On the Susan Boyle UTube phenomenon
"Possibly we overrate Miss Boyle's accomplishment, for what has she proved but that an individual can aspire, that a cheerful perseverance can prevail, that an imprisoning mold can be cast off and that life, after all, can be fair."
"One dream is realized, and twenty million other dreams are fetched from the closet, dusted off and tried on again for size."
"Is it a sin to share vicariously the shining moment of another? Hardly, for the triumph of one underdog is a triumph for the species. To paraphrase the poet, Send not to know for whom the crowd cheers, it cheers for thee."
When Death Comes For Us
When Death comes for us
may our lives be already safely stored away
in the minds and hearts and memories of those we have loved,
and in the happiness and well-being of all we have helped,
and may death find no life to take from us
but shuffle off defeated,
having relieved us only of our dying.
A stray reverie
"I remember Halloweens of long ago and a child in a ghost costume, and somehow it seems more real to me than the memory of long-ago Christmases and a ghost in a child costume."
~~ Robert Brault
15 comments:
Welcome home, Robert! So good to see your wonderful words again. BUT...Please do take your time in getting back into the groove. You've just experienced a trip of a lifetime, as the saying goes. Rest and recoup!
By the way, these may be from your archives, but they're certainly new to me...and so wonderful.
These were a blessing to read today. Thank you.
The second and third Susan Boyle-related quotes are my favorites, but I enjoyed each one!
Glad you're home. (You may not share that feeling...)
;)
"When Death Comes For Us" is just wonderful. Welcome back!
Wonderful and appropriate quotes for Susan Boyle, some of the best I have seen, thanks and hope you recover soon!
Becky,
Thanks. I am taking your advice this weekend and have gone into full "rest and recoup" mode.
Kathi,
So glad you liked. There is so much in the archives that I wish people would read. (Something every blogger hopes for in vain.)
Sue,
Italy was wonderful -- and will grow more wonderful in memory -- but I am very, very glad to be home.
Kavey,
Thank you. Today we're headed for Schenectady NY to inter the ashes of Joan's mother, who died in August at age 100. Joan has asked me to read those lines, and I could not be more honored to do so, for they could not apply more completely to any person I have ever known.
Anon,
It's amazing, isn't it, the way the Susan Boyle UTube evokes the same uplifting emotion every time you look at it. I give myself that treat every once in a while.
smiles all,
rb
Welcome back, Robert. I can't wait to hear which places you visited. I think I'll get my Italy photos out soon and see what I can paint.
I can't recall reading 'When Death Comes For Us' before. To say it is very good would not come close to how good it really is.
Ken,
Thanks, as always. Don't know when or if I'll write about Italy; it was a pretty whirlwind tour: Rome to Pompeii to Sorrento to Positano to Capri to Assisi to Venice to Locarno to Lake Maggiore to Florence to Siena and back to Rome. Seeing Michelangelo's "David" in Florence very much the artistic highlight. Scenic best was the much-painted mountainside town of Positano on the Amalfi coast. Traveled enough cliffside "Mama Mia!" roads to last a while.
smiles,
rb
Ahhh, I found you! I'd lost your blog for a long time, must keep better bookmarks! So glad I "found" you again.
I love the poem. Great blog! Thank you for sharing. I hope you enjoyed your trip. Italy is wonderful.
I'm back today after a break, didn't know you too were away...welcome back to you!
'When death Comes For Us' is beautiful and I'll be sharing it on my social network, with your permission,of course! It brings to mind the poem 'Death Be Not Proud' by John Donne
Katie,
So glad you found your way back. I knew I was missing someone.
Heather,
Welcome -- and thanks. Yes, Italy was wonderful. It'll make a spectacular memory.
khushi,
Delighted to have you share the poem. Any comparison with John Donne gratefully accepted.
smiles all,
rb
Here is a poet/prophet/philosopher among us. In my lifetime (and I'm not a spring chicken and I've rad a lot), I've neveer encountered anyone who so cosistently, concisely, precisely profoundly, and simply weaves words to together to form such an amusing, thought-provoking web of ideas. donkimrey
P.S. You didn't tell Joan about my friend, the realist? Not even deserving of an "AAAAARRRRRGH?" ~donkimrey
Don/Anon,
Thank you for the fulsome praise. Keep it coming. It works for me as a laxative. As for the "hare" pun, I didn't get it. Did you mean "hair?" Joan and I can't decide.
smiles,
rb
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