once ……. Never Opened ……. Slight Stain

So a note to everyone, this world is beautiful.
Love life, be helpful, and show your appreciation.
For more talk about ... Old Brooklyn ... as I remember it.

Excuse me but this ... One More Ride On the Merry-go-round ... is currently my favorite.
Sent to me by my cousin, Madelyn, who is helping New York City be the great city it is.

May I take leave of you with this old Irish blessing:
"So may you have food, and shelter, and a pillow for your head,
May you live forty years in heaven before the devil knows you're dead."

And now to the Navigator, the heart of this website.
So where dost thou be looking? ... Navigator ... it's right here, just click it.

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ALL ABOUT ME - PART 20