Sunday, June 11, 2017

21 Indelible Comments


They are like tunes stuck in your head but, instead, stuck in your life. Surely dear reader, you too remember comments people have said to you that are still with you. Can you at this very moment recall any? Yet these comments were not especially poetic, not necessarily aphoristic, not notably brilliant, not always true, not, in fact, even "memorable," but nonetheless they remain indelibly. I have searched for some commonality that unites them but find none:  not speaker, place, time, circumstance, age, etc. I can say, however, with some confidence, that they number no more than thee dozen or so. By opening myself up to their remembrance they have come back to me quite easily over the course of only a week or two. If I ever come up with 21 more I'll post a further collection.

Yes, indeed, a few tool tips are included for those of you handy with your hands, which turns out to be the case with me as I did follow my college professor's advice in the very last comment:

1) Washing Hands
To really clean your hands, wash something else. (J.M.)

2) Turds
If you are impressed with the size of your turds then you're getting enough fiber. (M.K.)

3) Marking along a Template
For real accuracy don't hold the pencil upright but keep the cone against the guide. (N.L.)

4) Spray Cans
Always ignored the cleaning advice about spraying upside down, and they work just fine. (M.D.)

5) Intersections
Look first to your left on account that vehicle will hit you soonest. (J.M.)

6) Finches
Lucky to have them move in as they will sing their little hearts out for you. (K.C.)

7) Sleep
Don't worry about not sleeping...just rest. (F.A.)

8) Jail
Spend some time in the slammer...it builds character. (F.A.)

9) Cookies
Broken cookies are healthier. (O.M.)

10) Early Days of Windows
I love how you can go in first thing in the morning and open all your windows. (B.C.)

11) Mental Agility
Avoid the calculator; doing math longhand preserves mental agility. (J.A.)

12) Hammering
Ear protection, of course, for the loud tools, but try it for ordinary hammering. (T.K.)

13) Chairs
You know you're getting old when you make noises rising from your chair. (N.B.)
14) Advice from our XT Builder (1984)
Just remember the first rule of using a computer:  always back up your work. (J.H.)

15) Right Color
Kurt, you don't look good in blue. (D.G.)

16) Coffee
For the perfect cup pour coffee and cream simultaneously. (D.K.)

17) Vacation
Sights are without end; a true vacation is dolce far niente. (F.A.)

18) Olives (Eyeballs) and Children
As soon as you eat ten, you will like them. (J.M.)

19) Speaking Your Mind
Now that I am old I speak my mind, a freedom I lacked in youth. (J.A.)

20) Meditation
Awaken yourself each morning at 3:00 AM, the ideal time for meditation. (A.L.)

21) Academics
Kurt, don't go into academics, it's a nasty business. (L.T.)


Readers are offering a few of their own "indelible comments" which I include below.  As with my own I am not providing a context, leaving that to the imagination, the important thing being that these words have stuck with the person:

22)  You can always go to the bathroom if you try.   (from D.&L. D.)

23)  Because I said so!  (from D.&.L. D.)

24)  Stick to theoretical work.  (from M.N.)

25)  Gotta eat.  (from S.T.)

26)  Has it changed?  (S.H.C. debating the merit of a second visit to the Grand Canyon)


Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at:  FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com