What a beautiful column today, Garrison. I think God truly wants us to be happy. That’s why Adam and Eve were placed in Paradise. But what did they do? Got kicked out because they didn’t know how to be happy. Religions place barriers between us and happiness. That’s also why I am not a religious person. I’m a fallen-away Catholic because the church doesn’t know how to have fun. Too many restrictions, rules and guilt trips. I love your columns because you know how to be content and happy. That’s all you want and you spread it to people daily with your words. I also believe there are Saints in the world…..not those nominated by a church…..but those we never hear about that quietly go about their lives being good and helping others. They are people walking around that look human but they are really angels in disguise. The miracles they perform aren’t flashy but rather subtle and magnificent to the souls of whom they touch by their kindnesses. You, Garrison, aren’t flashy either, and I won’t embarrass you by calling you a Saint as you wouldn’t want that, but you are kind, and you make thousands of people smile and feel good every day. Thank you.
Oh, Garrison...Debussy? Why? I agree with buttermilk and Henry James but never Claude! Also, I woke in the night with the following poem that I thought you might agree with:
Ah, it's a fascinating world out there and being old gives us a certain distance and perspective to observe it more freely than if we were under pressure to be Cool or Woke or Whatever. GK
Most things like regret, guilt(a variation on regret) and shame (ditto) should never be the main course of life. They are fine as seasoning, but not too much. Even too much cinnamon renders a roll inedible.
Goldilocks would say, “Get over it, you’ve learned your lesson.” Proceed with striving to be just right, which is following the Golden Rule.
Goldi dealt with bears. She knew what she was talking about.
Looking forward to tomorrow night's show. Request that you replay the German show from Charlottenburg. It was a great one especially when you interview the woman from Iowa, I believe.
I was a fundamentalist for a brief time and had some of that latitude. Brief, thank you JEEEESUS!
In the South it HA-ELPS to draw out words, such as "Jesus". Anyway, I listened to my Prairie Home Companion CD a couple of days ago, and it reminded me of seeing you and the gang down South in Tuscaloosa. Y'all come back, y'hear!
Speaking of Lent nd food! The year I discovered A Prairie Home Companion was the year I volunteered as a librarian at the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Seminary and Monastery. "in appreciation for my services" I could sit in a segregated women's alcove and eat at the Monastery whenever I liked. Lent, I liked less! We were on a mostly vegan diet to begin with - though we sometimes got tiny bits of octopus in the gravy because that particular form of animal life didn't have backbones or spines. The same thing with eggs still in the shell - most of the year. "Lent" meant no eggs, no milk from cows, no fish -the closest we got to protein was soy milk. For a carinovore, Lent was Purgatory!
Oh, how I loved the day when we were Lent free! Some of our extended congregation included Russian Orthodox followers from Brighton Beach, a neighborhood of Brooklyn composed lare=gely of recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. Some of these folks had pity on the monks and seminarians in our Jordanville Monastery. We'd get designated donations for the Friday before Easter so the cooks could buy fish - nice, thick swordfish steaks! That, and the cooks must have spent extra time hard-boiling eggs, dying them in happy colors, and sometimes even putting patterns on them! Pre-Easter day was one of the culinary highlights of our monastic year!
Beautifully written as always. I recently shared a quote of yours on my blog that has gotten me through quite a bit. I won't share the whole quote here; it's long, and you wrote it, so you know it already. But it's the one that ends: "Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people."
Perfection. Chef's kiss. And when I shared that quote in the wake of recent events, people were very moved by it. Your words echo. They always have.
You're the kind of writer I aspire to become: honest and resonant. Thank you for all you do.
I hope it was a bagel worthy of a Rabbi after Passover!
What a beautiful column today, Garrison. I think God truly wants us to be happy. That’s why Adam and Eve were placed in Paradise. But what did they do? Got kicked out because they didn’t know how to be happy. Religions place barriers between us and happiness. That’s also why I am not a religious person. I’m a fallen-away Catholic because the church doesn’t know how to have fun. Too many restrictions, rules and guilt trips. I love your columns because you know how to be content and happy. That’s all you want and you spread it to people daily with your words. I also believe there are Saints in the world…..not those nominated by a church…..but those we never hear about that quietly go about their lives being good and helping others. They are people walking around that look human but they are really angels in disguise. The miracles they perform aren’t flashy but rather subtle and magnificent to the souls of whom they touch by their kindnesses. You, Garrison, aren’t flashy either, and I won’t embarrass you by calling you a Saint as you wouldn’t want that, but you are kind, and you make thousands of people smile and feel good every day. Thank you.
Oh, Garrison...Debussy? Why? I agree with buttermilk and Henry James but never Claude! Also, I woke in the night with the following poem that I thought you might agree with:
PUZZLE
The Addams Family
was the final answer
on last night's Jeopardy
and it occurred to me
this cartoon would no longer appear
in today's New Yorker,
After all,
Gomez was Hispanic
and Morticia an abusive mother.
The lush ribaldry
of Peter Arno and Chas Addams
replaced by stick figures and baffling captions.
Crossword puzzles
filled with computer idioms
and the names of rap stars,
current magazines
featuring photos and stories
of stars I neither recognize nor care to.
In my old age
I've become
an anachronism.
Ah, it's a fascinating world out there and being old gives us a certain distance and perspective to observe it more freely than if we were under pressure to be Cool or Woke or Whatever. GK
This is a lovely. The line about "it's hard to start a conversation with a saint" made me think for a while. Thanks much.
Most things like regret, guilt(a variation on regret) and shame (ditto) should never be the main course of life. They are fine as seasoning, but not too much. Even too much cinnamon renders a roll inedible.
Goldilocks would say, “Get over it, you’ve learned your lesson.” Proceed with striving to be just right, which is following the Golden Rule.
Goldi dealt with bears. She knew what she was talking about.
I just joined this list this week. As a pastor in a somewhat strict denomination, this column rings so many bells. Wow! Now I want a bagel too.
I always like the music segments at the end of your comments.
Keep up you witty and humorous writing.We just finished shoveling the snow,and sat down to read your column.Love you from northern Illinois.
Looking forward to tomorrow night's show. Request that you replay the German show from Charlottenburg. It was a great one especially when you interview the woman from Iowa, I believe.
This is a very funny column. Thanks!
I was a fundamentalist for a brief time and had some of that latitude. Brief, thank you JEEEESUS!
In the South it HA-ELPS to draw out words, such as "Jesus". Anyway, I listened to my Prairie Home Companion CD a couple of days ago, and it reminded me of seeing you and the gang down South in Tuscaloosa. Y'all come back, y'hear!
Oh Garrison, you’re like a fine wine… maturing and improving beautifully with age.
I kind of liked the joke about Jesus on the cross - I'd never heard it before. Inappropriate, yes, but pretty funny.
Speaking of Lent nd food! The year I discovered A Prairie Home Companion was the year I volunteered as a librarian at the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Seminary and Monastery. "in appreciation for my services" I could sit in a segregated women's alcove and eat at the Monastery whenever I liked. Lent, I liked less! We were on a mostly vegan diet to begin with - though we sometimes got tiny bits of octopus in the gravy because that particular form of animal life didn't have backbones or spines. The same thing with eggs still in the shell - most of the year. "Lent" meant no eggs, no milk from cows, no fish -the closest we got to protein was soy milk. For a carinovore, Lent was Purgatory!
Oh, how I loved the day when we were Lent free! Some of our extended congregation included Russian Orthodox followers from Brighton Beach, a neighborhood of Brooklyn composed lare=gely of recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. Some of these folks had pity on the monks and seminarians in our Jordanville Monastery. We'd get designated donations for the Friday before Easter so the cooks could buy fish - nice, thick swordfish steaks! That, and the cooks must have spent extra time hard-boiling eggs, dying them in happy colors, and sometimes even putting patterns on them! Pre-Easter day was one of the culinary highlights of our monastic year!
Beautifully written as always. I recently shared a quote of yours on my blog that has gotten me through quite a bit. I won't share the whole quote here; it's long, and you wrote it, so you know it already. But it's the one that ends: "Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people."
Perfection. Chef's kiss. And when I shared that quote in the wake of recent events, people were very moved by it. Your words echo. They always have.
You're the kind of writer I aspire to become: honest and resonant. Thank you for all you do.
Garrison: You're a treasure whom I measure by the pleasure of my leisure when I reads your happy screeds -- they're truly deeds that suit my needs.
Thanks for all that you are, good sir!