Birth, Death and Acts of God are the certainties of life. All the rest is up to us.

Charles Darwin

The scary part: That leaves living, dying and coping to define who we are and how wise, respected and valued we are to others as we co-exist through the rest of our lives. How will we cope? The danger signs:

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. It is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." Charles Darwin

In other words, the less we know, the more sure we know it all.  The more we know, the less sure we have all the answers, recognize the need to keep learning and have the capacity and desire to do so.


Birth is easy. We don't even remember. And death... to my knowledge, no one has ever made it out alive, so que sera, sera. (What will be, will be.)

"The dumbest are those who know it all." Malcolm Forbes

It is the 'Acts of God' (or nature if you prefer)... they define us. Think global warming. Ignore it if you aren't smart enough to read the signs, but our last 20 years have been, year after year, the warmest in all known history. The ice caps are melting and our poisons fill the air. At this time there are more than 8 billion people on earth. Just 200 years ago, we were only 1billion. We are projected to be 11 billion by 2100. You get the idea. Humans and increased technology extract their progress on the back of global litter and it is unwise to ignore. Call it global warming or not, the end result, without change, is upon us.

"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." Epictetus (Greek stoic philosopher, 50 AD - 135 AD)

Pandemics have been a part of us since the beginning of time and they will continue as we fight our way to understanding the wise responses necessary to survive them. We haven't faired all that well.  There have been more than 5,000 United States covid-19 deaths just during the days of the RNA convention, for example--more than twice the number of casualties as at the Twin Towers-- and over 180,000 deaths to date and growing. We lead the world by a big number in that department. We are lucky technology is rapidly developing the knowledge and capability to advance medically, but we will be tested again and again.

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." Confucius

Hurricanes and tornados are growing more frequent and stronger. Forest fires are eating our lunch as conditions for their spread are more favorable for these 'Acts of God' every year. Will the wisdom of our leaders and the mass of humanity learn survival as our world spins faster under our feet? Old time comedian Groucho Marx was prophetic in his outrageous way: "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.""

"Humility will teach you knowledge, arrogance will teach you ignorance. If you think you know it all, you have learned nothing." Thibuat (eminent Sanskrit scholar and noted philosophy professor, 1905)

We have found cures for many diseases that kill us, thank goodness, but that is a never-ending demand. Illness chases us as we learn to live with handicaps of body and brain.

Albert Einstein

"Any fool can know. The point is, to understand." Einstein, who also said "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."

Then there are bad hair days and liars and haters and fixers and bribe takers and cheaters and con artists even before we include the biases of race and religion and political divisiveness, the poor and underprivileged, the rich who we empower so good can  'trickle down' and the underserved who catch far too little, the unbalance of wealth to opportunity (the top 10 percent richest own 84 percent of all stock) and the shrinking middle class, the homeless and uninsured, unable to help themselves, despite their efforts. to any great degree.

The humanity caveat: I have never doubted the overwhelming good of humankind that is universally seen and experienced. I believe it with all my heart.  But bad actors have far too great an influence, and a tacit immunity, for bad outcomes.

Are we the kind of smart this world so desperately needs or do we follow those who already know it all? The choices are always ours if we pay attention.

The art of the short story: A warning to long talkers and writers everywhere.

Note: One of my favorites written 5 years ago. Very pithy (look it up) and fun.

For Sale, baby shoes, never worn.


If done well, it may only take six words to write a poignant story. This one is credited to Ernest Hemingway.

As the story goes, Hemingway was lunching with fellow writers and claimed that he could write a short story that was only six words long. His pals doubted that was possible. Hemingway told each of them to put ten dollars in the middle of the table; if he was wrong, he said, he’d match it. If he was right, he would keep the entire pot. He quickly wrote six words down on a napkin and passed it around, then collected all the money.

Now all the world is not lived in a day, so short could mean lots and long could be few but the point is, get to the point before you lose the opportunity. Enough is just what it takes.

Mark Twain was known for his wit, among other things and he could put together a few pretty good sentences now and again. All of his quotes are fun to read and some of his quotes about writing offer a key to his success.

• A successful book is not made of what's in it but what's left out of it.
• One should never use exclamation points in writing. It is like laughing at your own joke.
• The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell together, as quickly as possible.

  

  Old lady screaming.

• Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.
• I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English – it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.”
• It takes a heap of sense to write good nonsense
• The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.
• Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.
• My books are water; those of the great geniuses is wine. Everybody drinks water.
• I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.
• The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
• Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.  

He said one thing that so resonated in his time that it was repeated as often as it had relevance...
which is why it is still repeated today.

Larry Smith founded Smith Magazine in 2006. He started The Six Word Memoir project   in November 2006 in partnership with Twitter. It was a simple online challenge asking: “Can you tell your life story in six words?” It really caught on. Now more then 1 million Six-Word Memoirs have been shared across Smith Magazine sites and picked up by media around the world. It has proven to be an impressive teaching concept in schools and a team-building technique in the corporate world in getting to the core of conceptual thought.

Tweets and six-word submissions to the many Smith contests and challenges show humor, love, happiness, food, America, etc. succinctly and impactfully in just six words proving how simple it is to convey a feeling, idea, concept, question, emotion... It's a discipline that rewards by just getting it out there.

"Love bites. But so do I.
"We met over silverware and dysfunction."
"Only wine can save me now."
"Dispensing wisdom I do not have."
"I can always make myself laugh."
"Unplug for 24 hours and recharge."
"I'd pick you over french fries."
"Saw my mom in my reflection."
"Parenthood is a form of insanity."
"Wrote 2167 words today. Deleted 2141."

Then I read this book: How To Write Short. It's funny and smart... with lots of reasons why and examples that made it worth its cost. First lesson in the book is a keeper.

 Consider these documents:

• The Hipppocratic oath
• The twenty-Third Psalm
• The Lord's Prayer
• Shakespeare's Sonnet 18
• The Preamble to the Constitution
• The Gettysburg Address
• The last paragraph of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech

If you add up the words in these documents, the sum will be fewer than a thousand, 996 by my count.

Then you have the author's fun examples to illustrate what he is saying:

"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect." Steven Wright
"God is love, but get it in writing." Gypsy Rose Lee
"Ran out of deodorant midway, so one arm is Shower Fresh, the other is Easter Lily. This has the makings of a wild day." @phillygirl
"Santa has elves. You have Target."
"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
"Where's the beef?"
"I like Ike."
"Just got a press kit in the mail from Gallo with a wine cork marked 'starter cork.' They obviously don't know me."
"Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly."
"If Jesus had been born just 40 years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses." Lenny Bruce
"The Hokey Pokey Clinic: A place to turn yourself around."
"I wish I were an Oscar Mayer weiner."
"If you live in New York, even if you are Catholic, you're Jewish."
"The baby just saw me naked. Now she knows where she got her thighs." @AuntMarvel
"Take my wife, please" Rodney Dangerfield
"Jesus wept."

Last paraphrase mine: 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the sentences I cannot change,
The courage to edit the words I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

MARCO!... POLO!

Marco Polo according to Geico

It's kinda stupid, right? But who isn't for a little stupid fun in the pool. Unless you are Mark Spitz, that's the whole idea.

But will it work in the supermarket? You'd be surprised.

I celebrated a milestone birthday a while back. No, it's none of your bee's wax, but anything to keep the birthday candle companies in business, and the people who love you always have a tough time coming up with a birthday gift when, after so many years, you have virtually everything you ever need. 

"How about a pair of funny socks... a pen, a cup, a book, a money clip, all with special messages? Bought him all those last year, etc. But what will we get him this milestone birthday?"

Confession: All my loving children and grandchildren 'hit it out of the park' because I LOVE all that  and the special thoughts that go with them. I am so blessed. But a few months back, daughter Jill and family took a new, sweet tack. She/they sent me a love note (before the lockdown, so adjust accordingly): 

"Hi Pop! Happy Birthday! Time is an illusion. Illusion's are beautiful! You are beautiful! here is a list of (secret number) things you can do for yourself this special year and forever."

• Take one full breath every time you put your keys in the car ignition.
• Go to a lecture, presentation,TedTalk, as you find them.
• Tell the sun thank you.
• Have a really long conversation with one of your dogs wen no one else is around.
• Smell the flowers, anywhere.
• Yell "Marco" in a grocery store and wait for a return, "Polo."
• Go for a walk in the rain. You could even wear boots and step in all the puddles.
• Next time you see a really, really fancy car and strangers are taking pictures of it, walk up to the driver's side door, go for the handle (but don't touch because you might set off an alarm) glare at the people staring... then tell them "Just kidding."
• Go on a picnic. If you have one of those baskets with a place for wind and plastic wine glasses, good on you. 
• Honk a code in a parking garage that demands other cars to answer. You know, "beep beep beep beep beep."... "Beep beep."
• Wear a cologne you used to wear.
• Put something off for good. Imagine 'garage sale,' then forget it.
• On a walk, wave to every car that passes.
• Tell someone that you love their glasses... or shoes. You get the idea.
• Get rid of a kitchen tool that is irritating, like a knife that doesn't cut well. Buy a new thing that is super high quality. Appreciate it every day.
• Greet every stranger whose path you cross with an acknowledging nod and smile.
• Send a piece of writing to one of your favorite magazines, something crappy at first maybe, just to get the hang of it, then start working on something really good.
• Make a Bolognese sauce and fancy yourself the most romantic creature on the earth. Smell the sauce as you cook.
• While you are at it, kiss your wife like that... romantic.
• Meditate for 10 minutes, 3 days in a row and then go outside and pick the first flower you can find and pretend like you just went to Woodstock and it was amazing.
• Tell a funny personal story you can share with someone one you have just met, like a waiter or someone changing your oil.
• Find awe in every sunset, blessed at every sunrise. 
• Have tea and crumpets, whatever those are.
• Get a fancy bar of chocolate for dessert one night. It should be expensive. Eat it slowly with red wine or coffee.
•  Be on the alert for any small and inexpensive, but meaningful gift for your love and/or anyone else you know it would mean something.
• Live fully
• Love desperately.

Oh, there are more... one for each of my years in fact, but those are preciously for my eyes only, filled with meaning. But the reality is that life always moves forward, not backward and those are the days and years that we have left to live fully and love desperately. Time's a wastin'!

Would you like to read more beautiful prose? This is daughter Jill's website. She is an incredible writer with her own sense of life and living that has few equals.

Her beautiful website and welcome: https://www.tangledbeings.com

Hello, my dears! 

I am Jill Constantino, a writer, a flower farmer, an anthropologist, a teacher, a mother. My family and I live on a small farm outside of a small town. We moved away from big jobs toward dreams that are as inspiring as they are elusive. We seek full lives with peaceful perfection, poetic love, and ferocious world-bettering engagement. But hawks eat chickens, plants smother plants, love becomes distracted and confused, and children grow up and away. I reluctantly embrace the sadness as I somewhat desperately hold onto the joy. 

I fret about time, the passage of which I know I am failing to fully appreciate, and the abrupt cruelty of mortality, the end of that time which will come faster than I can possibly imagine. Yet, I have so many stories of beautiful beings--botanical, animal, human, creatures that have become mine. I have cradled them protectively in my head for a while and now, I release them to you, in hopes that they carry us into the future.

Contact me:

​

jillcelesteconstantino@gmail.com

Once again, we lost a best friend. Our beloved yellow Lab, Abby, went to her real forever home a few days back.

Abby, age 13 years 8 months, our sweet little girl with a warm personality, left us after a long and loving life.

As every pet owner knows, that is no consolation to the reality that she is not beside our bed tonight or anyplace else where we shared our riches.

It seems ironic that given the healing and redemptive nature of these wonderful creatures, their life-spans are shorter than ours, so we pretend that one year equals 7 human years. Yea! Abby lived to almost 100... but it just doesn't seem that way.

Every pet owner knows that if this is the price of love, so be it.

Abby and Tess

She now joins her sister Tess, who we lost just eleven months ago. What a dynamic duo they were, both therapy dogs going regularly to the hospital and Hospice House. The two were also members of HOPE Animal Assisted Crisis Response serving so many people at national disaster relief service for six years.

Abby's Story: She was always a joy but she drew the short straw in personal health and good luck. She was a competitor and absolutely adored Agility, but before her first competition, she pulled an ACL. On the first day of release after surgery and months of recovery, she charged around our house with glee... and came back limping with another ACL on the opposite leg.

She was our champion dock diver and no dog could match her speed in the water to retrieve a thrown 'wubba.' 

She had three ACL surgeries then later, cancer. When that was taken care of, she suffered SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration) causing permanent and irreversible blindness. In days her sight was gone... and so was her incredible confidence. That was four years ago when her life changed dramatically. It broke both of our hearts.

She loved her special walks down 'Abby Lane'--a path through the woods we named for her--which connected to 'Africa,' another journey in tree-lined underbrush where deer were plentiful and we were always on the look-out for lions and elephants. She knew those paths by name and smell. 

Then, as she aged, her hearing diminished. Through it all, we still shared joy and love... until this past week when she had the stroke that took her legs. She was definitely a champion in our lives.

Lily

Now it is up to Lily, our six-year-old Labra-Dane therapy dog, to fill all those roles. Thankfully, she is up to the job.

Is there another dog in our future? Why do we keep having these golden retriever dreams? Best answer: we'll see.


Abby, we will always miss you. Always. Go run now with Tess, Alix, Gretchen, Hershel the cat (or not), Hagar and Snert! We'll see you later in a more perfect place.