Podcast 14 — One beautiful thing about getting old is the irrelevance. It’s a troubled world and my importance in it is very slight, not like when I was young and the center of the solar system...
Thanks for this, Garrison. I was beginning to wonder if “hon” had gone the way of the dodo bird. I hope your server also said, “Y’all come back and see us now, hear?” Sweet things like that make me feel good too.
Garrison, it's amazing to us how a little extra personality from a server, something that would seem to be almost nothing can make the entire dining experience better. To you I say, take the rest of the day off hon. RR
Hardly, Mr. Keillor! Some of us, many of us loved the sincerity of PHC. In a country that was run by a carnival barker (and my yet be again, God fore-fend) with his hand on the nuclear trigger, we could relate to Ollie crawling down from his death bed and Lena henpecking him for eating the pie that was for after the funeral!
What American man hasn't known a woman like Lena? (And been a poor schlub like Ollie) I ask you. She who prefers that the funeral go as planned rather than her husband unexpectedly lives.
There’s another thought in this Podcast that caught my attention! You called yourself “privileged” in ways that “The Average Joe” might not have called attention to. Your parents “loved each other” – and, from all I’ve heard in your broadcasts about family life, the female partner didn’t try to run over the other like she was driving a Mack Truck!
Did your parents come from “Older brother, younger sister” family combinations? Mine were the other way around. I worked with a woman who had been the younger sister to her older brother. I loved to see her together with her spouse, who also worked for our company. They’d take lunch together. She was docile, gentle and respectful in his presence. He was considerate or her needs and definitely “The Head of the Family.” I’d watch them together and wonder why my parents were never like that. It could have been a very simple factor like birth order. If it’s older sister, younger brother – “Sis” often becomes brother’s baby sitter. If brother makes a mistake, it’s Sis’s fault for not watching him carefully enough. Brother may not like it, but what can he do? It’s as if, in our culture, with precedence given to “Dominant Males”, it’s as if we’re assigning about half the population to being “Out of Step!”
Maybe part of your “privilege” is that your parents were born in the “Superior order” – Boy first, girl later on! When you think about “Lake Woebegon days;” I wonder if some of the “low tension married partnerships” were like your own family situation, whereas some of the “Brazen Females” might have been older sisters? Just asking!
Dear, Dear Honored Host! How can you say that your importance in today's world is very small? You've planted a seed, and it's grown into a Ponderosa pine or a tropical palm tree, that could be a life-saving sight for a ship-full of sailors lost at sea! Your messages of Mutual Respect and Brotherly Love for others, no matter their race, creed, or annual income, have affected millions. Possibly that's even billions of people, when you count all the folks around the world who have heard the show or met with APHCers in one way or another over the years!
And, I don't know how much the Brethren count "Doing The Lord's Work" as a passport to Heaven, but it seems to me that there's already a gatekeeper at the Pearly Gates who has your name written in The Book as a "Welcome With Eager Arms!" entrant! You'll be a model for others for generations to come!
'nuther woman in Kentucky. One who very much enjoyed your Lexington gig last week. It happened to coincide with the 80th birthday of my fabulous aunt who first introduced me to PHC many years ago. Her husband said, "he is really an evangelist," which I take in the best sense of the word: sharing good news. Thank you. Blessings, dear.
How lovely! I'm glad her "hon" warmed your heart rather than causing you frustration. Way too many people, I would imagine mostly men, would be offended by being called "hon"
Verdery Kassebaum (Female, in spite of the odd name)
Some won't, lost as they are....often for some very sad reasons. That said, smiles and thanks is as often as good as the Good Samaritan, but cost-free.
I’m sitting on a dock in MN watching the sun come up. I find your voice here, listen with my eyes closed... sun warming my face little by little. This all has started my day perfectly. Thank you for that, hon. 😊
Come to Newfoundland, Garrison, and you will be addressed as "Darlin'" by their female wait persons, who say it with a smile that brightens your day.
Thanks for this, Garrison. I was beginning to wonder if “hon” had gone the way of the dodo bird. I hope your server also said, “Y’all come back and see us now, hear?” Sweet things like that make me feel good too.
This guy's writing is good medicine. I try to get some of it a few times a week and I'm all the better for it.
Thank you my dear.😉
Garrison, it's amazing to us how a little extra personality from a server, something that would seem to be almost nothing can make the entire dining experience better. To you I say, take the rest of the day off hon. RR
"My importance in the world is very slight..."
Hardly, Mr. Keillor! Some of us, many of us loved the sincerity of PHC. In a country that was run by a carnival barker (and my yet be again, God fore-fend) with his hand on the nuclear trigger, we could relate to Ollie crawling down from his death bed and Lena henpecking him for eating the pie that was for after the funeral!
What American man hasn't known a woman like Lena? (And been a poor schlub like Ollie) I ask you. She who prefers that the funeral go as planned rather than her husband unexpectedly lives.
Thank you
There’s another thought in this Podcast that caught my attention! You called yourself “privileged” in ways that “The Average Joe” might not have called attention to. Your parents “loved each other” – and, from all I’ve heard in your broadcasts about family life, the female partner didn’t try to run over the other like she was driving a Mack Truck!
Did your parents come from “Older brother, younger sister” family combinations? Mine were the other way around. I worked with a woman who had been the younger sister to her older brother. I loved to see her together with her spouse, who also worked for our company. They’d take lunch together. She was docile, gentle and respectful in his presence. He was considerate or her needs and definitely “The Head of the Family.” I’d watch them together and wonder why my parents were never like that. It could have been a very simple factor like birth order. If it’s older sister, younger brother – “Sis” often becomes brother’s baby sitter. If brother makes a mistake, it’s Sis’s fault for not watching him carefully enough. Brother may not like it, but what can he do? It’s as if, in our culture, with precedence given to “Dominant Males”, it’s as if we’re assigning about half the population to being “Out of Step!”
Maybe part of your “privilege” is that your parents were born in the “Superior order” – Boy first, girl later on! When you think about “Lake Woebegon days;” I wonder if some of the “low tension married partnerships” were like your own family situation, whereas some of the “Brazen Females” might have been older sisters? Just asking!
Dear, Dear Honored Host! How can you say that your importance in today's world is very small? You've planted a seed, and it's grown into a Ponderosa pine or a tropical palm tree, that could be a life-saving sight for a ship-full of sailors lost at sea! Your messages of Mutual Respect and Brotherly Love for others, no matter their race, creed, or annual income, have affected millions. Possibly that's even billions of people, when you count all the folks around the world who have heard the show or met with APHCers in one way or another over the years!
And, I don't know how much the Brethren count "Doing The Lord's Work" as a passport to Heaven, but it seems to me that there's already a gatekeeper at the Pearly Gates who has your name written in The Book as a "Welcome With Eager Arms!" entrant! You'll be a model for others for generations to come!
'nuther woman in Kentucky. One who very much enjoyed your Lexington gig last week. It happened to coincide with the 80th birthday of my fabulous aunt who first introduced me to PHC many years ago. Her husband said, "he is really an evangelist," which I take in the best sense of the word: sharing good news. Thank you. Blessings, dear.
How lovely! I'm glad her "hon" warmed your heart rather than causing you frustration. Way too many people, I would imagine mostly men, would be offended by being called "hon"
Verdery Kassebaum (Female, in spite of the odd name)
I just celebrated my 78th birthday & am beginning to enjoy my new-found irrelevance.
"GET-ONE-GIVE-ONE, HON"..
Some won't, lost as they are....often for some very sad reasons. That said, smiles and thanks is as often as good as the Good Samaritan, but cost-free.
Pass it on!
I’m sitting on a dock in MN watching the sun come up. I find your voice here, listen with my eyes closed... sun warming my face little by little. This all has started my day perfectly. Thank you for that, hon. 😊
Love baskets and gravy