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