Make Fun Of Life!

This Funny Green Monster Sees Something!

9/30/2022

Picture of a happy smiling green slug-like monster with two big eyes on the ends of eye-stalks at the top of its head, and its big red tongue hanging out like a dog.

This funny green monster is seeing what is on www.MakeFunOfLife.net and is keenly interested . . . perhaps you will be too . . .

If you came here looking for humor, inspiration, and learning, you are in the right place. Just travel down this page, skipping the articles that might not interest you, until you come to the ones that appeal to you. When you have a moment, be sure to visit some of the more than 70 other pages on the website, such as the Library Page, which includes Horror and Adventure, and which can be explored by clicking or tapping on the drop-down menu near the top of this page or further down this page in the right-hand column as blinking images.

This is MFOL! . . . a place for monstrous fun and more . . .

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Ladders

9/29/2022

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Picture of a man standing on the Moon after having climbed a ladder to reach it, and the words, ‘One night, when he thought no one would notice, Boris climbed his ladder all the way to the Moon, but his wife Glendora saw him, and yelled, “Boris, you get down from there this instant before you injure yourself!” Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net’

“Life is like a ladder, every step can take you either up or down.” -Jerry Seinfeld (Jerome Allen ‘Jerry’ Seinfeld (born 1954))

“Failures are steps in the ladder of success.” -James Allen (1864 - 1912)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Failures and Successes” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“To reach a great height, a person must have great depth . . . or a ladder.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Beaumont’s Quotations” by David Hugh Beaumont.

Questionable Facts About Ladders
- Ladders allow you to go up and down while they themselves remain stationary.
- When a ladder gets wet, it could be slippery and unsafe to climb, and must be ‘rung out’ until dry.
- Speaking of ‘rung out,’ if there is a broken or missing rung in a ladder, it is time to find a new ladder.
- Ladders can be used to reach high places, and can also be lowered into pits to help you reach low places.
- If you walk under a ladder, you will have 7 years of bad luck trying to wash the paint out of your hair that the person on the ladder spilled on you.
- Ladders are a means of egress, similar to elevators, stairs, climbing ropes, ramps, escalators, and spiderwebs.
- Ladders will only be necessary until we all learn how to levitate or we build functional jetpacks; after that, we won’t need ladders anymore.
What questionable facts can you add to this list?

“He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.” -Author Unknown: English proverb
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Beginnings and Starting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Where a ladder takes you depends on how many rungs you are willing to climb.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“For every person who climbs the ladder of success, there are a dozen waiting for the elevator.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Numbers and Counting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Laddie: Why did the student take a ladder to school?
Lassie: Because she wanted to go to high school.

“Each time you decide to grow again, you realize you’re starting at the bottom of another ladder.” -Ken Rosenthal
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Second Chances and New Beginnings” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Stepladder, noun: a short ladder with flat steps and a small platform at its top, that can stand on its own or be folded for carrying.

Picture of a man pointing at a step ladder and the words, ‘This is my step ladder. I never knew my real ladder. Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net’

“As you climb the ladder of success, be sure it’s leaning against the right building.” -H. Jackson Brown, Junior (born 1940)

“Many a man gets to the top of the ladder, and then finds out it has been leaning against the wrong wall.” -Author Unknown

Types of Ladders
- Rope
- Jacob’s
- Aluminum
- Wood
Can you think of other types of ladders?

“A wise man lowers a ladder before he jumps into a pit.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “A Wise Person Once Said” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Step by step the ladder is ascended.” -Author Unknown

“To succeed, you have to be open to problems. You have to be open to failure. And as you go up the ladder, you gain the right to get more problems.” -Dave Anderson
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Problems and Solutions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“One only gets to the top rung of the ladder by steadily climbing up one at a time, and suddenly all sorts of powers, all sorts of abilities which you thought never belonged to you - suddenly become within your own possibility and you think, ‘Well, I’ll have a go, too.’” -Margaret Thatcher (Margaret Hilda ‘Margaret’ Thatcher (1925 - 2013))

“The most difficult part of getting to the top of the ladder is getting through the crowd at the bottom.” -Arch Ward (Archie Burdette Ward (1896 - 1955))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Difficulty and Ease” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.” -Napoleon Hill (Oliver Napoleon ‘Napoleon’ Hill (1883 - 1970))

Ladder, noun: A structure consisting of a series of bars or steps between two upright lengths of wood, metal, or rope, used for climbing up or down something.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Daffynitions and Definitions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Climbing the ladder of success: When rungs were missing, I learned to jump.” -William Warfield (1920 - 2002)

Riddle: A man fell off a 20-foot ladder and landed on the concrete sidewalk, but he did not get hurt. Why?
Solution: He fell off the bottom rung.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Riddles and Puzzles” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“In spite of the fact that the ladder tapers to one-man rungs at the top, the roomiest part is farthest up.” -Charles R. Gow

“The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.” -T. H. Huxley (Thomas Henry Huxley (1825 - 1895)): “Life and Letters of Thomas Huxley,” originally stated in “An Address to the Students of the Faculty of Medicine in University College, London, 18 May 1870, On the Occasion of the Distribution of Prizes for the Session”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Continuing and Progressing” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont

“There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he be willing to climb himself.” -Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919)

“You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.” -Zig Ziglar (Hilary Hinton ‘Zig’ Ziglar (1926 - 2012))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Zig Ziglar” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“If you cannot find or reach the ladder of success, you may have to build your own ladder.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“They climbed the ladder of learning only to find it leaning against the wrong wall.” -Russell M. Nelson

“The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.” -Ayn Rand (pseudonym of Alice O’Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (1905 - 1982)))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Opportunities and Possibilities” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Crosses are the ladders that lead to Heaven.” -Samuel Smiles (1812 - 1904): “Self Help” (1859)

Picture of an old wooden weather-beaten ladder leaning against a tree and going all the way to the top of the tree, with a clear blue sky above.

“At first, humans climbed trees, but trees were mostly immobile, and often did not reach all of the places where one might wish to be. Eventually, humans discovered how to make movable trees that could reach a few more of the places where one might wish to be, and these human creations came to be called ‘ladders.’” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about History” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Another riverman of those days has recalled a story he heard Sam Clemens tell: ‘We were speaking of presence of mind in accidents - we were always talking of such things; then he said: ‘Boys, I had great presence of mind once. It was at a fire. An old man leaned out of a four-story building calling for help. Everybody in the crowd below looked up, but nobody did anything. The ladders weren’t long enough. Nobody had any presence of mind - nobody but me. I came to the rescue. I yelled for a rope. When it came I threw the old man the end of it. He caught it and I told him to tie it around his waist. He did so, and I pulled him down.’” -Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910)): as quoted in Albert Bigelow Paine: “Mark Twain: A Biography” (1912)

“We climb a ladder a rung at a time.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Inspiration and Motivation” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Do not despise the bottom rungs in the ascent to greatness.” -Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.)

“There are, of course, several things in Ontario that are more dangerous than wolves. For instance, the step-ladder.” -J. W. Curran (James Watson Curran (1865 - 1918)): as quoted in “The Canadian Wildlife Almanac” (1981)

According to superstition, it is bad luck to walk under a ladder . . . or maybe it’s just a matter of gravity?

“What does a simpleton’s stepladder say at the top? ‘STOP HERE.’” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Simpletons and Sages” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” -Stephen R. Covey (Stephen Richards Covey (1932 - 2012))

“On the ladder of success: Some people are at the top of the ladder, some are in the middle, still more are at the bottom, and a whole lot of people don’t even know there is a ladder.” -Robert Schuller (Robert Harold Schuller (1926 - 2015))

A Few Ladder Safety Guidelines
- Always maintain three points of contact with the ladder.
- Do not place a ladder on a slippery floor; this rule you must not ignore.
- Inspect your ladder before you use it.
- Keep both hands on ladder at all times.
- When on a ladder, never step back to admire your work.
Can you think of other ladder safety guidelines?
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Accidents and Safety” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“He that climbs a ladder must begin at the first round.” -Walter Scott (1771 - 1832): “Kenilworth” (1821); quotation also found in Walter Scott: “The Waverley Novels: In Twelve Volumes, Printed from the Latest English Editions, Embracing the Author's Last Corrections, Prefaces, and Notes” (1855), page 50

This is MFOL! . . . for people whose ladder goes all the way to the top . . .

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Quitting and Trying

9/19/2022

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Picture of a group of co-workers gathered around a computer, looking concerned and apprehensive.

You Can Do It

Giving up is easy
     When your dreams seem far away,
And life is full of obstacles,
     You face them every day.
But, no matter what the challenge
     Some faith will get you through it.
So never quit believing,
     Just remember, you can do it!

by Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Poetry” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Unless you’re willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won’t happen.” -Phillip Adams (Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams (born 1939))

“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” -Tony Robbins (Anthony Jay ‘Tony’ Robbins (born 1960))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Competitions and Contests” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try.” -Author Unknown

“I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don’t.” -Neila Rey (born 1986) at https://darebee.com
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Emotions and Feelings” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Keep trying. It’s only from the valley that the mountain seems high.” -Author Unknown

“Never quit. If you stumble, get back up. What happened yesterday no longer matters. Today is another day. So, get back on track and move closer to your dreams and goals. You can do it.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Inspiration and Motivation” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The man who tried his best and failed is superior to the man who never tried.” -Bud Wilkinson (Charles Burnham ‘Bud’ Wilkinson (1916 - 1994))

“It’s always too early to quit.” -Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Norman Vincent Peale” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” -George E. Woodberry (George Edward Woodberry (1855 - 1930))

“Your biggest break can come from never quitting. Being at the right place at the right time can only happen when you keep moving toward the next opportunity.” -Arthur Pine
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Opportunities and Possibilities” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Most of the important things in this world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” -Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955))): as quoted in Joseph O’Day: “The Ring of Truth” (2004)

“Half the things that people do not succeed in, are through fear of making the attempt.” -James Northcote
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Fears and Courage” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.” -Virgil Thomson (1896 - 1989)

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” -Elbert Hubbard (Elbert Green Hubbard (1856 - 1915))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Daffynitions and Definitions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Before you quit, try.” -William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994)

“There is an old saying: ‘If you hang in there long enough, keep trying, and don’t give up, something good is bound to happen.’” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Beaumont’s Quotations” by David Hugh Beaumont.

“In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” -Cassius Longinus (C.E. 213 - C.E. 273)

“If you only do what you know you can do, you never do very much.” -Tom Krause (Tom Gunnar Krause (1934 - 2013))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.” -Stephen Kaggwa

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett (Samuel Barclay Beckett (1906 - 1989)): “Worstward Ho” (1983)

“Don’t give up. One day you will look back and be glad you didn’t.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about the Future and Predictions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“In every triumph there’s a lot of try.” -Frank Tyger (1929 - 2011)

“Don’t give up. Moses was once a basket case.” -Author Unknown

“No one knows what he can do till he tries.” -Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.): “Public Sayings”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Minds and Thinking” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“There’s moments where I want to break down and cry, but not give up.” -Ashlee Simpson

“Never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey.” -Author Unknown

“It doesn’t matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again.” -Charles F. Kettering (Charles Franklin Kettering (1876 - 1958))

Picture of a chalk board with chalk writing reading, ‘Never Give Up.’

“Try something, anything. If it doesn’t work, try something else. The important thing is that you try, and keep on trying, and never give up trying.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“If you don’t try, you can’t fail . . . or succeed.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Failures and Successes” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.” -Jack Nicklaus (Jack William Nicklaus (born 1940))

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” -Maya Angelou (Marguerite Ann Johnson (1928 - 2014))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Continuing and Progressing” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“‘It’s impossible,’ said pride. ‘It’s risky,’ said experience. ‘It’s pointless,’ said reason. ‘Give it a try,’ whispered the heart.” -Author Unknown

“The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized - and never knowing.” -David Viscott (David Steven Viscott (1938 - 1996))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Life and Living” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.” -Ross Perot (Henry Ross Perot (born 1930))

“Trying will do anything in this world.” -Theocritus (about 300 B.C.E. - after 260 B.C.E.)

“Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.” -Robert Anthony (Robert Newton Anthony (1916 - 2006))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Memory and Memories” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Michelangelo stated, ‘The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but it is too low and we reach it.’ Don’t give up. Success is within reach of everyone, as long as you try. As long as someone is willing to take the first step and continue taking steps, success can be realized. In fact, taking that first step could be the greatest success because it is the building block for all steps that follow and all successes that will be realized in your life. Remember, always try, and remember this simple saying. I never see failure as failure, but only an opportunity to practice and perfect my skills as I take the journey to becoming successful at whatever I decide to do.” -Author Unknown

“They fail, and they alone, who have not striven.” -Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836 - 1907)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Self-Improvement and Self-Help” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“One must learn by doing the thing. For though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.” -Sophocles (496 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.)

“Always remember: All that other folks can do, why with patient persistent trying should not you? Keep that noble chin up and keep trying - wonderful things can happen when we just try! Now, think happy thoughts, put your smile on, and have the best imaginable day.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Today and the Present” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Many a man never fails because he never tries.” -Norman MacEwan (Norman Duckworth Kerr MacEwan (1881 - 1953))

“If you never try, you will never know.” -Author Unknown

“Life has two rules: Number one, never quit; Number two, always remember rule number one.” -Duke Ellington (1899 - 1974)

“It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Learned helplessness is the giving-up reaction, the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn’t matter.” -Martin Seligman (Martin E. P. ‘Marty’ Seligman (born 1942))

“You’ll never find out what you can do, until you do all you can to find out.” -John C. Maxwell (John Calvin Maxwell (born 1947))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Efforts and Benefits” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“You can’t even be a failure if you’ve never tried.” -Andy Capp

“One does not always do the best there is. One does the best one can.” -Catherine II (also known as Catherine the Great (1729 - 1796))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Self-Regard and Self-Acceptance” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The only failure is a failure to try. Everything else is just learning.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Have you ever considered the cost of quitting? For a real eye opener . . . ask Thomas Edison . . . Steve Jobs . . . Michael Jordan . . . or Jim Carrey . . . ask them how much it would have cost them if they had quit . . . what about you?” -Doug Firebaugh (born 1968)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about History” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Overheard: Give it one more try . . .

“To try and fail is at least to learn; to fail to try is to suffer the inestimable loss of what might have been.” -Chester Barnard (Chester Irving Barnard (1886 - 1961))

“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” -Author Unknown

“What isn’t tried won’t work.” -Claude McDonald (Claude Maxwell McDonald (1852 - 1915))

“A lot of people like to do certain things, but they’re not that good at it. Keep going through the things that you like to do, until you find something that you actually seem to be extremely good at. It can be anything.” -George Lucas
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Wisdom and Advice” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Try your best, and then on each succeeding try, attempt to best your last try.” -Author Unknown

“You never fail until you stop trying.” -Florence Griffith Joyner (Florence Delorez Griffith-Joyner (1959 - 1998))

“The last dejected effort often becomes the winning stroke.” -W. J. Cameron (William John Cameron (1879 - 1953))

“Ninety percent of those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit.” -Paul J. Meyer (Paul James Meyer (1928 - 2009))

“If you find yourself in surroundings or around people who tell you that you are a failure before you have even begun to try, you must find a way to begin to try somewhere else and either around people who do not condemn you, or in peaceful solitude.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Loneliness and Solitude” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“If you kinda sorta try, you get kinda sorta results.” -Author Unknown

“Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.” -L. M. Montgomery (Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874 - 1942)): “Anne of Green Gables” (June 1908), Chapter 35; line spoken by fictional character Anne

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” -Beverly Sills (pseudonym of Belle Miriam ‘Bubbles’ Silverman (1929 - 2007))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Personal Destiny” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“You won’t succeed unless you try.” -Author Unknown

Picture of the group of co-workers shown at the start of this article, gathered around a computer, smiling and looking happy.

“When you win, nothing hurts.” -Joe Namath (Joseph William ‘Joe’ Namath (born 1943))

“Every single one of us possesses the strength to attempt something he isn’t sure he can accomplish.” -Scott Jurek (Scott Gordon Jurek (born 1973))

“Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Beginnings and Starting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success.” -Elbert Hubbard (Elbert Green Hubbard (1856 - 1915))

“Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784): “Rasselas” (1759)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Problems and Solutions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.” -George H. Allen (George Herbert Allen, Senior (1918 - 1990))

“Losers quit when they are tired. Winners quit when they have won.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Differences and Individuality” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The only ones who truly fail are those that never try.” -Author Unknown

“You can’t hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can’t catch fish unless you put your line in the water. You can’t reach your goals if you don’t try.” -Kathy Seligman
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Actions and Doing” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“If you try you might; if you don’t you won’t.” -Author Unknown

“It is praiseworthy even to attempt a great action.” -La Rochefoucauld
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Encouragement and Praise” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Life is trying things to see if they work.” -Ray Bradbury (Ray Douglas Bradbury (1920 - 2012))

This is MFOL! . . . where we never stop trying . . . and that is why more humor and inspiration and learning is coming up next . . .

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Procrastination and Procrastinating

9/10/2022

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Picture of a person holding a card reading, ‘If Not Now, Then When?’

“When we procrastinate, we also put a hold on happiness.” -Charles F. Glassman: “Brain Drain: The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life” (2009)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Happiness” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“I am a multi-tasking procrastinator . . . I can put off all kinds of things at once.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Beaumont’s Quotations” by David Hugh Beaumont.

“A task left undone remains undone in two places - at the actual location of the task, and inside your head. Incomplete tasks in your head consume the energy of your attention as they gnaw at your conscience.” -Brahma Kumaris
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Minds and Thinking” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“You may delay, but Time will not.” -Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin ‘Ben’ Franklin (1706 - 1790)): “Poor Richard’s Almanack” (1758)

They said ‘procrastination’ was
     The source of all my sorrow.
I don’t know what that big word means -
     I’ll look it up tomorrow.
-Author Unknown

Procrastination, noun: the act of delaying or postponing something.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Daffynitions and Definitions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Earl: Can you give me the definition of procrastination?
Lee: I will do it later.
Earl: You are right!

procrastination is the
art of keeping
up with yesterday
-Don Marquis (Donald Robert Perry ‘Don’ Marquis (1878 - 1937)): “the lives and times of archy & mehitabel” (1940), using lower case letters and no punctuation, in the style of the fictional writer character he created

“In delay there lies no plenty.” -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

“Procrastination is not laziness,” I tell him. “It is fear. Call it by its right name, and forgive yourself.” -Julia Cameron (Julia B. Cameron (born 1948)): “The Prosperous Heart” (2012)
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“It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work. Now, I’m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I’m happy at least that I didn’t wait twenty years.” -Paulo Coelho (born 1947)
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“Join the circus of chaos . . . juggling, stilt walking, and other skills for socially acceptable procrastination.” -Pat Murphy (Patrice Ann ‘Pat’ Murphy (born 1955))

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.” -Napoleon Hill (Oliver Napoleon ‘Napoleon’ Hill (1883 - 1970))
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“Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible.” -George Claude Lorimer (1838 - 1904): as quoted in George Horace Lorimer (1867 - 1937): “Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son” (1902), ‘June 25, 189-,’ page 48
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“While we are postponing, life speeds by.” -Lucius Annaeus Seneca (also known as Seneca the Younger (3 B.C.E. - C.E. 65))

“I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung.” -Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” -Jerry Alan West (Jerome ‘Jerry’ Alan West (born 1938))
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“Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.” -Mason Cooley (1927 - 2002)
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Overheard: I bought a book titled “How to Stop Procrastinating,” and I have promised myself that someday, I am going to actually read it.
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“Do not put your work off till tomorrow and the day after; for a sluggish worker does not fill his barn.” -Hesiod (about 800 B.C.E. - about 720 B.C.E.)

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” -Stephen King (Stephen Edwin King (born 1947))
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“The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself.” -Rita Emmett (1943 - 2019)
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“Things dreaded require double time to accomplish them.” -James Lendall Basford (1845 - 1915)

“If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.” -Ivan Turgenev (Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818 - 1883))

“Begin while others are procrastinating. Work while others are wishing.” -William A. Ward (William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994))

“KISS Procrastination Away: Keep It Super Simple, Keep It Step-by-Step, Keep It Scheduled and Systematic.” -Lisa A. Mininni (Lisa Ann Mininni (born 1954))
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“How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.” -Martin Luther (1483 - 1546)

“Doing just a little bit during the time we have available puts you that much further ahead than if you took no action at all.” -Byron Pulsifer (Byron R. Pulsifer) at https://www.QuotesChristian.com

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” -Anne Frank (Annelies Marie ‘Anne’ Frank (1929 - 1945)): “The Diary of a Young Girl” (1952)

Lose This Day Loitering

Lose this day loitering - ’twill be the same story
     To-morrow - and the next more dilatory;
Each indecision brings its own delays,
     And days are lost lamenting o’er lost days,
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute -
     Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated -
     Begin it, and then the work will be completed!

by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749 - 1832): “Faust,” Part 1 (1808) and Part 2 (1832)

Overheard: Some tasks have to be put off dozens of times before they will completely slip your mind.
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“Things don’t get any easier by putting them off.” -W. Somerset Maugham (William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)): “The Razor’s Edge” (1943)

Shun delays, they breed remorse;
     Take thy time while time is lent thee;
Creeping snails have weakest force,
     Fly their fault lest thou repent thee.
Good is best when soonest wrought,
     Linger’d labours come to nought.
-Robert Southwell (1561 - 1595): “Loss in Delay”; as quoted in William B. Turnbull, editor: “The Poetical Works of the Rev. Robert Southwell” (1856)

“I’m very busy doing things I don’t need to do in order to avoid anything I’m actually supposed to be doing.” -Author Unknown

“Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!” -Donald Gardner
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“Waiting to develop courage is just another form of procrastination. We must take action while we’re afraid.” -Author Unknown
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“A procrastinator’s work is never done.” -Author Unknown

“Getting an idea should be like sitting on a pin; it should make you jump up and do something.” -E. L. Simpson

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” -Thomas Draxe (birth year unknown - 1618): “Adages” (1616)
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“Remember, action today can prevent a crisis tomorrow.” -Steve Shallenberger (Steven R. Shallenberger (born 1958)): “Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders” (2014)

“What is deferred is not avoided.” -Thomas More (1478 - 1535): “Utopia” (1516)

Procrastination is the thief of time:
     Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves
     The vast concerns of an eternal scene.
-Edward Young (1683 - 1765): “Night Thoughts” (1742 - 1745), line 393

“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” -Charles Dickens (Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812 - 1870))

“Procrastination is a road-block in the path of success.” -Author Unknown

“The habit of always putting off an experience until you can afford it, or until the time is right, or until you know how to do it, is one of the greatest burglars of joy. Be deliberate, but once you’ve made up your mind - jump in.” -Charles R. Swindoll (Charles Rozell ‘Chuck’ Swindoll (born 1934)): “Living on the Ragged Edge” (1985), page 110
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“Often greater risk is involved in postponement than in making a wrong decision.” -Harry A. Hopf (Harry Arthur Hopf (1882 - 1949))
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“Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow.” -Gerald Vaughan

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” -Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955))): “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” (1948)

“I’m going to stop putting things off, starting tomorrow!” -Sam Levenson (Samuel ‘Sam’ Levenson (1911 - 1980))

“What may be done at any Time will be done at no Time.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 5500

“Procrastination is a teardrop in the sands of time.” -Heath Byers

“One of these days is none of these days.” -H. G. Bohn (Henry George Bohn (1796 - 1884))

“Every duty which is bidden to wait, returns with seven fresh duties at its back.” -Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875): “Sermons for the Times” (1855)

“It has been a productive day - I got a lot of procrastinating accomplished.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“The man who will not act until he knows all will never act at all . . .” -Jim Elliot (1927 - 1956)

“Procrastination usually results in sorrowful regret. Today’s duties put off until tomorrow give us a double burden to bear; the best way is to do them in their proper time.” -Ida Scott Taylor (Ida Scott Taylor McKinney (1855 - 1932))

“The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.” -Richard Cushing (Richard James Cushing (1895 - 1970))

“There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down - until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living.” -George Sheehan (1918 - 1993)

“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.” -Paulo Coelho (born 1947)

Defer not till to-morrow to be wise,
To-morrow’s Sun to thee may never rise.
-William Congreve (1670 - 1729): “Letter to Cobham,” line 61

“Postpone not a good action.” -Author Unknown: Irish proverb
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“If you put off everything till you’re sure of it, you’ll get nothing done.” -Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993): as quoted in Jerald Greenberg and Robert A. Baron: “Behavior in Organizations: Understanding & Managing the Human Side of Work” (1995), page 371
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All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin’ in the Sun,
Talkin’ bout the things
They woulda-coulda-shoulda done . . .
But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All ran away and hid
From one little did.
-Shel Silverstein (Sheldon Allan ‘Shel’ Silverstein (1930 - 1999)): “Falling Up” (1996)

“I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” -Pearl S. Buck (Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (1892 - 1973))
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“Someday is not a day of the week.” -Janet Dailey (Janet Anne Haradon Dailey (1944 - 2013))

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Butter.
Butter, who?
Butter late than never!
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“Don’t put off for tomorrow what you should do today.” -Aesop: “The Grasshopper and the Ants” (about 6th century B.C.E.)

“By one delay after another they spin out their whole lives, till there’s no more future left for them.” -Roger L’Estrange (1616 - 1704)
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“He who hesitates is last.” -Mae West

“If you have goals and procrastination, you have nothing. If you have goals and you take action, you will have anything you want.” -Thomas J. Vilord (Thomas Joseph Vilord (born 1975))
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“By the street of By-and-By, one arrives at the House of Never.” -Miguel de Cervantes (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547 - 1616)): “Don Quixote” (1605)

“A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.” -Hunter S. Thompson (Hunter Stockton Thompson (1937 - 2005)): “The Proud Highway” (1997)
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“If and When were planted, and Nothing grew.” -Catherine Pulsifer (born 1927): “If and When” at https://www.QuotesChristian.com
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“There is no avoidance in delay.” -Aeschylus (about 525 B.C.E. - about 456 B.C.E.): “Agamemnon” (about 458 B.C.E.)

“Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at the moment.” -Robert Benchley (Robert Charles Benchley (1889 - 1945)): as quoted in Robert E. Drennan, editor: “The Algonquin Wits” (1968)

“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.” -Rita Mae Brown (born 1944)

Overheard: I am just waiting to do my work at the last minute, because by then I will be older and wiser.

“Procrastination can lead to undue stress! Do it, finish it, and have less stress in your life!” -Catherine Pulsifer (born 1927) at https://www.QuotesChristian.com
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“The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand. They’re full of eagerness, zest, productivity. You can be, too.” -Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.” -Marie Beynon Ray (1886 - 1969)

“Let’s get started while we’re still young!” -Author Unknown: words said by a man who was seventy-five years of age
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We are MFOL! . . . by making ‘someday’ into ‘today,’ we can make the future better than the present . . .

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Goals and Planning

9/2/2022

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Picture of a rhinoceros running on a treadmill, while looking at a motivational poster of the unicorn it aspires to be, and the words, ‘Goals and Planning gathered by David Hugh Beaumont, A stout rhinoceros aspires to be a svelte unicorn, Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net’

Never give up on your dreams . . .
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“Take your dreams up off the shelf! Put your goals in front of you, and follow them. Focus. Strive. This is what you should be doing; this is what you are here for! You are here to dream, and to live your dreams! This is how things were meant to be. It is time to get back to basics. The essence of your life is your dream! What have you always been dreaming about, ever since you were a youngster? Visualize it, define it, and then go for it! Become happy and share that happiness with the world.” -Author Unknown
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“The most important thing about having goals is having one.” -Geoffrey Abert

“I have come up with a plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel.” -Rowan Atkinson (born 1955): “Black Adder the Third” (British television show)

“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.” -Jim Rohn (Emanuel James ‘Jim’ Rohn (1930 - 2009)) at https://www.jimrohn.com/
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“If ‘Plan A’ fails, remember there are twenty-five more letters.” -Claire Cook
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“One simple mental trick has changed my life. A wise retired railway worker named Danny Breslin told me about it. When you are faced with a task you do not want to perform, do not think of the task as a whole. Do not focus on the hardest part of it. Instead, ask yourself, ‘What is the least I can do towards accomplishing this task? What is the irreducible minimum?’ Do that and you have started on the task itself. So, for instance, if you are procrastinating about a letter you have to write, put aside the thought of the letter itself and what you will say in it. Instead, think of the least you can do towards it, which is getting a pen and paper ready. By doing this you will usually find that you can then actually start writing the letter itself.” -Celia Haddon (born 1945)

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” -Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990)

“Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail.” -Author Unknown
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When any great design thou dost intend,
Think on the means, the manner, and the end.
-John Denham (1615 - 1669): “Of Prudence”

“The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish something; whereas the strongest, by dispersing his over many, may fail to accomplish anything.” -Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)

“Plan your work and work your plan.” -Author Unknown

“He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign.” -Victor Hugo (Victor Marie Hugo (1802 - 1885))
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“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.” -Belva Davis (born Belvagene Melton (1932)) at http://www.belvadavis.com/
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“It takes a mad genius to reach some goals.” -Daniel Akst (born 1956)

“We rarely succeed at anything unless we have fun doing it.” -Author Unknown
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Work diligently toward a goal;
On plans and dreams often dwell;
Don’t wait until you are thirsty,
Before you dig a well.
-Rosemary Perry
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“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” -Earl Nightingale (1921 - 1989)
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“The person with a fixed goal, a clear picture of his desire, or an ideal always before him, causes it, through repetition, to be buried deeply in his subconscious mind and is thus enabled, thanks to its generative and sustaining power, to realize his goal in a minimum of time and with a minimum of physical effort. Just pursue the thought unceasingly. Step by step you will achieve realization, for all your faculties and powers become directed to that end.” -Claude M. Bristol (Claude Myron Bristol (1891 - 1951))
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“The vital, successful people I have met all had one common characteristic. They had a plan.” -Marilyn Van Derbur (Marilyn Elaine Van Derbur (born 1937))
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“The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.” -Lee Iacocca (Lido Anthony ‘Lee’ Iacocca (1924 - 2019))

“You will have wonderful surges forward. Then there must be a time of consolidating before the next forward surge. Accept this as part of the process and never become downhearted.” -Eileen Caddy (1917 - 2006)
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“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” -H. L. Hunt (Haroldson Lafayette ‘H. L.’ Hunt, Junior (1889 - 1974))

“The basic goal-reaching principle is to understand that you go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will be able to see farther.” -Zig Ziglar (Hilary Hinton ‘Zig’ Ziglar (1926 - 2012))
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Write Down Your Goals!

If you don’t write your goal down on paper,
Beware, it may try to be an escaper.
But when you do write your goal in your journal,
What you have done is planted a kernel.
And everyone, who knows anything knows,
That what a man reaps is what a man sows!
So write down your hopes and journal your goals
And press on through the highs and the lows.
Through the thick and through the thin,
If you never, never quit - eventually you win.
In every failure is a seed of success,
So keep trying, keep trying -
And you’ll be the best.
Write down your goals
And surprise the rest.

by Al Argo

“What you get by reaching your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” -Zig Ziglar (Hilary Hinton ‘Zig’ Ziglar (1926 - 2012)): “Biscuits, Fleas, and Pump Handles” (1974), ‘Segment 4: Goals,’ Chapter 4: Reaching Your Goals, page 171
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“Don’t let anyone steal your dream. It’s your dream, not theirs.” -Dan Zadra (Daniel W. Zadra, Senior (born 1946)) at http://zadracreative.com/

“Yes, you can be a dreamer and a doer, too, if you will remove one word from your vocabulary: impossible.” -Robert Schuller (Robert Harold Schuller (1926 - 2015))

Picture of an open notebook with the words, ‘My Plan,’ written at the top of one page, and a person’s hand holding a pen.

Make a written plan . . . and re-read it often . . .

“You can do anything you want in your life and in your career if you have written goals and a plan to get there, and also the commitment to follow through.” -Carol Halsey
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Love - Laugh - www.MakeFunOfLife.net - Liv - Learn

Achieving Your Goals

1. Break your goals into smaller parts.
- Many people abandon their goals because the goals are too big and vague.
- Break goals down into smaller parts.
- Decide on concrete and measurable actions.
- Have solid ideas of what a successful completion of a goal looks like.
2. Commit time daily to goals.
- You do not have necessarily have to commit hours at a time to accomplish a goal, you just have to be focused.
- The greatest advances often occur as the sum total of a series of small efforts.
- Commit to spending at least 15 minutes a day on specific goals.
- Do something that moves you closer to accomplishing your goals.
3. Talk to yourself.
- Repetition is the root of success.
- Remind yourself of your goals every day.
- Turn your most important goal into a one-sentence afﬁrmation.
- Phrase it as though you have already accomplished your goal.
- Repeat regularly and it becomes your natural way of thinking.
4. Make a serious commitment to your goals.
- Make yourself accountable by telling a few trustworthy people of your plans.
- Hope they become interested in your progress and check in with you.
- This will inspire you to keep going and overcome obstacles.
- It is hard not to achieve goals when others are watching and encouraging us.
5. Write your goals down.
- If you write goals down, they are more likely to come to pass.
- Invest time and energy writing your goals down.
- Putting goals on paper makes you more committed to the outcome.
- Reread your goals list periodically.
- It is beneficial to cross items off when they are completed.
6. Review your goals and your progress weekly.
- Re-evaluate each goal as circumstances change.
- If your priorities change, drop goals from your list or add new ones.
- Ask yourself ‘why’ if you have not made progress; ﬁnd out what is in your way.
- Question if unachieved goals are still important to you.
7. If possible, ﬁnd a friend.
- Try to get friends to help out with your project.
- Offer to reciprocate and help your friend in return.
- Two can get more done in a shorter period of time than one.
- You hold each other accountable to accomplishing your goals.
8. Reward yourself.
- As you plan your goals, attach speciﬁc rewards to each goal.
- The reward should be commensurate with the amount of work.
- Be consistent about rewarding yourself for every accomplishment.
- Each completion deserves a reward, no matter how small.
9.Take time to enjoy success.
- Take time to acknowledge the fact that you have accomplished a goal.
- Don’t simply charge into the next task or in time, you will likely burn out.
- Remember the time and effort you invested.
- Savor the feeling of completion.
- Refresh and renew your enthusiasm before you continue.

“Cultivate the habit of setting clearly-defined written goals; they are the road maps that guide you to your destination.” -Roy T. Bennett
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“You must keep your mind on the objective, not on the obstacle.” -William Randolph Hearst (1863 - 1951)
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“The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures, and emotions as if we’ve already achieved them.” -Denis Waitley (Denis Edwin Waitley, Senior (born 1933)) at https://www.deniswaitley.com/

“Each step forward is one less step that has to be taken.” -Brian Adams

The goal shapes the plan.
The plan shapes the action.
The action achieves the results.
The results bring success.
-Author Unknown

“Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions, these can be changed as your priorities change, new ones added, and others dropped.” -O. Carl Simonton (Oscar Carl Simonton, Junior (1942 - 2009))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Changing and Adjusting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you’re ready or not, to put it into action.” -Napoleon Hill (Oliver Napoleon Hill (1883 - 1970))

“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal.” -Elbert Hubbard (Elbert Green Hubbard (1856 - 1915))

“If you have no goals, another day of your life just passes you by.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Age and Aging” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done.” -Richard G. Scott (Richard Gordon Scott (1928 - 2015))

“Once you have a clear objective, think and talk only in terms of ‘How?’” -Brian Tracy (born 1944)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Questions and Queries” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Have the dogged determination to follow through to achieve your goal; regardless of circumstances or whatever other people say, think, or do.” -Paul J. Meyer (Paul James Meyer (1928 - 2009))

“You cannot trust everyone with your dreams, just a very few people. Beware of dream destroyers, those people who pick away at you and your ideas, people who only find fault and reason to criticize, people who keep themselves and others locked into small lives that lack any worthy attainments. Seek out those few individuals who can inspire and motivate you as you work to make your dreams come true.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
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“Reduce your plan to writing . . . The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.” -Napoleon Hill (Oliver Napoleon Hill (1883 - 1970))

“Every minute you spend in your life is either spent bringing you closer to your goals or moving you away from your goals.” -Bo Bennett (Robert Foster ‘Bo’ Bennett (born 1972))
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“Even if I don’t reach all my goals, I’ve gone higher than I would have if I hadn’t set any.” -Danielle Fotopoulos (Danielle Ruth Garrett Fotopoulos (born 1976))

“You can achieve almost any goal if you just do what other successful people have done to achieve the same goals before you.” -Brian Tracy (born 1944)
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“Review your goals twice every day in order to be focused on achieving them.” -Les Brown (Leslie Calvin ‘Les’ Brown (born 1945))

“The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.” -Henry Moore (1898 - 1986)
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“Whether or not you reach your goals in life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them.” -Ronald McNair (1950 - 1986)

“Find a peaceful place where you can make plans for the future. Clear away all distractions: everything within your visual field, everything in your periphery vision, all noises . . . now get to the work of considering what you want to achieve, writing it down in simple yet specific words.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900 - 1944)
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“You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” -Alvin Toffler (1928 - 2016)

“Define your goals in terms of the activities necessary to achieve them, and concentrate on those activities.” -Brian Tracy (born 1944)
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“Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small steps.” -David Lloyd George (1863 - 1945)

“You can do what you want to do, accomplish what you want to accomplish, attain any reasonable objective you may have in mind - not all of a sudden, perhaps not in one swift and sweeping act of achievement - but you can do it gradually, day by day and play by play, if you want to do it, if you work to do it, over a sufficiently long period of time.” -William E. Holler (William E. ‘Bill’ Holler (1888 - 1969))
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“Keep true to the dreams of thy youth.” -Johann Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805)
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“Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be.” -Diana Rankin
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“Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.” -John Dewey (1859 - 1952)

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” -Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

“If you really want something, and really work hard, and take advantage of opportunities, and never give up, you will find a way.” -Jane Goodall (born 1934)
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“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.” -Jim Rohn (Emanuel James ‘Jim’ Rohn (1930 - 2009))

“There is only one perfect time to start working towards a goal: right now.” -Byron Pulsifer (born 1927) at https://www.QuotesChristian.com
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Risks and Rewards

8/25/2022

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Picture of six skydivers jumping out of a flying airplane.

All things considered, activities such as skydiving are less dangerous to your health and longevity than eating starchy foods and staring at a computer screen day after day . . . give yourself a break!

“When we try to be safe, we live our lives being very, very careful; and we wind up having no lives.” -Byron Katie (Byron Kathleen ‘Katie’ Mitchell (born 1942))
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“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” -John Heywood (1497 - 1580): “A Dialogue of Proverbs” (1546)

“You have to be careful about being too careful.” -Beryl Pfizer (1928 - 2016)

“Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per week.” -Author Unknown: Pony Express advertisement (1860)
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“What is life, but one long risk?” -Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879 - 1958)
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“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.” -Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell (1872 - 1970))
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“I risked much, but I made much.” -P. T. Barnum (Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810 - 1891))
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“All men’s gains are the fruit of venturing.” -Herodotus (about 484 B.C.E. - about 425 B.C.E.)

“The greatest rewards in life go to the risk takers.” -Jim McCormick (James ‘Jim’ McCormick (1856 - 1918))
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“They say we are all one risk away from being financially independent.” -Author Unknown

“‘You’ve got to be able to make those daring leaps or you’re nowhere,’ said Muskrat.” -Russell Hoban (Russell Conwell Hoban (1925 - 2011)): “The Mouse and His Child” (1967)

The Cautious Man

There was a very cautious man
     Who never laughed or played.
He never risked, he never tried,
     He never sang or prayed.
And when he one day passed away,
     His insurance was denied.
For since he never really lived,
     They claimed he never died.

by Author Unknown

“Ever since I started flying jets I’ve been driving cars slower and slower. I can’t explain why - just cautious.” -James Jabara (1923 - 1966)

“Being on the tightrope is living; everything else is waiting.” -Karl Wallenda (1905 - 1978)

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Aaron!
Aaron, who?
Aaron on the side of caution!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Knock-Knock Jokes” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” -Hank Aaron (Henry Louis ‘Hank’ Aaron (born 1934))
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“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.” -Author Unknown
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“There is no security on this Earth; there is only opportunity.” -Douglas MacArthur (1880 - 1964)

“And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” -Erica Jong (Erica Mann Jong (born 1942))

“There’s as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something.” -Trammell Crow (Fred ‘Trammell’ Crow (1914 - 2009))

“Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” -H. Jackson Brown, Junior (Harriett Jackson Brown, Junior (born 1940))

“The greatest risk is to risk nothing at all.” -Leo Buscaglia (Felice Leonardo ‘Leo’ Buscaglia, also known as Leo F. Buscaglia (1924 - 1998))

“There’s no such thing as a risk-free life.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Impossible and Possible” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Just remember, kid: if it doesn’t kill you, it makes a great story later on.” -Adam Savage (Adam Whitney Savage (born 1967))

“You fail by not taking risks.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
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“Land is always in the mind of the flying birds.” -Author Unknown
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“The only way to be absolutely safe is never to try anything for the first time.” -Magnus Pyke (Magnus Alfred Pyke (1908 - 1992))
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“If you’re never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances.” -Julia Sorel (pseudonym of Rosalyn Drexler): “See How She Runs” (1978)

“Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.” -Herodotus (484 B.C.E. - 425 B.C.E.)
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“Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” -David Lloyd George (1863 - 1945)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Continuing and Progressing” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Who bravely dares must sometimes risk a fall.” -Tobias Smollett (Tobias George Smollett (1721 - 1771))
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Picture of the word ‘Risk,’ below which is printed the word ‘Reward’ circled with a red felt-tip marker.

“It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. And often enough our faith beforehand in an uncertified result is the only thing that makes the result come true.” -William James (1842 - 1910): “Is Life Worth Living?” (1895)

“Security is not the meaning of my life. Great opportunities are worth the risk.” -Shirley Hufstedler (Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler (1925 - 2016))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Opportunities and Possibilities” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Don’t be careful. You could hurt yourself.” -Byron Katie (Byron Kathleen ‘Katie’ Mitchell (born 1942))

“Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is leaping.” -Augustus Hare (Augustus William Hare (1792 - 1834))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Horses and Ponies” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make.” -Sarah Ban Breathnach (born 1947) at http://www.sarahbanbreathnach.com/
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“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” -George S. Patton (George Smith Patton, Junior (1885 - 1945))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Differences and Individuality” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can.” -Henry Drummond (1851 - 1897)
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“Don’t play for safety. It’s the most dangerous thing in the world.” -Hugh Walpole (Hugh Seymour ‘Hugh’ Walpole (1884 - 1941))

“Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks; he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other.” -Pietro Metastasio (pseudonym of Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (1698 - 1782))

“Leap, and the net will appear.” -John Burroughs (1837 - 1921)

“Look before you leap.” -Robert Greene (1558 - 1592): “Greenes Never Too Late” (1590)

“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964)

“When you play it too safe, you’re taking the biggest risk of your life. Time is the only wealth we’re given.” -Barbara Sher (born 1935)

“Naught venture, naught have.” -Thomas Tusser (about 1524 - 1580)

“If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor.” -Neil Simon (Marvin ‘Neil’ Simon (1927 - 2018))

“There is no safety. Only varying degrees of risk.” -Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949)

“Playing safe is probably the most unsafe thing in the world. You cannot stand still. You must go forward.” -Robert Collier (1885 - 1950)

“He that would have the fruit must climb the tree.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs, Wise Sentences, and Witty Sayings” (1732)

“For me, the safest place is out on a limb.” -Shirley MacLaine (pseudonym of Shirley MacLean Beaty (born 1934))

“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on Earth for you. Act for yourself.” -Katherine Mansfield (Katherine Mansfield Beauchamp Murry (1888 - 1923)): “Journal” (14 October 1922)

“If you don’t live on the edge, you can’t see the view.” -Vicky Corrington

“Take a risk a day - one small or bold stroke that makes you feel great once you’ve done it.” -Susan Jeffers (1938 - 2012)
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Who Am I?

Who am I?
Where you are, I am there.
Where you go, I go.
I am always there,
I am built into everything.
Though perhaps you think of me not,
Though perhaps you do not even know,
I am dangerous.
There are stairs to fall down,
Curbs to trip over.
Falling trees.
Yet also new friendships, gardens to grow.
There is rejection, failure, disappointment.
There is acceptance, success, satisfaction.
I await you in every new attempt.
I am every risk you take,
And I am every risk you do not take.

by David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Poetry” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking.” -Tim McMahon (born 1949)

“The successful man is the one who had the chance and took it.” -Roger Babson (1875 - 1967)

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” -Colin Cowherd (Colin Murray Cowherd (born 1964))

“Take risks - if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Wisdom and Advice” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The biggest risk you will ever take is not taking one at all.” -Author Unknown

“Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.” -Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955))): as quoted in Dorothy Carnegie, editor: “Dale Carnegie’s Scrapbook” (1 January 1959)

“If you take no risks, you’ll never be hurt, but you won’t really live, either.” -James Shiovitz (James Lowell Shiovitz (born 1949))

“It is not given us to live lives of undisrupted calm, boredom, and mediocrity. It is given us to be edge-dwellers.” -Jay Deacon (F. Jay Deacon)

“Live dangerously and you live right.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Apathy and Enthusiasm” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“We fail more often by timidity than by over-daring.” -David Grayson (1870 - 1946)
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“The secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and greatest enjoyment is - to live dangerously!” -Friedrich Nietzsche (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)): “Die fröhliche Wissenschaft” (English: “The Gay Science”) (1882), book 4

“If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.” -Geena Davis (Virginia Elizabeth ‘Geena’ Davis (born 1956))

“The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions.” -Alfred Adler (1870 - 1937): as attributed in Ichak Adizes: “How to Solve the Mismanagement Crisis” (1979)

Affirmation: “I will subject myself to life’s challenges so that I may know the grace of survival.” -Author Unknown
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Overheard: Take a chance; you never know what might happen.
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“Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.” -Johann von Schiller (Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805)): “Don Carlos” (1787) play
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Hopes and Dreams” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The biggest rewards usually go to those who take the biggest risks.” -Author Unknown

“Of course risk taking does not always pay off. But it’s a lot of fun!” -Mary Wesley (born Mary Aline Mynors Farmar (1912 - 2002))

“He that is overcautious will accomplish nothing.” [translation to English]
“Wer gar zu viel bedenkt, wird wenig leisten.” [original German]
-Friedrich von Schiller (Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805)): “Wilhelm Tell” (1804)

“The desire for security stands against every great and noble enterprise.” -Tacitus (about C.E. 56 - about C.E. 120)

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” -T. S. Eliot (Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965))

“If it’s both terrifying and amazing, then you should definitely pursue it.” -Erada Svetlana

“It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity.” -Dag Hammarskjöld (1905 - 1961)

“Without the very few risk takers who risk it all, none of us would enjoy freedom, because tyrants and oppressors are tireless and fearless in their determination to control humanity and the world, and the majority will do absolutely nothing to stop them.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“If you don’t take risks, you will always work for someone who does.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Employment and Work” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” -Denis Waitley (Denis E. Waitley (born 1933))
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“Everything is a risk. What if it doesn’t work out? Oh - but what if it does?” -Mary Engelbreit (born 1952)
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“Dare to be what you ought to be; dare to be what you dream to be; dare to be the finest you can be. The more you dare, the surer you will be of gaining just what you dare!” -Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)
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Magic

8/17/2022

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Picture of a magician holding a magic wand as he pulls a rabbit out of a magic hat.

“Magic is all around, you just have to believe.” -Author Unknown
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“The art of a magician is to create wonder. If we all live with a sense of wonder, our lives will become filled with joy.” -The Great Doug Henning (Douglas James Henning (1947 - 2000))
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In 1814, Louis Comte of France became the first magician to pull a rabbit out of a top hat.
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In 1799, Count de Grisley became the first magician to perform the trick of sawing a woman in half, and ever since then, women everywhere have been eagerly lining up to be sawed in half - or perhaps not!
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“It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done.” -Terry Pratchett (1948 - 2015)

First Magician: What happened to the saw-a-woman-in-half act you used to do?
Second Magician: My assistant left me - she moved to New York and Los Angeles.
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Magic Words
- Abracadabra!
- Hocus-pocus!
- Hot potato, jump-rope, kick-the-can!
- Parsley, peas, potatoes!
- Presto, change-o!
Many magicians create their own magic words, and so can you.

Boris: Why did the magician have to cancel his show?
Doris: He had just washed his hare and could not do anything with it.

The word ‘abracadra’ may have originated from the Aramaic phrase ‘avra kehdabra’ meaning ‘I will create as I speak.’

Howie: How many magicians does it take to change a light bulb?
Howard: That is one trick they do not know - and besides, that is why they have assistants!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Light Bulbs and Artificial Lighting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Magic

It cost so little, I wonder why
We give it so little thought;
A smile, kind words, a glance, a touch -
What magic by them is wrought.

by Author Unknown
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“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

One technique for creating funny magic words is to ask for audience participation. Would someone please name a color? Would someone please name an animal? Would someone please name a food? Then you combine their answers, which might make something silly, such as, “Purple elephant ice cream!” which you use as the ‘magic words’ during your show.

“Abracadabbler: An amateur magician.” -Author Unknown

Examples of Magic Tricks
- Pulling a coin out from behind someone’s ear.
- Making a person or an object disappear and then reappear.
- Cutting something in half or destroying it and then making it reappear whole and undamaged, as for example, money or a handkerchief.
- Levitating (floating) someone or something.
Can you think of other magic tricks?
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A magician was driving down a road when, Poof! - he turned into a parking lot.
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Just as there are silent movies with musical accompaniment, there are magicians who perform without speaking, sometimes with dramatic music played during their shows or even a person who stands offstage or a short distance from the magician’s side and narrates, or describes what is happening, during the show, by reading from a memorized or prepared printed script or cue cards.

“Magic is a secret, and without the secret there is no magic.” -Author Unknown

Picture of some dried plant stems with dried seeds on the ends, sticking out of a bucket placed at the grassy edge of a curb on a road, with a sign on the bucket reading, ‘Free Magic Wands!’

“Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.” -Nora Roberts (born 1950 as Eleanor Marie Robertson): “Charmed” (1992)

“I had loved magic tricks from the time I was six or seven. I bought books on magic. I did magic acts for my parents and their friends. I was aiming for show business from early days, and magic was the poor man’s way of getting in: you buy a trick for $2, and you’ve got an act.” -Steve Martin (Stephen Glenn ‘Steve’ Martin (born 1945)): as quoted in “Time Magazine” (24 August 1987)

“Perform as many times as you can in front of people you don’t know.” -Lance Burton (William Lance ‘Lance’ Burton (born 1960)), advice to those who would be magicians

Camilla: You know, I have half a mind to become a professional magician.
Pamela: That should do.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the “Fun and Learning about Minds and Thinking” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

One way to make yourself and your magic show memorable is to do something that is unusual, different, or unique. For example, maybe you could use fruit such as apples, oranges, and bananas in your act. Make a piece of fruit disappear and reappear, and then toss it to a member of the audience. Make a piece of fruit levitate, and then throw it to someone in your audience. You could have someone dressed in a gorilla costume as your assistant. Instead of pulling a live rabbit or a toy rabbit out of a hat, you could pull balloon animals out of your hat and then hand them to children in the audience. Put your imagination to work!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Differences and Individuality” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” -J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen ‘Jo’ Rowling (born 1965)): in a speech (2008) to Harvard Alumni Association
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Changing and Adjusting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

If you were going to pull a rabbit out of a hat, would you wave a magic wand . . . or would you entice the rabbit by waving a bright orange carrot?
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Carrots” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Spring animals are fake animals that are often used by magicians, clowns, comedians, and other entertainers. They can be made to appear very realistic with practice. The basic construction of the animal is of a spring wrapped in either real or artificial animal fur. Different colored fur is used for different spring animals.” -Greg McMahan (born 1960) at http://www.mistergreggy.com/

Whether you are an amateur or a professional magician, you must consider safety before doing any magic. You might develop a safety checklist to go over before each show. You would probably want to avoid using fire and flames and heat to avoid injuries to yourself, your assistant, any living creatures used in your act, and your audience members, and to avoid costly damage to your equipment or the building in which you are doing your show. If you use live animals, you will want to have the telephone number of more than one veterinarian in case an animal becomes sick or injured. You will likely want to either exercise caution or even completely avoid using anything with a sharp edge that could injure someone, including breakable glass and knives. Once you are certain everything is safe, get the show started and have fun!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Accidents and Safety” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

A magician seeking to have his act booked at Radio City Music Hall asserted, “I’ve got a trick that will panic them.” “What is it?” asked the manager. “I saw a woman in half,” announced the magician proudly. “You call that a new trick?” scoffed the manager. “Why, they’ve been doing that around here for years.” “Oh, yeah,” snapped the magician. “How about lengthwise?”

Ask for a volunteer from the audience. Tell the person to take a coin from his or her pocket and hold it up in a closed fist so that you cannot see the date on the coin, and announce that you are going to tell everyone the date. Then, you say today’s date, which might be, for example, something like, “It’s Saturday, April 30, 2021,” even though the actual date on the coin might be something like just the year 1983. This is usually good for a laugh from the audience.

The teacher was discussing different jobs held by the parents of the students. When she called on Little Johnny, she asked, “And what does your father do?” “Oh, he’s a magician,” replied Johnny. “Really - and what’s his best trick?” “His best trick is sawing people in half.” “Wonderful!” exclaimed the teacher. “Tell me, are there any more children in your family?” “Yes ma’am, I have a half-brother and two half-sisters.”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Homes and Families” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Magicians and their magic acts are the center of their shows; however, magicians may have assistants. A magician’s assistant often does not speak during the magic acts, but stands by quietly and helps with the props or becomes a prop in the act, as when he or she is made to disappear, is sawed in half, or is levitated. Sometimes magicians encourage audience participation by asking people to be part of a magic act or to provide simple props such as coins or bills. While these audience members may seem to be randomly chosen people who are like everyone else in the audience, they actually may be friends or people the magician met with before the show and practiced the act with to be sure everything goes as planned.
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Marlene: Why did illusionist Harry Houdini spend hours at the gym?
Arlene: He wanted to be fit to be tied.

If you did the old magic trick of sawing a lady in half, and you put the top half together with another lady, what you’d have is a ‘gallon a half’ . . . quite possibly that joke needs a little more work . . .
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about the Macabre” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Magicians We Have Yet to See
- Cheery Houdini . . . the happy, smiling clown magician.
- Dairy Moodini . . . the cow magician.
- Fairy Houdini . . . does sprightly winged magic.
- Hairy Houdini . . . the magic monkey with a human assistant.
- Harry Linguini . . . the pasta chef magician.
- Hippie Houdini . . . does groovy magic with peace and love, man.
- Santa Houdini . . . arrives in a magic flying sleigh and pulls Christmas toys from a magic sack.
- Scary Houdini . . . shows up at your door on Halloween and makes your candy magically disappear.
Can you add to this list?

Marvin: What bird does magic tricks?
Margaret: Hoo-hoo-hoooooo-dini!

The most accomplished female magician in the world is Dorothy Dietrich (born 1969). She performs regularly at the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States of America. She is also a ‘debunker,’ or someone who exposes lies, deceptions, and false ideas.

Allison: What does a martial arts magician say?
Allie: Jitsu-judo-karate . . . chop!

“You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in that web of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve years old, the world was my magic lantern, and by its glow I saw the past, the present, and into the future. You probably did too; you just don’t recall it. See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, lightning bugs, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in dewdrops. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it disciplined out, washed out, and combed out. We are told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up for goodness’ sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they had allowed to wither in themselves. After you go so far away from it, though, you can never really get it all back. You can get seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get weepy at movies, it is because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the harsh sunlight of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they are left feeling a little heart-sad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust twirling in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a coyote howling in the distance and wonder what it might be saying, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm.” -Robert R. McCammon (Robert Rick McCammon (born 1952)): “Boy’s Life” (1991), Introduction
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Essays Page.

Picture of magic props, or objects used in magic tricks, including playing cards, a ball and 3 cups, 3 rings, a metal spring, 6-sided dice, red fuzzy pom-poms, white gloves, and a magic wand.

In addition to their costumes, magicians have ‘props’ that they use in their magic acts. Typical props might be a deck of playing cards, a small lightweight table with a tablecloth, several colored handkerchiefs, rabbits, birds, large coins, and specially made items for tricks. Once magic props have been acquired, the emphasis of the magician turns to rehearsing and practicing each trick and the key to magic, which is showmanship.

“Cats are magical . . . the more you pet them, the longer you both live.” -attributed to Stephen King (Stephen Edwin King (born 1947)) (We suspect some sneaky cat slipped that line in here, because it is not exactly relevant to this topic.)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Domestic Cats” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Famous People Who Started Out As Magicians
- Bob Barker (Robert William ‘Bob’ Barker (born 1923))
- Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger (1908 - 2002))
- Bill Bixby (Wilfred Bailey Everett ‘Bill’ Bixby III (1934 - 1993))
- Johnny Carson (John William ‘Johnny’ Carson (1925 - 2005))
- Dick Cavett (Richard Alva ‘Dick’ Cavett (born 1936))
- Charles Dickens (Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812 - 1870))
- Cary Grant (pseudonym of Archibald Alexander Leach (1904 - 1986))
- Steve Martin (Stephen Glenn ‘Steve’ Martin (born 1945))
- Jimmy Stewart (James Maitland ‘Jimmy’ Stewart (1908 - 1997))
- Dick van Dyke (Richard Wayne ‘Dick’ Van Dyke (born 1925))
Will you get your start to fame with a magic act?

“A little magic can take you a long way.” -Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990): “James and the Giant Peach” (1961)

A magician’s costume is commonly a top hat, a magic wand, and a set of clothes meant to help hold the audience’s attention through the use of eye-catching colors, quaint old-fashionedness, or an exotic appearance. A magician’s clothes may have many hidden pockets sewn into them. Some magicians also wear capes, false mustaches, false eyebrows, false beards, face paint, and other theatrical effects.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Attire and Accessories” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Martin: Have you heard about the magician who fell through the floorboards in the middle of his performance?
Marvin: Yes, but it is all right - he was just ‘going through a stage.’

“As a magician I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Magician’s Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.” -Author Unknown: Magician’s Oath

“That’s the thing with magic. You’ve got to know it’s still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.” -Charles de Lint (born 1951)

People who learn to do magic in front of an audience also learn showmanship: timing, quick comebacks, appropriateness and inappropriateness of certain language, and the skill of continuing on even when things go wrong.

Whenever something goes wrong in your magic show, just tell your audience, “That is just how I planned it!” Then pause momentarily and continue on to your next trick.

Attempts have been made to link performance magic, or magic tricks, to occultism, but this is a misuse of magic by occultists to try to make their occult beliefs appealing to people, and thereby draw people into occultism. Performance magic stands on its own and is not to be confused with occultism.

“Nothing I do can’t be done by a 10-year-old with 15 years of practice.” -Harry Blackstone, Junior (Harry Bouton Blackstone, Junior (1934 - 1997))

Double or Nothing Magic Trick. Tell a friend or an adult that you will be able to double their money without buying anything, going on the Stock Exchange, or using a computer. Then ask them for a dollar bill. Simply fold the bill in half and say, “There! I doubled your money!”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Money” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” -Eden Phillpotts (1862 - 1960): “A Shadow Passes” (1919), page 19

“Shazam!” is a magic acronymic word created from Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, and it is said to invoke their powers. An acronym is a word created typically by combining the first letter in each word in a phrase or list.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Abbreviations and Acronyms” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The world is its own magic.” -Shunryu Suzuki (1904 - 1971)

Some magic wands are hollow inside to conceal handkerchiefs, powders that produce puffs like smoke but without fire or flames, or shiny colorful glitter. Magic wands can be made from rolled-up sheets of paper or wood or plastic sticks. Magicians typically wave their magic wands or tap other props such as their magic hats atop their heads, while saying magic words such as, “Abrakadabra alakazam, let’s hope it goes as planned!”

“Everything is made out of magic: leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes, and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden - in all the places.” -Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 - 1924): “The Secret Garden” (1911)

What do magicians have in common with clowns, actors, musicians, and authors? Like the aforementioned folks, most professional, part-time, and amateur magicians have stage names, or names that they use in association with their magic acts, often in conjunction with somewhat exaggerated descriptive words about their acts and personas. Their stage names include words such ‘the Great’ or ‘the Amazing.’ So, if you are Jimmy O’Reilly in your private life, you might take up your hat, wand, and cape to become ‘Jacob the Fantastical Wizard of Illusion and Master of Magical Mayhem’ or if you are Sarah Sumner in your personal life, you might grab your rabbits, doves, baby chicks, and artificial flowers to become ‘the Astounding Animal Acts and Flying Floral Arrangements of Mrs. Priscilla Piccadilly’ (any resemblance to persons living or otherwise is purely coincidental). Even the magical Harry Houdini had a real name: Erich Weiss (born Erik Weisz and also known as Harry Weiss and possibly by other names (1874 - 1926)).

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” -Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990): “The Minpins” (1991)

We are MFOL! . . . all it takes is a little magic . . . our next act is coming right up . . .

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Personal Destiny

8/14/2022

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Picture of a birdcage hanging from the branch of a tree, with birds flying out of it and off in different directions to freedom.

Are we as individuals prisoners of a fate that is beyond our control - or can we courageously escape to the freedom of being able to make our own destinies?
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Questions and Queries” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“We each choose between two lives: the one given to us, and the one we can make.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Beaumont’s Quotations” by David Hugh Beaumont.

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

“A desire to be in charge of our own lives, a need for control, is born in each of us. It is essential to our mental health, and our success, that we take control.” -Robert F. Bennett (born 1933)

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, or cannot achieve. Just don’t allow it. It’s wrong. It’s so wrong. Be what you want to be - and prove them wrong.” -Emma Watson (Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 1990))

“I am master of my own destiny, and I can make my life anything that I wish it to be.” -John Dennis McDonald (1906 - 1998)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Affirmations and Self-Talk” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

‘Determinism’ is a belief that events are controlled by external forces which are beyond our control, while ‘Free Will’ is the idea that we can have an effect on events.

“Life is a compromise between fate and free will.” -Elbert Hubbard (Elbert Green Hubbard (1856 - 1915)): “A Thousand & One Epigrams: Selected from the Writings of Elbert Hubbard” (1911), page 36

“Your life is in your hands, to make of it what you choose.” -John Kehoe

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” -Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 - 1919): “Maurine: And Other Poems” (1888), ‘Will,’ page 145

“Create your own destiny, because if you don’t, others will.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Creativity and Innovation” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“You can begin to shape your own destiny by the attitude that you keep.” -Michael Beckwith
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“We are what we think. We are what we say. We are what we believe. We are what we do. So isn’t it wonderful that we are completely in charge of all that we are?” -Regina Cates
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Self-Concept and Self-Identity” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“No fate, but what we make.” -Author Unknown

“We make our own fortunes and we call them fate.” -Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881): “Miriam Alroy” (1870)

“Every man makes his own fate.” [Non-literal modern parlance]
“Every man is the architect of his own fortune.” [translation to English]
“Faber est suae quisque fortunae.” [original Latin]
-Claudius (Appius Claudius Caecus (340 B.C.E. - 273 B.C.E.))

“No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.” -Agnes de Mille (1905 - 1993)

“If the average person realized the power he wields over his life and destiny, he would live in a perpetual state of wonder and thanksgiving.” -Earl Nightingale (1921 - 1989)

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.” -William Jennings Bryan (1860 - 1925): speech (22 February 1899) in Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America

“Your word is your magic wand. The words you speak create your own destiny.” -Florence Scovel Shinn (1871 - 1940)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Magic” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, ‘This I am today, that I will be tomorrow.’” -Louis L’Amour (born Louis Dearborn LaMoore (1908 - 1988))

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” -C. S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis (1898 - 1963))

“A man’s fate is his own temper; and according to that will be his opinion as to the particular manner in which the course of events is regulated. A consistent man believes in destiny - a capricious man in chance.” -Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881): “Vivian Grey” (1826), ‘A Visit to a Celebrated Diplomatist’

“If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow.” -William McFee (1881 - 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Adversities and Persevering” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Cassius: Men at some time are masters of their fate:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
-William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): “Julius Caesar” (1599), Act I, Scene 2, lines 230 through 232

Picture of a person sitting on a swing hanging under a tree next to a fence, all silhouetted against a star-filled nighttime sky.

“A wise man shall overrule his stars, and have a greater influence upon his own content than all the constellations and planets of the firmament.” -Jeremy Taylor (1613 - 1667): as quoted in Reginald Heber: “The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor” (1822), book IV, chapter II, section vi
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Stars and Astronomy” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Man was predestined to have free will.” -Hal Lee Luyah

“You are the designer of your destiny. You are the author, you write the story, the pen is in your hand, and the outcome is whatever you choose.” -Abraham Hicks (via Esther Hicks (born 1948))

“Destiny is all about the choices we make and the chances we take.” -Author Unknown

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” -Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)

I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
-William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903): “Invictus” (1875); type of work: poem

“Just because fate doesn’t deal you the right cards, it doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.” -Les Brown (Leslie Calvin ‘Les’ Brown (born 1945))

“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.” -G. K. Chesterton (Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936))

“Man is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of man. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter.” -Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881): “Vivian Grey” (1827), volume II, book VI, chapter 7

“Events will take their course, it is no good of being angry at them; he is happiest who wisely turns them to the best account.” -Euripides (about 480 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.): “Bellerophon,” fragment 298: as quoted in Arthur Richard Shilleto, editor and translator: “Plutarch’s Morals: Ethical Essays” (1888), page 293

“A belief in an unchangeable, fixed destiny is fatalism, which commonly happens in the absence of hope and optimism.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Pessimism and Optimism” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Life will always be to a large extent what we ourselves make it.” -Samuel Smiles (1812 - 1904): “Character” (1871), page 371

“Do not take the agenda that someone else has mapped out for your life.” -John C. Maxwell (John Calvin Maxwell (born 1947))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Geography” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Whatever limits us we call Fate.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

The Winds of Fate

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
     ‘Tis the set of the sails
     And not the gales
Which tells us the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate;
As we voyage along through life,
     ’Tis the set of a soul
     That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 - 1919) (1916)

“When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make a lemonade.” -Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955))): “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” (1944)

“He picked up the lemons that Fate had sent him and started a lemonade-stand.” -Elbert Hubbard (Elbert Green Hubbard (1856 - 1915)): “Selected Writings of Elbert Hubbard” (1922), page 237

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan.” -Jim Rohn (Emanuel James ‘Jim’ Rohn (1930 - 2009))

Here’s a sigh to those who love me,
And a smile to those who hate;
And, whatever sky’s above me,
Here’s a heart for every fate.
-George Gordon Noel Byron (also known as Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)): “To Thomas Moore” (1817), stanza 2
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“A lobster, when left high and dry among the rock, has not instinct or energy enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; men stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination, who, instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat.” -Orison S. Marden (Orison Swett Marden (1848 - 1924))

Picture of a two-lane asphalt-paved road in the countryside, with fields of green crops on either side, headed toward hills in the distance, with hazy clouds overhead.

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” -Dolly Parton (Dolly Rebecca Parton (born 1946))

“Some people succeed because they are destined but most because they are determined.” -Author Unknown

And now for your Personal Destiny anagram: The letters in the word ‘predestination’ can be rearranged to spell the phrase ‘I pertain to ends.’

“The sin, both of men and of angels, was rendered possible by the fact that God gave them free will.” -C. S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis (1898 - 1963)): “Miracles” (1947)

“Do not allow circumstances or other people to determine your fate. Look beyond your immediate circumstances and nearby people to the greater and ever-expanding horizon of all possibilities.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Our history is not our destiny.” -Alan Cohen: as quoted in Eric Allenbaugh: “Wake-Up Calls: You Don’t Have to Sleepwalk Through Your Life, Love, or Career!”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Difficult Pasts” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Control your own destiny or someone else will.” -Jack Welch (John Francis ‘Jack’ Welch, Junior (born 1935))

“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds. They have within themselves the power to become free at any moment.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)): address to the Pan American Union (14 April 1939)

“Life consists not simply in what heredity and environment do to us, but in what we make out of what they do to us.” -Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878 - 1969)

“It is almost more important how a person takes his fate than what it is.” -Wilhelm von Humboldt (Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt (1767 - 1835))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Attitudes and Expectations” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“We must believe in free will - we have no choice.” -Isaac Bashevis Singer (born Izaak Zynger or Icek Zynger (1903 - 1991)): as quoted in Stefan Kanfer, author: ‘Isaac Singer’s Promised City’ published in the “City Journal” (Summer 1997) magazine

“Personality, too, is destiny.” -Erik Erikson (1902 - 1994)

“Our destiny changes with our thought; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thought corresponds with our desire.” -Orison S. Marden (Orison Swett Marden (1848 - 1924))

“If you don’t run your own life, somebody else will.” -John Atkinson

“My will shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force: I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice, my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.” -Elaine Maxwell
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about the Future and Predictions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” -Jimmy Dean
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Ships and Sailors” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“Be a creator of circumstances rather than just a creature of circumstances. Be proactive rather than reactive.” -Brian Tracy (born 1944)

“Whatever the place allocated us by providence, that is for us the post of honor and duty. God estimates us not by the position we are in, but by the way in which we fill it.” -Tryon Edwards (1809 - 1894): as quoted in Tryon Edwards, editor: “A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, Both Ancient and Modern” (1891) page 545

“If you don’t take charge of shaping your destiny, others will do it for you.” -Eric Allenbaugh

“Your life will be no better than the plans you make and the action you take. You are the architect and builder of your own life, fortune, destiny.” -Alfred A. Montapert (Alfred Armand Montapert (1906 - 1997))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Goals and Planning” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“It’s choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.” -Jean Nidetch (Jean Evelyn Nidetch (1923 - 2015))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Choices and Decisions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

“We create our fate every day we live.” -Henry Miller (Henry Valentine Miller (1891 - 1980))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Today and the Present” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

This is MFOL! . . . and we believe every person should be free to decide his or her own destiny . . .

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Stars and Astronomy

8/7/2022

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Picture of a smiling happy person looking through a telescope at the smiling happy moon in the night sky.

Astronomy . . . for those who never stop looking up . . .

“We can’t all be stars, but we can all sparkle.” -Author Unknown

What are stars? Stars are massive spheres, or balls, of very hot burning gases, called plasma, held together by their own gravity. Most stars contain mostly hydrogen, with small amounts of helium. Some stars have tiny amounts of other elements as well.

“At night, an enormous blanket is placed over the Earth to keep it warm. The blanket is very old and worn out, and so it has many tiny holes in it. The holes where the Sun’s light comes through are called stars.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Beaumont’s Quotations” by David Hugh Beaumont.

Stars form in nebulas, which are large gaseous areas of space. As gravity attracts and condenses more and more gas into clusters, young stars called protostars start to form.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Individual Destiny” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Stars radiate energy created from nuclear fusion, which is a process that takes place in a star’s core and involves hydrogen fusing, or burning, to make helium. Once nuclear fusion has begun in the core, a star is sufficiently fueled to spend the majority of its life as a main sequence star, or twinkly thing, in its most stable form.

The Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
     How I wonder what you are.
Giant thermonuclear reaction,
     Held by gravitational attraction.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
     You look small ’cause you’re so far.
As you burn through constant fusion,
     Your twinkle’s just an optical illusion
That happens when your light gets near,
     Distorted by our atmosphere.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
     Spreading light and heat so far.
As you use up fuel you’ll grow,
     And give off a scarlet glow.
Maybe you’ll go supernova
     Exploding elements all over.
Now I know just what you are,
     And I know I’m made of stars.

by Author Unknown: parody of “The Star” by Jane Taylor (1806)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “The Star” by Jane Taylor.

“Even a small star shines in the darkness.” -Author Unknown: Finnish proverb

A brown dwarf forms if a star does not become hot enough to reach nuclear fusion. While a brown dwarf has failed to become a proper star, it is not a planet because it does glow dimly.

“There are stars called white dwarfs and red giants . . . but, alas, no jelly donuts.” -Author Unknown

The most common stars are red dwarfs. They are less than half the size and mass of our Sun, and burn their fuel very slowly. Red dwarfs last longer than any other type of star, at more than 100 billion years. They are cooler than most stars, and so shine less, eventually growing dimmer.

“We are made of stardust. Every atom of every element in your body except for hydrogen has been manufactured inside stars, scattered across the Universe in great stellar explosions, and recycled to become part of you.” -John Gribbin (John R. Gribbin (born 1946)): “Stardust” (10 September 2000)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Humans and Human Nature” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

When smaller stars such as red dwarfs or red giants use up all of their fuel and nuclear fusion slows, they start to die, and become small white dwarf stars, which emit white light until they finally darken into black dwarfs.

“All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems . . . But all these stars are silent. You - you alone, will have stars as no one else has them . . .” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger (1900 - 1944))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Differences and Individuality” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

A dwarf star is so dense that it would take eight people to lift a teaspoonful of its matter. As yellow dwarf stars like our Sun start to run out of hydrogen fuel, the core shrinks, heats, and pushes out the rest of the star, turning it into a red giant.

Wish Upon a Star

Star light, star bright,
     The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
     Have this wish I wish tonight.

by Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Poetic Epigrams” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Red supergiants, such as Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion, make our Sun look small, having 20 times its mass, and being 1,000 times bigger in size. Red hypergiants, such as the largest known star, VY Canis Majoris, are even bigger, at more than 1,800 times the size of our Sun.

“It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Hopes and Dreams” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Big stars like supergiants and hypergiants have shorter lives because they consume their fuel at a faster rate than smaller stars. As these massive stars die, they explode into massive bright supernovas.

“Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Inquisitiveness and Curiosity” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Star matter blown apart in supernova explosions forms new stellar nebulas (or nebulae), and the process of making stars begins all over again.

“Supposing you only saw the stars once a year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!” -Tasha Tudor
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Apathy and Enthusiasm” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Very heavy stars that go supernova can actually turn into black holes, while other supernovas leave behind white neutron stars that are 20 to 40 kilometers (12.5 to 25 miles) in diameter and have dense cores made of neutrons.

Riddle: I shine high in the sky - what am I?
Solution: I am a star.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Riddles and Puzzles” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

As a star approaches the end of its life, it begins to change the helium into heavier chemical elements, such as carbon and oxygen, and the star will begin to change its color, density, mass, and size.

“With every passing hour our solar system comes forty-three thousand miles closer to globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, and still there are some misfits who continue to insist that there is no such thing as progress.” -Kurt Vonnegut, Junior (1922 - 2007): “The Sirens of Titan” (1959), type of work: novel; line spoken by fictional character Ransom K. Ferm (printed as Ransom K. Fern in some instances)

Nighttime picture of a person in silhouette standing and gazing upward at the stars.

Astronomers . . . mapping the way to future home worlds for humanity . . .
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Geography” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

An ancient astronomer stayed up all night trying to figure out where the Sun had gone. In the morning, it finally dawned on him.

Stars range in color depending on how hot they are. In order from lowest to highest temperature, they can be brown, red, orange, yellow, white, or blue in color.

“Stars have always helped me to get things into perspective . . . I tried to let the starlight heal something deep in me that hurt.” -Madeleine L’Engle (Madeleine L’Engle Camp (1918 - 2007))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Words Heal” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Stars are often between 1 and 10 billion years old. Some stars may even be close to the age of the observed Universe, at nearly 13.8 billion years old.

There are more stars in the Universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. We know this because we have been traveling the world’s beaches with a pencil, a notebook, and a magnifying glass, counting all of the itsy-bitsy granules of sand . . . if you see us out there, be sure to say hello!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Numbers and Counting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Stars

The stars are tiny daisies high,
     Opening and shutting in the sky.
The daisies are the stars below,
     Twinkling and sparkling as they grow.

by Authors Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Flowering Plants and Flowers” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Each galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars and there are estimated to be more than 100 billion galaxies in the Universe. The total number of stars in the Universe is mind boggling, estimated to be at least 70 sextillion and possibly as high as 300 sextillion, which is 300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

“Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.” -James Jeans (James Hopwood Jeans (1877 - 1946)): as attributed in Laurence J. Peter’s “Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Time” (1993)

Our Milky Way Galaxy is an area in space crowded with lots of stars - so many that it resembles a road of spilled milk. That is how it got its name! There are estimated to be somewhere between 200 and 400 billion stars in the Milky Way.

Galaxies are speeding away from Earth at 90,000 miles per second. What do you suppose they know that we don’t?
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Environmentalism and Animal Rights” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

The light emitted by 200,000 galaxies makes our Universe a shade of beige. Scientists call this color ‘cosmic latte.’ Of course, if a scientist is up late at night looking at stars, it might be because he or she is highly caffeinated.

“There they stand, the innumerable stars, shining in order like a living hymn, written in light.” -Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806 - 1867)

The light from stars takes millions of years to reach Earth, so when you look at the stars, you are literally looking back in time.

“The stars are not so strange as the mind that studies them, analyzes their light, and measures their distances.” -Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878 - 1969): “On Being a Real Person” (1943)

While a clear night sky may appear to be full of stars, there are really only about 2,000 to 3,000 stars visible to the unaided eye, meaning without the use of a telescope. These stars are all either close to the Earth or intensely luminous, meaning very bright, like yourself.

Visiting an observatory, the backwoods man watched the astronomer look through his telescope. Just then a star fell. “Wow-wee!” exclaimed the man. “You sure are a great shot!”

Stars only appear to twinkle because we see them through the Earth’s atmosphere. Stars shine at an unblinking steady state, but atmospheric disturbances called eddies, which we experience as slight breezes and winds, make stars look sparkly.

If you get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up, you can see stars, even in the middle of the day. We know this because we spend a lot of time hanging out at the bottom of old wells and chimneys . . .

At an average distance of just 149,597,870 kilometers (92,955,807 miles), the nearest star to Earth is a yellow dwarf star called the Sun. The next nearest star to Earth is a red dwarf star called Proxima Centauri, also known as Alpha Centauri C. It was discovered in 1915 by Scottish astronomer Robert Innes while he was working at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is about 39.9 trillion kilometers (24.79 trillion miles) or 4.25 light years away. Light from this star reaches Earth in 4.25 years. A spacecraft using the newest, fastest propulsion systems would take about 75,000 years to get there.

Arnold: Did you know there’s a star called the Dog Star?
Owen: Are you Sirius?

Binary stars and multi-star systems are made up of two or more stars that are gravitationally linked, so that they orbit around each other.

“There wouldn’t be a sky full of stars if we were all meant to wish on the same one.” -Frances Clark (Frances Mary Clark (1860 - 1958))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Wishes and Wishing” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

A comet is a relatively small solar system body that orbits the Sun. When close enough to the Sun, comets display a visible coma, which is a fuzzy outline or atmosphere due to solar radiation, and sometimes also a tail.

When asked about flying saucers, the astronomer replied, “No comet.”

Asteroids are small solar system bodies that orbit the Sun. Made of rock and metal, they can also contain organic compounds. Asteroids are similar to comets but do not have a visible coma (fuzzy outline and tail) like comets do.

“Telescope: A device for bringing the sky closer.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Daffynitions and Definitions” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

A meteoroid is a small rock or particle of debris in our solar system. They range in size from dust to around 10 meters in diameter. Larger objects are usually referred to as asteroids.

Star

Star light, star bright,
     First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
     No - it’s just a satellite!

by Author Unknown

So-called ‘shooting stars’ and ‘falling stars’ are not actually stars, but are meteors. A meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere is known as a meteor. A meteoroid that survives falling through the Earth’s atmosphere and colliding with the Earth’s surface is known as a meteorite.

The odds of anyone being struck by a meteorite are said to be ‘astronomical.’

When You Wish Upon a Star

When you wish upon a star
     Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
     Will come to you.

If your heart is in your dreams
     No request is to extreme
When you wish upon a star
     As dreamers do.

Fate is kind
     She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment
     of their secret longing.

Like a bolt out of the blue
     Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
     Your dreams come true.

If your heart is in your dreams
     No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
     As dreamers do.

When you wish upon a star
     Your dream comes true.

by Jesse McCartney

Stars have played important roles throughout human history. They are featured in religions, grouped into constellations, used in astrology, helped to design calendars, and were important navigational tools for early explorations across lands and seas.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to visit “Fun and Learning about History” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882): “Evangeline”

If you would like to keep up-to-date on the goings on in a whole Universe of stars, visit www.StarDate.org.

Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul.
Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
-Pamela Vaull Starr (pseudonym of Violet Isabelle (Carter) Popp (1909 - 1993))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Inspiration and Motivation” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.

At MFOL! we think stars are, like, so stellar . . . and far out, too! . . . now go have fun with your life!

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Cheapskates and Misers

8/3/2022

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Picture of a person picking up a coin found on a sidewalk.

Matthew: How was copper wire invented?
Matilda: Two cheapskates were fighting over a penny.

Gerard: How many misers does it take to change a light bulb?
Jeremy: None - misers are so cheap that they would rather sit in the dark than buy a new bulb!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Light Bulbs and Artificial Lighting article.

“No matter what the product or service might be, you can always find it somewhere else cheaper!” -Ebenezer Scrooge

A boy asked his father for twenty dollars. His father replied, “Ten dollars, what in the world do you need five dollars for, I’d be happy to give you a dollar, here’s a quarter.”

“If saving money is wrong, I don’t want to be right!” -William Shatner (William Alan Shatner (born 1931))

“If you really want your friends to remember you, give them something cheap.” -Author Unknown

Miserly tip: Old telephone books make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and addresses of people you don’t know.

“There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man’s lawful prey.” -attributed to John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

After being away on a business trip, Tim thought it would be nice to get his wife a little gift. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $85. “That’s a bit much,” said Tim, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $49. “That’s still quite a bit,” Tim complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $17 bottle. “What I mean is,” said Tim, “I’d like to see something really cheap.” So the clerk handed him a mirror.

“In the old days, a man who saved money was a miser; nowadays he’s a wonder.” -Author Unknown

A man walked into a coffee shop and asked the waitress, “How much is the coffee?” “Coffee is three dollars,” the waitress said. “How much is a refill?” the man asked. “Free,” said the waitress. “Great, then I’ll take a refill!” said the man.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Restaurants and Eateries article.

Ned: Which dog has long hair and never spends any money?
Dan: An Old English cheap dog.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Domestic Dogs article.

“I do not prize the word cheap. It is not a badge of honor . . . it is a symbol of despair. Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country!” -William McKinley (1843 - 1901)

To find cheap EBay auctions, go to www.FatFingers.com and type in what you are looking for. It will search all listings with incorrect spellings - which means very few people can find them - which means c-h-e-a-p!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Shopping article.

Ellie: Why does Scrooge love all of the reindeer?
Angela: Because every buck is dear to him!

The following anecdote is about the Austrian poet Peter Altenberg. “Though in fact he maintained a very solid bank balance, Mr. Altenberg had a mania for begging. The poet and critic Karl Kraus tells how Altenberg besought him again and again to give him a hundred kronen, and on every occasion Mr. Kraus refused him. Finally, his patience at an end, Kraus burst out, “Look Peter, I’d gladly give it to you, but I really, really don’t have the money.” “Very well, I’ll lend it to you,” said Altenberg.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in Clifton Fadiman and André Bernard, editors: “Bartlett’s Book of Anecdotes” (2000)

Picture of a human hand palm holding some coins.

Miserly tip: When the very young and the very old team up, they can really benefit. Grab any available grandma or grandpa to take with you when shopping, give them your cash, have them pay at the checkout for your items so you can get a 5% senior discount, where available, and then use the savings to buy lunch for you and your new old person friend.

A Young Fellow Named B. B.

A certain young fellow named B. B.
Wished to marry a lady named Phoebe
“But,” he said. “I must see
What the minister’s fee be
Before Phoebe be Phoebe B. B.”

by Author Unknown

“Free speech: Using someone else’s telephone.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Telephones article.

Good Places to Look for ‘Pennies from Heaven’
- Around parking meters.
- In laundromats.
- In outdoor water fountains.
- In parking lots.
- On the sidewalks when you go for long walks.
- Under amusement park rides.
- Under coin-operated vending machines.
- Under the bleachers at sports events.

“Small change can often be found under seat cushions.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Wisdom and Advice article.

First man: Why do you always remove the batteries from the clock and keep them outside?
Second man: I want to extend the battery life, and so I put them in the clock only when I want to see the time.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Clocks and Timepieces article.

Penelope: Why do misers like paper money more than coins?
Penny: When they put it in their pockets they double it, when they take it out, it’s ‘in creases.’
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Money article.

Repeat after us: Cheap is good, cheap is good, cheap is good . . .

’Tis strange the miser should his cares employ
To gain the riches he can ne’er enjoy.
-Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)

There are money-saving devices, as for example, attachments that fit over tubes of toothpaste to allow every bit of toothpaste to be squeezed out; however, the problem with such devices is that people have to part with some money to have them.

Picture of a nearly empty tube of toothpaste, with a plastic toothpaste tube squeezer gizmo placed on the tube, in order to squeeze every last bit of toothpaste out of it.

“There is always a little more toothpaste in the tube. Think about it.” -Bill Bryson (born 1951): “Notes from a Big Country” (1999)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Teeth and Dentists article.

“If you want to say it with flowers, a single rose says: I’m cheap!” -Delta Burke
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Flowering Plants and Flowers article.

In 1955, the richest woman in the world was Mrs. Hetty Green Wilks, who left an estate of $95 million in a will that was found in a tin box with four pieces of carefully saved soap.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Personal Cleanliness and Hygiene article.

Overheard: I am such a cheapskate that I do not even have skates!

“Cheap is seldom good, and good is seldom cheap.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Beaumont’s Quotations article.

“I saw a small bottle of cologne and asked if it was for sale. She said, ‘It’s free with purchase.’ I asked her if anyone bought anything today.” -Steven Wright (Steven Alexander Wright (born 1955))

“Misers are no fun to live with but they make great ancestors.” -Tom Snyder (born 1936)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Genealogy and Ancestors article.

“A miser grows rich by seeming poor; an extravagant man grows poor by seeming rich.” -William Shenstone (1714 - 1763)

Overheard: I hate to always eat and run, but with the way I tip, it’s the only safe procedure!

A miser was at the top of a ladder when a coin fell from his pocket. The coin bounced off his shoulder as both he and the coin rapidly raced toward the ground.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Ladders article.

“I pity that man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth shall starve in the process.” -Benjamin Harrison (1833 - 1901)

And then there was the miser who took his date to the beach and told her ‘shady’ stories so that he would not have to rent an umbrella . . .
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Dating and Courting article.

Picture of a man carefully counting and stacking coins.

Miserly tip: Do not waste money on expensive music playing gadgets. Instead, just think of your favorite tune and hum it. If you want to ‘switch tracks,’ simply think of another song you like and hum that one.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Music article.

Overheard: Cheapest is best.

Keepsakes of a Cheapskate

Empty cardboard boxes,
     Meters of old string,
I am a cheapskate, and
     I will save any old thing.

My bed is a rubber dingy
     That washed up on the shore
I am miserly and stingy -
     But even I won’t sleep on the floor!

by David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the next article, or click or tap on these words to visit the Beaumont’s Bits Page.

Melba: What do misers do when it is cold?
Blaine: They sit around a candle.

Brenda: What do misers do when it is really, really cold?
Belinda: They light the candle!

“A cheapskate is a person who tries to live far above his means, while a miser is a person who successfully lives far beneath his means.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“He who is frugal is the richest of men, and the miser is the poorest.” -Nicolas Chamfort (also known as Sébastien Chamfort and Sébastien-Roch Nicolas Chamfort and Sébastien-Roch Nicolas de Chamfort, born as Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1741 - 1794)): “Maxims and Thoughts” (1796), as translated by W. S. Merwin (1984)

Have you heard about the cheapskate who was pleased with himself because he had married a woman who was born on 29 February? He would only have to buy her a birthday present once every four years!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the next article, or click or tap on these words to visit the Birthdays Page.

There was an Old Man of El Hums,
Who lived upon nothing but Crumbs,
Which he picked off the ground,
With the other birds round,
In the roads and the lanes of El Hums.
-Edward Lear (1812 - 1888)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the next article, or click or tap on these words to visit the Limericks Page.

Now you, too, can join in by standing up and proudly proclaiming, “I am a cheapskate!”

Bertie: What is the difference between a miser and a canary?
Bernard: One is a little cheap and the other is a little cheeper.

“The happiest miser on Earth is the man who saves up every friend he can make.” -Robert E. Sherwood
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Friendships and Friends article.

Miserly tip: Before throwing away old shoes, remove the shoestrings, which can be used to make clotheslines, dog leashes, a hammock, a giant ball of string, and many other things.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read the Shoes and Footwear article.

One old geezer was so miserly that he kept a brown paper bag in the attic of his house, labeled ‘Pieces of String Too Short to Use.’

Why be miserly with humor and inspiration and learning - when you can share what you find here with other people - and never have to pay for it?!

“You don’t have to be a miser, just be wiser with your money.” -Dorethia Conner Kelly

Be sure to tell all of your cheap friends about us . . . and whether you are miserly or not, do not forget to MFOL! (Make Fun Of Life!)

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Rhyming Riddles

7/24/2022

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Picture taken from above of a boy and a girl looking up quizzically.

Riddle:
You’ll see me when the Sun is high and also late at night,
I’m in the songs of holidays, when the snow is white,
Kings and Queens and royalty, are all found in me,
I’m the largest of them all, with just one you see,
Step by step with pounding feet, I’m tribes of angry men,
I’m above your hands right now, for help or to go again,
You’ll use me in the kitchen, or add a little more,
I’ll be in the years to come, and the days of yore.
What am I?
Answer:
I am the number twelve.

Riddle: What is hot and yellow, and rhymes with fun?
Answer: The Sun.

Riddle:
Sometimes curly,
Sometimes flat,
I’m over your head
And under your hat -
What am I?
Answer:
I am your hair.

Said the Little Dog to the Tree

“Now, why,” remarked the little dog,
In speaking to the tree,
“Could one say that the heart of you
Is like the tail of me?”

The tree gave the conundrum up.
The pup, with wisdom stark,
Explained the matter, saying,
“It is farthest from the bark.”

by Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Domestic Dogs article.

Riddle:
Each morning I appear,
To lie at your feet,
All day I follow,
No matter how fast you run,
Yet I nearly perish
In the midday sun.
What am I?
Answer:
I am your shadow.

Riddle: What is a plaything for a girl or a boy?
Answer: A toy.

Riddle:
Never resting, never still.
Moving silently from hill to hill.
I do not walk, run, or trot.
All is cool where I am not.
What am I?
Answer:
I am sunlight.

Riddle:
Can you decipher the following?
Yy u r, yy u b
I c u r yy 4 me!
Answer:
Too wise you are, too wise you be,
I see you are too wise for me!

A somewhat easier version of the rhyming riddle shown just above is shown just below. Simply say each number and letter aloud.

2 Y’s U R.
2 Y’s U B.
I C U R.
2 Y’s 4 me!
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Difficulty and Ease article.

Riddle: What is sweet to eat and rhymes with dandy?
Answer: Candy.

Riddle:
There’s not a kingdom on the Earth,
But I have traveled over and over,
And though I know not whence my birth,
Yet when I come, you know my roar.
I through the town do take my flight,
And through the fields and meadows green,
And whether it be day or night,
I neither am nor can be seen.
Who am I?
I am the wind.

Riddle:
Twelve pairs hanging high,
     Twelve knights riding by,
Each knight took a pear,
     And yet left a dozen there.
Let us consider this mystery,
     How could this ever be?
Answer:
We are twelve pairs of pears.

Riddle: What goes in an envelope and rhymes with better?
Answer: A letter.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Mail and Post Offices article.

Riddle:
Until I am measured
I am not known,
Yet how you miss me
When I have flown.
What am I?
Answer:
I am time.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Time article.

Riddle:
I am seen in the water
If seen in the sky,
I am in the rainbow,
A jay’s feather,
And lapis lazuli.
What am I?
Answer:
I am the color blue.

Riddle: What did your grandfather use to buy a gumball when he was a boy that rhymes with Jenny?
Answer: A penny.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Money article.

Riddle:
Lovely and round
I shine with pale light,
Grown in the darkness,
A lady’s delight.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a pearl.

Riddle:
I am only useful
When I am full.
Yet, I am always
Full of holes.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a sieve.

Riddle: What helps us count and rhymes with seven?
Answer: The number eleven.

Riddle:
I am the beginning of the end,
And the end of time and space.
I am essential to creation,
And I surround everyplace.
What am I?
Answer:
I am the letter ‘e.’

Riddle:
Glittering points
That downward thrust,
Sparking spears
That never rust.
What am I?
Answer:
I am an icicle.

Riddle: What is something you dig where the sea meets the land?
Answer: Sand.

Riddle:
I live in the oceans, the rivers, and seas;
When I’m cold I float -
When I’m hot, I’m free.
What am I?
Answer:
I am water.

Riddle:
I hear a lot
And I say a lot
Few ever look for me
And even fewer ever hear me
I hide in plain sight
Whether it’s day or night
To help is all I want
But most like to bend me
And as if they had a wand
Never again shall anyone find me
They do this to control
Without realizing the high price of a soul
But when I’m least expected
They’d rather be protected
For there shall be no place to hide
What am I?
Answer:
I am the truth.

Riddle: What helps us breath and rhymes with rose?
Answer: Nose.

Riddle:
There was a girl in our town,
Silk an’ satin was her gown,
Silk an’ satin, gold an’ velvet,
Guess her name, three times I’ve telled it.
What is it?
Answer:
Ann is her name.

Riddle:
I sing when I’m struck
Or whenever they shake me.
By mold and cast,
The craftsmen make me.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a bell.

Riddle: What do people commonly have two of that rhymes with peg?
Answer: Leg.

Riddle:
Little Nanny Etticoat,
In a white petticoat,
And a red nose;
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.
What is she?
Answer:
She is a candle.

Riddle:
Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye,
And a long tail which she let fly;
And every time she went over a gap,
She left a bit of her tail in a trap.
What is she?
Answer:
She is a needle and thread.

Riddle:
A word I know
That six letters contains,
Subtract the last
And only twelve remains.
What is it?
Answer:
The word is dozens.

Riddle:
I like trees,
And I loathe bees.
I sleep all day,
And I’m misty and gray.
I have mossy hair,
but I can still be a scare -
What am I?
Answer:
I am a bat.

Riddle:
As I was going to Saint Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Every wife had seven sacks,
Every sack had seven cats,
Every cat had seven kittens -
Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were going to Saint Ives?
Answer:
Only I was going to Saint Ives.

Riddle:
Great deeds with little strength I do,
I close the open, open the closed, for you.
I keep the master’s house, the master keeps me, too.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a key.

Riddle:
As soft as silk,
as white as milk,
As bitter as gall,
a strong wall,
And a green coat
covers me all.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a walnut.

Riddle:
I am a word of letters three;
Add two,
And even fewer there will be.
Who am I?
Answer:
I am the word few, becoming ‘fewer’ with two letters added.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Word Spellings article.

Riddle:
In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear,
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
What am I?
Answer:
I am an egg.

Riddle:
I am in the church,
But not in the steeple.
I am in the parson,
But not in the people.
What am I?
Answer:
I am the letter ‘r.’

Riddle:
Thirty-two white horses
On a red hill.
First we chomp,
Then we stomp,
Then we stand still -
What are we?
Solution: We are teeth.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Teeth and Dentists article.

Riddle:
I run all day and I never walk,
I have a big mouth, but never talk.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a river.

Riddle:
Up, up, up,
Higher than a house,
Higher than a tree.
Twinkling bright,
Oh! whatever can I be?
Answer:
I am a star.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Astronomy article.

Riddle:
I come in different styles,
I can walk with you for miles,
I come in a pair,
I’m something that you wear,
With heels I am glam -
Can you guess what I am?
Answer:
I am shoes.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap here to read the Shoes and Footwear article.

Riddle:
In the warm months I wear green,
Both in the day and at night;
As it cools I shed yellow,
But during winter I wear white.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a tree.

Riddle:
You heard me before,
Yet you hear me again,
Then I fade,
Until you call me again
What am I?
Answer:
I am an echo.

Riddle:
A brightly colored winged-thing,
I flit and flutter all about;
Two antennae, two eyes,
And six legs have I.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a butterfly.
-David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

This is MFOL! . . . your rainbow on a rainy day . . .

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Beginnings and Starting

7/21/2022

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Picture of a country road with the word Start painted on it, and also the words, ‘Beginnings and Starting, By David Hugh Beaumont, Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net.’

You can begin now . . . from wherever you are in life . . .

No matter our age or where we’ve been
or what we’ve said and done,
Each sunrise is a reminder
that we’ve only just begun.
-Author Unknown

“This is the start of something wonderful.” -Author Unknown

“For what it’s worth . . . it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940)): “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (1922)

“Mighty things from small beginnings grow.” -John Dryden (1631 - 1700)

“The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision.” -Robyn Davidson (born 1950)

“Everything must have a beginning.” -Author Unknown

“The hardest step of any worthwhile endeavor is always the first step. The second hardest step is the one you take after every fiber in your body says, ‘Quit!’ but you know in your spirit you must carry on.” -Al Argo

“If I have work to do, the sooner started, the sooner through.” -Author Unknown

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.” -Marie Beynon Ray (1886 - 1969)

“It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts.” -Ella Fitzgerald (1918 - 1996)

“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” -Richard L. Evans (Richard Louis Evans (1906 - 1971))

“You begin by always expecting good things to happen.” -Tom Hopkins at www.TomHopkins.com

“Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.” -William James (1842 - 1910)

“Sometimes it is really hard to get going. We put off things we do not want to do, or we are afraid to try. We occasionally feel overwhelmed by the size of a job to be done, like cleaning out the cellar or reading a long book for a class. But think a minute. If Beethoven had thought about how complicated it would be to write his Ninth Symphony, with all the instruments and voices and notes to blend together, do you really think he would ever have started? But he did not get overwhelmed. He sat down and wrote just one small note, and then another, and third. It took him months, but writing one note led to a second and, one note at a time, he completed it. We begin the same way with whatever tasks we have ahead of us. Each tiny bit of progress helps us go on to the next part. We begin by reading one page of that book, or taking one box of junk from the cellar. That is all we have to do. The rest will follow almost on its own. The trick is to begin.” -Author Unknown

“It is better to begin in the evening than not at all.” -Author Unknown: English proverb

“Start from wherever you are and with whatever you’ve got.” -Jim Rohn (Emanuel James ‘Jim’ Rohn (1930 - 2009))

“He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin!” [translation to English]
“Dimidium facti qui coepit habet; sapere aude; incipe!” [original Latin]
-Quintus Horatius Flaccus (also known simply as Horace (65 B.C.E. - 8 B.C.E.)): “Epistles” (about 20 B.C.E. and 14 B.C.E.), Book I, epistle ii, lines 40 and 41

“Do it now, because sometimes ‘later’ becomes ‘never.’” -Author Unknown

“The word ‘begin’ is full of energy. The best way to get something done is to begin. It’s truly amazing what tasks we can accomplish if only we begin.” -Clifford Warren (about 1932 - 2009)

“If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.” -David Viscott (David Steven Viscott (1938 - 1996))

“The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings.” -Dave Weinbaum (born about 1952)

“If we wait for the moment when everything is ready, we shall never begin.” -Ivan Turgenev (Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818 - 1883))

“As the dimensions of the tree are not always regulated by the size of the seed, so the consequences of things are not always proportionate to the apparent magnitude of those events that have produced them.” -C. C. Colton (Charles Caleb Colton (1780 - 1832)): “Lacon: or, Many Things in Few Words” (1820), CLXXXVIII

“It is time to get moving. Your spirits will lift accordingly.” -Author Unknown

“Begin with the end in mind.” -Stephen Covey (Stephen Richards Covey (1932 - 2012))

“It doesn’t matter where you start. Only that you begin.” -Robin Sharma (born 1965)

“All glory comes from daring to begin.” -Eugene F. Ware (Eugene Fitch Ware (1841 - 1911)): “John Brown” poem, line 15; as published in James and Mary Ford, editors: “Every Day in the Year” (1902)

“The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

“It is never too late, just as it is never too early.” -Author Unknown

“If the first button of one’s coat is wrongly buttoned, all the rest will be crooked.” -Giordano Bruno (born Filippo Bruno (1548 - 1600)): as attributed in John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton: “The Cambridge Modern History” (1904), page 707

“He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” -Author Unknown: Dutch proverb

“The beginnings of all things are small.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero (also known as Tully or simply as Cicero (106 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.))

“What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

“Nothing would be done at all if one waited until one could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.” -John Henry Newman (also known as Cardinal Newman (1801 - 1890))

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” -Joe Sabah: as attributed in Zig Ziglar: “Over the Top” (1994)

“Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you’ve got, and fix it along the way.” -Paul Arden (1940 - 2008)

“You can’t get much done by starting tomorrow.” -Author Unknown

“The secret to living the life of your dreams is to start living the life of your dreams today, in every little way you possibly can.” -Mike Dooley (born 1961)

“You can’t cross the sea merely by staring at the water.” -Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

“I have begun several times many things, and I have often succeeded at last.” -Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

“The start is what stops most people.” -Don Shula (Donald Francis ‘Don’ Shula (born 1930))

“Making a start involves physics: An object at rest tends to remain at rest and an object in motion tends to remain in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force in either case. So the difficulty is only one of getting an object at rest - which is you, your circumstances, other people around you, and so forth, into a state of motion. Once in motion, or that is, having made a start, objects and courses of events have a known propensity to remain in motion.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“It will get easier once you make the initial push.” -Author Unknown

“You don’t have to get it right. You just have to get it going.” -Mike Litman: as quoted in Chineme Noke: “There Is No Time Like the Present to Create Your Future” (March 2012), page 11

“Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure.” -Edward Eggleston (1837 - 1902)

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” -Stephen King (Stephen Edwin King (born 1947))

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” -Eckhart von Hochheim (also known as Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1327))

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” -Karen Lamb (born 1956) at www.karenlamb.com

“The beginning is the most important part of any work.” -Plato (about 427 B.C.E. - about 347 B.C.E.): “The Republic” (about 380 B.C.E.), Book 2

“Don’t be afraid if things seem difficult in the beginning. That’s only the initial impression. The important thing is not to retreat; you have to master yourself.” -Olga Korbut (Olga Valentinovna Korbut (born 1955))

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” [variant translation to English]
“A journey of a thousand li* begins with a single step.” [translation to English]
Qiān lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià. [original Chinese in English characters]
千里之行始於足下。[original Chinese in Chinese characters]
-Lao-tzu (about 604 B.C.E. - about 531 B.C.E.): “Tao-te Ching” (English: “The Way of Power”), section 64, line 12
*li: a unit of distance that has historically varied from 323 to 645 meters

“You can’t get anywhere unless you start.” -Author Unknown

“If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved.” -Maurice Chevalier (Maurice Auguste Chevalier (1888 - 1972))

“Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect.” -Author Unknown

“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.” -Takeshi Shudo (1949 - 2010): “The Art of Pokemon, the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back!”; line spoken by fictional character Mewtwo

“You don’t get to the finish line unless you start.” -Author Unknown

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” -attributed to Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910))

“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” -William Faulkner (William Cuthbert ‘Will’ Faulkner (1897 - 1962))

“Well begun is half done.” -Aristotle (384 B.C.E. - 322 B.C.E.): “Politics,” Book V

“So many fail because they don’t get started - they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin.” -W. Clement Stone (William Clement Stone (1902 - 2002))

“Begin and you’re halfway there.” -Alfred A. Montapert (Alfred Armand Montapert (1906 - 1997))

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” -John C. Maxwell (John Calvin Maxwell (born 1947))

“You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up for you.” -Barbara Sher (born 1935): “I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It” (1995)

“First things first, but not necessarily in that order.” -Author Unknown: “Doctor Who”

“The question for each man is not what he would do if he had the means, time, influence, and educational advantages, but what he will do with the things he has.” -Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757 - 1804)

“Two little words that can make the difference: Start now.” -Mary C. Crowley

“Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable do nothing.” -William A. Feather (William Arthur Feather (1889 - 1981))

“Begin anywhere.” -John Cage (John Milton Cage, Junior (1912 - 1992))

“It’s time to start living the life you’ve imagined.” -Henry James, Junior (1843 - 1916)

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” -Napoleon Hill (Oliver Napoleon ‘Napoleon’ Hill (1883 - 1970))

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” -Shunryu Suzuki (1904 - 1971)

“Take the first step, no more, no less, and the next will be revealed.” -Ken Roberts (born 1946): “A Rich Man’s Secret” (1995) (similar quotation attributed to Clement Watt)

“He has half the deed done who has made a beginning.” -Author Unknown

“The one thing all famous authors, world class athletes, business tycoons, singers, actors, and celebrated achievers in any field have in common is that they all began their journeys when they were none of these things.” -Mike Dooley (born 1961)

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” -Arthur Ashe (1943 - 1993)

“No matter how small and unimportant what we are doing may seem, if we do it well, it may soon become the step that will lead us to better things.” -Channing Pollock (1880 - 1946)

“Our grand business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” -Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)

“Can anything be sadder than work unfinished? Yes, work never begun.” -Christina Rossetti (Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894))

“Every really new idea looks crazy at first.” -Abraham Maslow (Abraham Harold Maslow (1908 - 1970))

“You already have all you need.” -James Cardinal Gibbons: “The Light of the Cross” (1905; 2 volumes)

“Start where you are. Distant fields always look greener, but opportunity lies right where you are.” -Robert Collier (1885 - 1950)

“Out of the lowest depths there is a path to the loftiest height.” -Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)

“Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tiptoe if you must, but take a step.” -Naeem Callaway (Naeem D. Callaway (born 1979))

“Begin where you are; work where you are; the hour which you are now wasting, dreaming of some far off success, may be crowded with grand possibilities.” -Orison S. Marden (Orison Swett Marden (1848 - 1924))

“As it turns out, now is the moment you’ve been waiting for.” -Lucinda Williams (born 1953)

“And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” -Eckhart von Hochheim (also known as Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1327))

This is MFOL! . . . where another article starts next . . .

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Haikus

7/15/2022

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Picture of a two-lane street in the town of Ukiah, with cars parked along it, small shops, trees, and a blue sky with a slight white cloud haze overhead.

A snapshot of downtown Ukiah, California, United States of America. The haiku was not invented here, but it is celebrated here . . . more about that later . . .

Sea Turtles

In the deep blue sea
Sea turtles are roaming free
And glad to be

by Author Unknown

I hope you enjoy
Haiku as much as I do
And have fun all day
-Author Unknown

Yes, what you have just read is a haiku, as are the following.

I don’t have a clue -
How does one write a haiku?
It’s so confusing!
-Author Unknown

Row, row, row your boat,
Row gently, row merrily,
Life is but a dream.
-David Hugh Beaumont (adaptation of the song "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to haiku form)

I’ll give it a try
So that perhaps by and by
A haiku will come from me
-Author Unknown

The word ‘haiku’ is a contraction of the Japanese phrase ‘haikai no ku’ meaning ‘light verse.’

Haikus Facts
- Haiku is pronounced as ‘high-koo.’
- A common haiku poem has 3 lines.
- Line 1 has 5 syllables.
- Line 2 has 7 syllables.
- Line 3 has 5 syllables.
- It is not necessary for a haiku poem to rhyme or have rhythm.
- Some haikus have titles and some have none.
- The aim of haikus is to paint pictures in the minds of readers.
- The haiku poetry form originated in Japan.

A carpenter’s son
Left the Woodworkers’ Union
Formed new splinter group
-Guy Ben-Moshe

Haikus were originally intended not as an end in themselves, but as a starting point to stimulate classroom discussion on a particular subject.

With every gust of wind
the butterfly changes its place
on the willow
-Basho (Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694))

Advice for those in
a difficult position
First, be flexible
-Author Unknown

Pandas

The black and white bears
Sitting under leafy trees
Eating bamboo shoots

by Rebecca Schauer

Ukiah is haiku spelled backwards. It is a deliberate ‘anagram’ of the word for the form of poetry called ‘haiku.’ Anagrams are made by taking the letters in a word or phrase and rearranging them to spell another word or phrase. Ukiah is the name of a city where an annual haiku festival is held. It is an afternoon devoted to haiku poems. A program of music is followed by a presentation of certificates and awards for the winning haikus. Poets of all ages read their winning poems. A reception with refreshments follows, during which the audience has the opportunity to read through an exhibit of selected poems submitted to the festival. You can learn how to submit haikus online for the next annual Ukiah Haiku Festival at www.ukiahaiku.org. Good luck with your entries!

Ukiah

Blue sky, clouds, oak trees,
Sunshine almost every day . . .
This is Ukiah

by Author Unknown

The lemon pickers
And the orchard owners had
A bitter dispute
-Guy Ben-Moshe

Monster under bed -
Oh, please don’t eat me tonight
You’ll get tummy-ache
-David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

Is “Haiku!” the sound made by a sneezing poet?

This haiku poem
Is written about a sneeze -
And ends with, “Atchoo!”
-David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Haiku.
Haiku, who?
Bless you!

After weeks of watching the roof leak
I fixed it tonight
by moving a single board
-Gary Snyder

While the subject of many haikus is nature, as for example, trees, flowers, or breezes, other kinds of subjects can be used. A senryu (pronounced sen-ree-yoo), also known as a ‘human haiku,’ is a haiku poem that has as its subject human nature rather than the natural world. Like a haiku, it is composed of three lines of five, seven, and five syllables.

Company coming?
And your house is a big mess?
Just put on lipstick.
-Author Unknown

I’m sure I’ll feel great
Once this workout is over
Right now, not so much
-Author Unknown

The laundry piles up.
I cannot keep up with it.
Will someone please help me?
-Mrs. Cline

Once beyond the gate
I too am a traveler
In the Autumn twilight.
-Buson

Haikus are easy
But sometimes don’t make much sense
Hippopotamus
-Author Unknown

Winter Solitude

Winter solitude -
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.

by Basho (Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694))

The ocean is big,
And also it is really,
Really, really wet.
-Author Unknown

Writer of haikus
Will never be said of me
I will dig ditches
-David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

World is vast and wide.
So much out there to explore.
Right now, let’s eat lunch.
-Author Unknown

Wanna* go outside.
Oh no! Help! I got outside!
Let me back inside!
-Author Unknown
*wanna: want to

My breakfast today,
bacon, eggs, and ice water.
I feel so healthy.
-Author Unknown

Now how about you -
Please won’t you write a haiku?
It’s more fun than bugs!
-Author Unknown

Walking around
an early spring garden -
going nowhere.
-Kyoshi

My cow gives less milk
now that it has been eaten
by a fierce dragon
-Author Unknown

Some of the haikus shown in this article tend to be a little on the silly side, perhaps because that is the side of life we often find ourselves on here at www.MakeFunOfLife.net. Most haikus, however, are about nature and other serious subjects. Still, creating silly haikus could be a good beginning point, until you have mastered the art of haiku writing. Whatever is begun as play, and is later taken up as a serious endeavor without ever completely losing the element of play, has a good chance of being wildly successful.

And Now One Last Haiku

Please share your haikus
With us - we’d love to read them,
And get to know you!

by David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

This is MFOL! . . . life is like a bird that needs two wings to fly, one serious and one silly . . . how many one-winged birds fly in the sky?

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Resenting and Forgiving

7/3/2022

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Picture of silvery sunbeams streaming down through gray-tinged clouds and reflecting on the slightly-rippling waters of Lake Taupo in New Zealand, with hills at the far distant edge of the lake and the words, ‘All Is Forgiven.’

Forgiveness is a funny thing;
It warms the heart and cools the sting.
-William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994)

“Without forgiveness life is governed by . . . an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” -Roberto Assagioli (1888 - 1974)

“Don’t carry a grudge. While you’re carrying the grudge the other guy’s out dancing.” -Buddy Hackett (1924 - 2003)

“Forgiving is not forgetting, it’s letting go of the hurt.” -Mary McLeod Bethune (Mary Jane McLeod Bethune (1875 - 1955))

“Time spent in getting even would be better spent in getting ahead.” -Author Unknown

“Resentment or grudges do no harm to the person against whom you hold these feelings but every day and every night of your life, they are eating at you.” -Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)

“The best revenge is a vow to never be like the one who hurt you.” -Author Unknown

“Forgiveness means letting go of the past.” -Gerald Jampolsky (Gerald Gersham Jampolsky (born 1925))

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” -Catherine Ponder (born 1927)

“The best revenge is massive success.” -Frank Sinatra (Francis Albert ‘Frank’ Sinatra (1915 - 1998))

“Life is an adventure in forgiveness.” -Norman Cousins (1915 - 1990): as quoted in the “Saturday Review” (15 April 1978)

“If you hug to yourself any resentment against anybody else, you destroy the bridge by which God would come to you.” -Peter Marshall (1902 - 1949)

“Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.” -Oscar Wilde (Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900))

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” -Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818 - 1885))

“I think there are two kinds of forgiveness: the kind that when you forgive you’re also giving them another chance, or the kind where you forgive, but move on without them. Use both wisely.” -S. B.

“Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.” -Suzanne Somers (pseudonym of Suzanne Mahoney (born 1946)) at www.suzannesomers.com

Let Bygones Be Bygones

Let’s let bygones be bygones
     And start all over again.
Let us forget we parted
     And be the same as we started.

Remember, the sunshine
     Must always follow the rain.
So, let’s let bygones be bygones
     And start all over again.

by Joseph George Gilbert (1933), stanzas 1 and 2

“The heaviest thing to carry is a grudge.” -Author Unknown

“You must forgive those who trespass against you before you can look to Heaven for forgiveness.” -Author Unknown: “The Talmud”

“When you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.” -Author Unknown

Good, to forgive;
Best, to forget!
-Robert Browning (1812 - 1889): “Dedication to La Saisiaz,” as quoted in “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations” (1919)

“Forgiving someone doesn’t mean pretending nothing happened. Rather, it means releasing the burden of anger and obsession so you can move on with your life.” -Charles F. Glassman: “Brain Drain: The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life” (2009)

“I bear no grudges. I have a mind that retains nothing.” -Bette Midler (born 1945)

“He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach Heaven; for all men need to be forgiven.” -George Herbert (1593 - 1633)

“The best manner of avenging ourselves is by not resembling him who has injured us.” -Jane Porter (1776 - 1850)

“Let us forget and forgive injuries.” -Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547 - 1616): “Don Quixote de la Mancha” (1605 - 1615), Part I, Book IV, Chapter 3

“The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself.” -Eddie Vedder (born 1964)

“Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business.” -Robin Casarjian

“Don’t get even . . . get odd!” -Author Unknown

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” -Paul Boese (Paul Lewis Boese (1923 - 1976))

“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” -Marianne Williamson (born 1952)

“This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): “Essays” (1597)

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” -Jesus of Nazareth: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘Luke,’ chapter 23, verse 34

Picture of three rustic wooden crosses on a hilltop thickly covered by grasses and green plants with small yellow flowers, a blue sky with fluffy white clouds tinged with blue-gray coloration overhead, and the words, ‘The Lesson Has Not Been Forgotten.’

“Since nothing we intend is ever faultless, and nothing we attempt ever without error, and nothing we achieve without some measure of finitude and fallibility we call humanness, we are saved by forgiveness.” -David Augsburger (David W. Augsburger (born 1938))

“How often could things be remedied by a word. How often is it left unspoken.” -Norman Douglas (1868 - 1952)

“Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.” -Jonathan Lockwood Huie (born 1945)

“No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.” -George Nathan (George Jean Nathan (1882 - 1958))

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” -Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi (1869 - 1948))

“Forgive, son; men are men; they needs must err.” -Euripides (480 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.)

“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” -Buddha (also known as Siddhārtha Guatama or Shakyamuni Buddha (about 563 B.C.E. - about 483 B.C.E.))

“It is easier to forgive and forget than to resent and remember.” -Author Unknown

“We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.” -T. D. Jakes (Thomas Dexter Jakes, Senior (born 1957))

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.” -Reinhold Niebuhr (Karl Paul Reinhold ‘Reinhold’ Niebuhr (1892 - 1971))

“Holding on to anger, resentment, and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache, and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life.” -Joan Lunden (born 1950)

“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” -Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855): “Jane Eyre” (1847), chapter VI

“Nothing produces such odd result as trying to get even.” -Franklin P. Jones (Franklin Pierce Jones (1908 - 1980))

“Let It Go: Forgive So That You Can Be Forgiven” (2013): title of book by T. D. Jakes (Thomas Dexter Jakes, Senior (born 1957))

“Hold hands, not grudges.” -Author Unknown

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882): “Table-Talk” (1857), ‘Driftwood’

“Sometimes the best revenge is to smile and move on.” -Author Unknown

“To forgive and forget means to throw away dearly bought experience.” -Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)

“Forgiveness is just another name for freedom.” -Byron Katie (born 1942)

“People are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives.” -Helen Prejean (born 1939)

“I must forgive without noise or fuss.” -Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)

“Forgiving is not a gift to someone else. Forgiving is your gift to yourself - a great gift - the gift of happiness.” -Jonathan Lockwood Huie (born 1945)

“He who forgives ends the quarrel.” -Author Unknown

“Forgiveness is not an emotion, it’s a decision.” -Randall Worley

“Holding a grudge does not hurt the person against whom the grudge is held, it hurts the one who holds it.” -Booker T. Washington (Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856 - 1915))

“Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.” -Les Brown (Leslie Calvin ‘Les’ Brown (born 1945))

“Some people insist - often very forcefully - that we must both forgive and forget, or that we have to either forgive or forget . . . as if those are our only options. Those are not our only options. When what has been done to us is horrendous, it becomes unforgiveable and unforgettable, so we can only choose an eventual third option: We neither forgive nor forget, but we learn to move past the pain, the fear, the disappointment, and the constant awareness, to a point at which we can live our lives.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Forgiveness does not mean excusing.” -C. S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis (1898 - 1963))

“The more a man knows, the more he forgives.” -Catherine II (also known as Catherine the Great (1729 - 1796))

“Forgotten is forgiven.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940))

“Do not burn bridges that you might have to cross again someday.” -Author Unknown

“Any man can seek revenge; it takes a king or prince to grant a pardon.” -Arthur J. Rehrat

“The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.” -Henry Boye

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” -Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744): “An Essay on Criticism” (1711)

I forgive myself for having believed for so long that . . .
I was never good enough to have, get, be what I wanted.
-Ceanne DeRohan

“Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): “Essays” (1625), ‘Of Revenge’

“Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in “The Bible,” Ephesians,’ chapter 4, verse 26

“Forgiveness is not something we do for other people. We do it for ourselves to get well and move on.” -Author Unknown

“Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent free in your head.” -Author Unknown

“I once met a man who had forgiven an injury. I hope some day to meet the man who has forgiven an insult.” -Thomas Buxton (Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786 - 1845))

“Forgive all who have offended you, not for them, but for yourself.” -Harriet Nelson (Harriet Uts Nelson)

“I forgive people, but that doesn’t mean I trust them.” -Author Unknown

“Forgiving people can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, when you fear that people will wrong you again, and that once again, just as before, you will be powerless to stop them.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” -Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (C.E. 121 - C.E. 180): “The Meditations” (C.E. 167), Book 6, meditation 5

“Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds.” -Sidney and Suzanne Simon

“Nothing on Earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of resentment.” -Friedrich Nietzsche (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)): “Ecce Homo” (English: “Behold the Man”) (1888)

“Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours. Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious.” -Phillips Brooks (1835 - 1893)

“Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it forgoes revenge, and dares forgive an injury.” -E. H. Chapin (Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814 - 1880)): “Living Words” (1861)

“Forgiveness is the noblest vengeance.” -H. G. Bohn (Henry George Bohn (1796 - 1884))

“Living well is the best revenge.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in George Herbert (1593 - 1633): “Jacula Prudentum; or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. Selected by Mr. George Herbert” (1651), proverb 520

“We may not know how to forgive, and we may not want to forgive; but the very fact we say we are willing to forgive begins the healing practice.” -Louise Hay (Louise Lynn Hay (1926 - 2017))

“Forgive thyself little, and others much.” -Robert Leighton (1611 - 1689)

“It is never too late to mend.” -Author Unknown

This is MFOL! . . . accompaniment for the journey called life . . .

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Criticism and Criticizing

6/17/2022

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Picture of two human hands, one with a thumb pointed down in disapproval, and one with a thumb pointed up in approval.

“Some people find fault like there’s a reward for it.” -Zig Ziglar (Hilary Hinton ‘Zig’ Ziglar (1926 - 2012))

“Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you’re a mile away from them - and you have their shoes!” -Henny Youngman (Henry ‘Henny’ Youngman (1906 - 1998))

“I never criticize anyone. The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement.” -Charles Schwab (Charles Michael Schwab (1862 - 1939))

Critics

What one approves, another scorns,
     And thus his nature each discloses;
You find the rosebush full of thorns,
     I find the thornbush full of roses.

by Arthur Guiterman (1871 - 1943)

“I criticize by creation - not by finding fault.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero (also known as Tully or simply Cicero (106 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.))

“All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.” -Author Unknown

“Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.” -Og Mandino (Augustine ‘Og’ Mandino II (1923 - 1996))

“If criticism had any real power to harm, the skunk would be extinct by now.” - Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan (1894 - 1956))

“The reason to not take things personally is to understand that what people say about you is a reflection of them, not you.” -Author Unknown

“Wink at small faults.” -John Clarke (1596 - 1658): “Proverbs: English and Latine” (1639)

“The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and to watch somebody else doing it wrong, without comment.” -Theodore H. White (Theodore Harold White (1915 - 1986))

“Sandwich every bit of criticism between two thick layers of praise.” -Mary Kay Ash (born Mary Kathlyn Wagner (1918 - 2001))

“Much of what people attempt to pass off as criticism or even constructive criticism is actually condemnation and an effort to slight or wound or destroy another person. You must develop a hard protective shell around your essential self to stop the slings and arrows of the critical and judgmental people you will encounter throughout your lifetime.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Unkind criticism is never part of a meaningful critique of you. Its purpose is not to teach or to help, its purpose is to punish.” -Barbara Sher (born 1935)

The stones that critics hurl with harsh intent
     A man may use to build his monument.
-Arthur Guiterman (1871 - 1943)

“Long experience has taught me that to be criticized is not always to be wrong.” -Anthony Eden (Robert Anthony Eden (1897 - 1977)): in a speech at the Lord Mayor’s Guildhall banquet during the Suez crisis, as quoted in the “Daily Herald” (10 November 1956) newspaper

Riddle: What is easier to give than receive?
Solution: Criticism.

“A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one would find fault with what he had done.” -John Henry Newman (also known as Cardinal Newman (1801 - 1890))

“Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been put up in honor of a critic.” -Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)

“Criticism is a destroyer of self-worth and esteem.” -H. Burke Peterson (Harold Burke Peterson (1923 - 2013)): ‘Preparing the Heart,’ in “Ensign” (May 1990) magazine, page 83

“A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging loudly and vainly as the train goes by.” -Christopher Morley (Christopher Darlington Morley (1890 - 1957))

“Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance, and kindness.” -Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955)))

“Criticizing another’s garden does not keep the weeds out of your own.” -Author Unknown

“Since we have so many critics in society, perhaps we need another group of people to criticize the critics, mostly about the fact that there are too many of them.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.” -Charles Schwab (Charles Michael Schwab (1862 - 1939))

“Sometimes people try to expose what’s wrong with you because they can’t handle everything that’s right about you.” -Author Unknown

“I am not given to finding fault, for there are innumerable fools.” -Plato (about 427 - about 347 B.C.E.): “Protagoras”

“The man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away.” -Charles M. Schwab (Charles Michael Schwab (1862 - 1939))

“I’m too rich to care what the critics say.” -Mel Gibson (Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born 1956))

“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace.” -Judith Martin (born 1938)

“Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours burn any brighter.” -Author Unknown

“He who fancies himself very enlightened, because he sees the deficiencies of others, may be very ignorant, because he has not studied his own.” -Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)

“Make it your habit not to be critical about small things.” -Edward Everett Hale (1822 - 1909): as quoted in Jessie K. Freeman and Sarah S. B. Yule, editors: “Thoughts Selected from the Writings of Favorite Authors” (1901)

“The sad part about life is that we tend to comment only on those who do it wrong and neglect to balance it with praise for those who do it right.” -Keith Ready

“When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.” -Louis Nizer (1902 - 1994)

Hypercritical: Excessively and unreasonably critical, especially of small faults.

“Criticism of others is futile and if you indulge in it often you should be warned that it can be fatal to your career.” -Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955)))

“Movie Critic: A person who gives the best jeers of his or her life to the theater.” -Author Unknown

“What you dislike in another, take care to correct in yourself.” -Thomas Sprat (1635 - 1713)

“People who judge others are insecure about themselves.” -Author Unknown

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” - Dale Carnegie (Dale Harbison Carnegie (born Dale Breckenridge Carnagey (1888 - 1955))): “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (October 1936): ‘Part 1: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People,’ page 36

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” -Matthew: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘Matthew,’ chapter 7, verse 1

“If we had no faults we should not take so much pleasure in noting those of others.” -Duc de Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

“Court not the critic’s smile, nor dread his frown.” -Walter Scott (1771 - 1832)

“The most insignificant people are the most apt to sneer at others. They are safe from reprisals and have no hope of rising in their own self-esteem but by lowering their neighbors.” -William Hazlitt (1778 - 1830)

“To avoid criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” -Elbert Hubbard (Elbert Green Hubbard (1856 - 1915)): as quoted in Fra Elbertus (pseudonym of Elbert Green Hubbard): “The Motto Book” (1909)

“People who try to whittle you down are only trying to reduce you to their size.” -Author Unknown

“Don’t worry about what people say about you; they are busy finding faults in your life instead of fixing the faults in their own lives.” -Author Unknown

“Criticism comes easier than craftsmanship.” -Zeuxis of Heraclea (464 B.C.E. - 400 B.C.E.)

“You can run with the big dogs or sit on the porch and bark.” -Wallace Arnold (Wallace C. Arnold)

“When one dog barks another will join it.” -Author Unknown

“Faults are the easiest things to find.” -Author Unknown

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find other things as easily as we find fault?” -Author Unknown

Overheard: People who have time to point out others’ mistakes have time to do some work.

“Criticism is a life without risk.” -John Lahr (born 1941): “Light Fantastic: Adventures in Theatre” (1996)

“Our worst fault is our preoccupation with the faults of others.” -Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931): as quoted in Robin Waterfield, editor: “The Voice of Kahlil Gibran: An Anthology” (1995)

“No matter what you or anyone else does, there will be someone who says that there’s something bad about it. Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there’s somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, ‘Oh, you can’t do that . . .’” -Tom Clancy (Thomas Leo ‘Tom’ Clancy, Junior (1947 - 2013))

“Pay more attention to your Creator than your critics.” -Author Unknown

“Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others.” -H. Jackson Brown, Junior (Harriett Jackson Brown, Junior (born 1940))

“It is better to correct your own faults than those of another.” -Democritus of Abdera (about 460 B.C.E. - about 370 B.C.E.)

“Restrain your tongues in criticism of others. It is so easy to find fault. It is so much nobler to speak constructively.” -Gordon B. Hinckley (Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 - 2008))

“Go ahead. Judge me. Just remember to be perfect the rest of your life.” -Author Unknown

“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, criticize.” -Robin Sharma (born 1965)

“Be a doer and not a critic.” -Tony Blair (Anthony Charles Lynton ‘Tony’ Blair (born 1953))

“Criticism does not make you smarter or better than the one you are criticizing. In fact, the stuff you are critical of in others is the same stuff you don’t like about yourself.” -Iyanla Vanzant (born 1953 as Rhonda Eva Harris)

“It is easier to pull down than to build up.” -Author Unknown

“It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.” -Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719)

“The price of success is to bear the criticism of envy.” -Denis Waitley (Denis E. Waitley (born 1933))

“When we criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” -Richard Carlson (1961 - 2006)

“Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember - the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” -Zig Ziglar (Hilary Hinton ‘Zig’ Ziglar (1926 - 2012))

“People criticized me. So I changed. But people still criticized me. So I changed more. And still people criticized me. Then finally I realized it’s what they will do, no matter what. And I changed once more, by no longer listening to those people.” -Brian Vaszily (Brian William Vaszily (born 1970))

“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.” -Dave Willis (born 1970)

“There’s not the least thing can be said or done, but people will talk and find fault.” -Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321)

“‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.’” -F. Scott Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940)): “The Great Gatsby,” Chapter 1

“In reality, the world have payed* too great a compliment to critics, and have imagined them men of much greater profundity than they really are.” -Henry Fielding (1707 - 1754): “Tom Jones” (1749), book 5, chapter 1
*payed: variant spelling of ‘paid,’ past-tense of pay.

“The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.” -Friedrich Nietzsche (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900))

“It is ridiculous for any man to criticize the works of another if he has not distinguished himself by his own performances.” -Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719)

“Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s, if we are always criticizing trivial actions - which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.” -Teresa of Ávila (born Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada (1515 - 1582))

“When criticized, consider the source.” -Author Unknown

“If you are always finding fault, you will seldom find anything else.” -Author Unknown

“Answer them with silence and indifference. It works better, I assure you, than anger and argument.” -Gioacchino Rossini (Gioacchini Antonio Rossini (1792 - 1868)), commenting on critics

“Let he who is without fault cast the first stone.” -Jesus of Nazareth: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘John,’ chapter 8, verse 7

“The faults we find in others are our own.” -Author Unknown

“Anybody can point out anybody else’s bad qualities. If you want to distinguish yourself, go around pointing out good qualities.” -Author Unknown

“Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.” -Author Unknown

This is MFOL! . . . a website put together by some folks who could have been clowns but who have no costumes - and also no talent for being clowns . . . how’s that for criticism?

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Difficulty and Ease

6/11/2022

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Picture of a happy smiling woman climbing a tree in which a cat is lying on a branch.

Sometimes people choose to do things not because they are easy, but because they are difficult . . .

“We often arrive at ease by first going through difficulty.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.” -Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (1885 - 1962))

“Have you ever noticed how most things, though certainly not all, turn out to be easier than we had thought they would be once we get started, and the next thing you know, they have been done?” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Just because something is difficult does not mean you should not do it.” -Author Unknown

“Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them, they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.” -Orison S. Marden (Orison Swett Marden (1848 - 1924))

“I’m not telling you it is going to be easy; I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” -Author Unknown

“All things are difficult before they are easy.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 560

“Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.” -Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do. Not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our ability to do has increased.” -David O. McKay (David Oman McKay (1873 - 1970))

“The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult.” [translation to English]
“La distance n’y fait rien; il n’y a que le premier pas qui coute.” [original French]
-Marie de Vichy-Chamrond (1697 - 1780): letter (7 July 1763) to Jean Le Rond d’Alembert

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” -Henry Ford (1863-1947)

“Everything is difficult at first.” -Author Unknown

Picture of a man looking over the top of a large rock he is climbing, with a clear blue sky in the background.

“The level path is easy, but it will not bring you to the mountaintop.” -Idel Dreimer

“Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” -Orison S. Marden (Orison Swett Marden (1850 - 1924))

“I am always looking for an easier way of doing everything . . . not that I’m lazy, but that it gives me more life-energy to put into other things.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.” -Lucius Annaeus Seneca (also known as Seneca the Younger or simply Seneca (3 B.C.E. - C.E. 65))

“The problem of life is not to make life easier, but to make people stronger.” -David Starr Jordan (1851 - 1931)

“If you want to make an easy job harder, just keep putting it off.” -William James (1842 - 1910): as quoted in “The Letters of William James” (1920), ‘To Carl Stumpf’ (1 January 1886)

“Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard think makes it impossible.” -George C. Lorimer (George Claude Lorimer (1838 - 1904))

“Take the gentle path.” -George Herbert (1593 - 1633)

“There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it reluctantly.” -Terence (Publius Terentius Afer (about 185 B.C.E. - 159 B.C.E.)): “Heauton Timoroumenos” (English: “The Self-Tormentor”)

“It never becomes easy; it becomes possible.” -Agnes de Mille (1905 - 1993)

“The most difficult jobs look easy until you try to do them.” -William Feather (William Arthur Feather (1889 - 1981)): as quoted in Ted Landphair: “Featherisms” (6 October 2008)

“If your path is more difficult, it is because your calling is higher.” -Author Unknown

“A life of ease is a difficult pursuit.” -William Cowper (1731 - 1800)

“Nothing is easy to the unwilling.” -Nikki Giovanni (Yolande Cornelia ‘Nikki’ Giovanni, Junior (born 1943))

“In this age which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is in the long run the easiest.” -Henry Miller (Henry Valentine Miller (1891 - 1980))

“Absorption in ease is one of the most reliable signs of present or impending decay.” -Richard Weaver

“There is no fruit that is not bitter before it is ripe.” -Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.)

“One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.” -Jack Penn

“Sometimes there’s only the hard way.” -Mary E. Pearson

“Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results. It produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.” -Hamilton Holt

“If you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak.” -Joyce Meyer (born 1943 as Pauline Joyce Hutchison)

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” -Beverly Sills (1929 - 2007)

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” -Marie Curie (Marie Sklodowska-Curie (1867 - 1934))

“It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.” -Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)

“When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.” -Creighton W. Abrams (Creighton Williams Abrams, Junior (1914 - 1974))

“One thing you learn the hard way is that there is no easy way.” -Author Unknown

“Painting is easy when you don’t know how but very difficult when you do.” -Edgar Degas (born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas (1834 - 1917))

“If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you.” -Louis Brandeis (Louis Dembitz Brandeis (1856 - 1941))

“Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, it no longer matters.” -Scott Peck (1936 - 2005): “The Road Less Traveled” (1978)

“Work hard to make things easier.” -Pete Carril (Peter Joseph ‘Pete’ Carril (born 1930))

“Don’t confuse your path with your destination. Just because it’s stormy now doesn’t mean that you aren’t headed for sunshine.” -Author Unknown

“Obstacles are great incentives.” -Jules Michelet (1798 - 1874)

“What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

“In no direction that we turn do we find ease or comfort. If we are honest and if we have the will to win, we find only danger, hard work, and iron resolution.” -Wendall Willkie (Wendell Lewis Willkie (1892 - 1944))

“Looking back we see with great clarity, and what once appeared as difficulties now reveal themselves as blessings.” -Dan Millman (Daniel Jay ‘Dan’ Millman (born 1946))

“It’s easy if you try.” -Author Unknown

We are MFOL! . . . that wasn’t difficult at all . . . tee-hee-hee . . . tee-hee-hee . . .

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A Wise Person Once Said

6/3/2022

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Picture of a statue of Till Eulenspiegel, a prankster character found in folk tales, in this instance holding a mirror in one hand while an owl is perched on his other hand, with a clear blue sky in the background.

A wise person once said, “I am a fool, too, sometimes.”

A wise person once said, “Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.”

A wise person once said, “With great power comes great electricity bill.”

“Who is a wise man? He who learns of all men.” -Author Unknown

A wise person once said, "You never know until you find out." -Author Unknown

A wise person once said, “Person who sits on floor will not fall off chair.”

A wise person once said, “I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”

A wise person once said, “When nothing goes right, go left.”

A wise person once said, “Folks often make fun of the wisdom of those they take for fools, while scarcely noticing the foolishness of those whom they imagine to be wise.”

A wise person once said, “If ignorance is bliss, why are there not more happy people?”

A wise person once said, “Person who jumps through screen door likely to ‘strain’ self.”

A wise person once said, “No matter where you go, there you are.”

A wise person once said, “Person who runs in front of car will get ‘tired.’”

A wise person once said, “Person who runs behind car will get ‘exhausted.’”

A wise person once said, “Work eight hours and sleep eight hours, but not the same eight hours.”

A wise person once said, “Don’t believe everything you think.”

A wise person once said, “A wise person lowers a ladder before he jumps into a pit.”

A wise person once said, “Woman has small feet to be able to stand close to kitchen sink, and also wears high heels to be able to reach dishes on top shelf. Also, man who says this needs to take out the garbage and walk the dog.”

A wise person once said, “Take my advice - I’m certainly not using it.”

A wise person once said, “With time and patience, the banana at last becomes the monkey.”

A wise person once said, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”

A wise person once said, “Person who laughs last, does not get joke.”

Be wise to-day;
’tis madness to defer.
-Edward Young (1683 - 1765)

A wise person once said, “Two wrongs do not make right, but two lefts make U-turn.”

“Dare to be wise!” [translation to English]
“Sapere aude!” [original Latin]
-Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 B.C.E. - 8 B.C.E.))

A wise person once said, “One who sits on tack gets point.”

A wise person once said, “A wise person listens no matter how stupidly someone is talking.”

A wise person once said, “A neat desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.”

A wise person once said, “In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.”

A wise person once said, “Never argue with fool . . . he may be doing the same thing.”

A wise person once said, “A person who drives like Hell is bound to get there.”

A wise person once said, “Practice moderation in everything, even in moderation itself.”

A wise person once said, “A day without sunshine is like night.”

A wise person once said, “Person who thinks only of number one must remember this number is next to nothing.”

A wise person once said, “Starving person with one chopstick goes hungry.”

A wise person once said, “Women take to good hearted men, also from.”

“The wise man is but a clever infant, spelling letters from a hieroglyphical prophetic book, the lexicon of which lies in eternity.” -Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)

A wise person once said, “A closed mouth gathers no feet.”

A wise person once said, “It is colder outside than it would be if it was warmer than it is.”

A wise person once said, “All’s fear in love and war.”

A wise person once said, “I’m still waiting patiently for the wisdom that supposedly comes with age.”

A wise person once said, “At night it gets dark.”

A wise person once said, “Adults are just wrinkled kids who owe money.”

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.” -Solomon

A wise person once said, “People who eat cookies in bed wake up feeling crummy.”

A wise person once said, “Sometimes it is hard for a person to get away from him or herself.”

A wise person once said, “Grease monkey who goes to bed without bathing wakes up oily in the morning.”

A wise person once said, “Person who lives in glass house should change clothes in basement.”

A wise person once said, “Without wisdom, knowledge is more stupid than ignorance.”

A wise person once said, “Best time to buy new mattress, at first sign of spring.”

A wise person once said, “If you do not give something, you will not get anything.”

A wise person once said, “You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.”

A wise person once said, “If you believe everything you read, better that you should not read.”

A wise person once said, “Even the greatest of whales is helpless in middle of desert.”

A wise person once said, “A smile is your personal welcome mat.”

A wise person once said, “The reverse side also has a reverse side.”

A wise person once said, “To make eggroll, push it.”

A wise person once said, “Those who throw dirt, lose ground.”

A wise person once said, “Don’t take any wooden nickels! Wait! Wooden nickels might be antiques or valuable collectors’ items, so better take them all!”

A wise person once said, “Every wise person started out by asking many questions.”

A wise person once said, “Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.”

A wise person once said, “If you do not change the direction in which you are going, you will end up where you are headed.”

A wise person once said, “Person who attempts to stand on wall will soon be floored.”

This is MFOL! . . . the internet’s most mildly amusing website . . .

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Appearances and Looks

5/25/2022

1 Comment

Picture of a mirror with the words, ‘Warning: Reflections in this mirror may be distorted by socially constructed ideas.’

“Some of the most beautiful women I have ever met tell me, ‘I hate myself when I look in the mirror.’ I hear that again and again” -Henry Miller (1891 - 1980)

“To all the girls who think they’re fat because they’re not a size zero, you’re the beautiful ones; it’s society who’s ugly.” -Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson (1926 - 1962))

“Beauty is a mystery. You can neither eat it nor make flannel out of it.” -David Herbert Lawrence (1885 - 1930)

“I used to be very self-conscious. I used to wish I was pretty. My cousin Georgia always taught me that if you smile, people will like you. Sometimes people will say something you don’t like, and you get angry a bit, but you just smile. You let it go by, even if you really would like to choke ’em. By smiling, I think I’ve made more friends than if I was the other way.” -Ella Fitzgerald (1918 - 1996)

“Won’t you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you.” -Richard B. Sheridan (Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 - 1816))

Keep up appearances; there lies the test;
     The world will give thee credit for the rest.
-Charles Churchill (1731 - 1764): “Night” (1761), lines 311 and 312

“A plain face is often surprisingly beautiful by reason of an inner light.” -Henry E. Walbery

“Real beauty isn’t about symmetry or weight or makeup; it’s about looking life right in the face and seeing all its magnificence reflected in your own.” -Valerie Monroe

“Some of you may feel that you are not as attractive and beautiful and glamorous as you would like to be. Rise above any such feelings, cultivate the light you have within you, and it will shine through as a radiant expression that will be seen by others.” -Gordon B. Hinckley (Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 - 2008))

“Do not judge others by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.” -Author Unknown: Scottish proverb

“Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and a pretty soul.” -Author Unknown

Beauty to no complexion is confined,
     Is of all colors, and by none defined.
-George Granville (1666 - 1735)

“First impressions are the most lasting.” -Jonas Hanway (1712 - 1786): “A Journal of Eight Days Journey” (1756)

“Beauty isn’t something on the outside. It’s your insides that count! You gotta eat green stuff to make sure you’re pretty on the inside.” -Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka, and Toshihiro Kawabata: “Animal Crossing: Wild World” (2005)

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a body image condition that causes some people to imagine they presently have, or will later develop, physical deformities. Most people with the condition are not all that different from other people in appearance; it is just that their perception of themselves is erroneously distorted by inner or outer influences. BDD is also known by the term ‘dysmorphophobia,’ which is derived from the Greek words ‘dys’ meaning ‘abnormal,’ ‘morphe’ meaning ‘form,’ and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear.’ The good news is that the condition can be treated through therapeutic psychological counseling and by other methods.

“There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): “Essays” (1625), ‘Of Beauty’

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
     but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
     the passion that she knows.
-Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993)

“The beauty does not live out there; the beauty’s in my eyes.” -Jonathan Lockwood Huie (born 1945)

He: My, what lovely eyes you have!
She: I am glad you like them. They were a birthday present.

“Do not judge men by mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over the depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a divine peace and joy. The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool.” -E. H. Chapin (Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814 - 1880))

She is not fair to outward view
     As many maidens be;
Her loveliness I never knew
     Until she smiled on me:
Oh! then I saw her eye was bright,
     A well of love, a spring of light.
-Hartley Coleridge (David Hartley ‘Hartley’ Coleridge (1796 - 1849)): “Poems” (1851), ‘She Is Not Fair’

“I am not beautiful like you. I am beautiful like me.” -Author Unknown

“Appearances often deceive.” -Author Unknown: English saying

“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” -Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 - 1910)): “The Kreutzer Sonata” (1889)

“The weirder you’re going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person.” -Oscar Levant (1906 - 1972)

“Physical differences are what make it possible for our friends to find us in a crowd.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness.” [translation to English]
“La beauté n’est que la promesse du bonheur.” [original French]
-Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle (1783 - 1842)): “De L’Amour” (English: “On Love”) (1822), chapter 17, footnote

“Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless: peacocks and lilies, for example.” -John Ruskin (1819 - 1900): “The Stones of Venice” (1853), Volume I, chapter II, section 17

“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” -Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990)

“Outer beauty pleases the eye. Inner beauty captivates the heart.” -Mandy Hale (born 1978): “The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass” (2013)

Picture of a young woman looking into a mirror.

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The Ugly Duckling Syndrome

“The Ugly Duckling” is a story about someone who was not really ugly at all; he was just different. The other ducks teased and pecked at him with their beaks until the ugly duckling flew away. He wandered around for a year, and was treated as an outcast everywhere. In the Spring, he saw a group of swans on a lake, and wanted very much to join them. As he swam out toward them, he was astounded to notice his reflection in the water - he was a swan! The other swans welcomed him warmly, and found him to be beautiful.

Like many fairy tales, “The Ugly Duckling” was created with a lesson, or moral, in mind, if we will listen or read with the idea of finding it.

Most of us go through times when we feel different from those around us. These can be painful and lonely times, but it does not mean there is anything wrong with us. Like the ugly duckling, we will come into a time and place when we will be loved. All the pain and loneliness we have felt will one day be a fading memory.

“I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was the ugly duckling.” -Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875): “The Ugly Duckling” (11 November 1843)

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Her very frowns are fairer far
     Than smiles of other maidens are.
-Hartley Coleridge (David Hartley ‘Hartley’ Coleridge (1796 - 1849)): “Poems” (1851), ‘She Is Not Fair’

“You know who’s beautiful? Read this first word.” -Author Unknown

“You were created in God’s image. God makes no mistakes. To put yourself down for the way you are is to insult God’s handiwork. You are beautiful.” -Author Unknown

“You are beautiful inside and out.” -Author Unknown

“Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” -Sophia Loren (pseudonym of Sophia Sciccoloni (born 1934))

What do you think makes a person good-looking?

“I used to look in the mirror and feel shame; I look in the mirror now and I absolutely love myself.” -Drew Barrymore (Drew Blyth Barrymore (born 1975))

“Trust not too much to an enchanting face.” -Vergil (Publius Vergilius Maro, also known as Virgil (70 B.C.E. - 19 B.C.E.))

“The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): as quoted in Edward Bulwer-Lytton: “Falkland” (1827)

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” -Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (1855 - 1897): “Molly Bawn” (1878)

“The beauty seen is partly in him who sees it.” -Christian Bovée (Christian Nestell Bovée (1820 - 1904))

“Common-looking people are the best in the world. That is the reason the Lord made so many of them.” -Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

“Beauty is a radiance that originates from within and comes from inner security and strong character.” -Jane Seymour (pseudonym of Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg (born 1951))

“Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.” -Hedy Lamarr (Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (1914 - 2000))

“I cannot tell you how many times people have come up to me to compliment me on my lavish figure.” -Miss Piggy, as quoted in Henry Beard: “Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life” (1981)

“No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” -Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962))

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment . . . Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘1st Peter,’ chapter 3, verses 3 and 4

“A beautiful thing is never perfect.” -Author Unknown

“It is the common wonder of all men, how among so many millions of faces there should be none alike.” -Thomas Browne (1605 - 1682): “Religio Medici” (1643), Part II, Section 2

“Always try to look your best, because you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and first impressions are lasting impressions.” -Author Unknown

“Beauty starts in your head, not in your mirror.” -Joubert Botha

“A woman deserves no credit for her beauty at twenty, but at sixty, her beauty is of her own doing.” -Author Unknown

O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us
     To see oursels as ithers see us!
-Robert Burns (1759 - 1796): “To a Louse” (1786)

In Standard English, the above lines would be as follows:
And would some Power the small gift give us
     To see ourselves as others see us!

“There are no ugly women, there are women who do not know how to look pretty.” -Jean de La Bruyère (1645 - 1696)

“Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful.” -Sophia Loren (pseudonym of Sophia Sciccoloni (born 1934))

“Beware so long as you live, of judging people by appearances.” -Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)

Never judge someone
     By the way he looks
Or a book by the way it’s covered;
     For inside those tattered pages,
There’s a lot to be discovered
-Stephen Cosgrove (born 1945)

“If being beautiful in the eyes of the Creator means being ugly in the eyes of the created, then it’s worth it.” -Author Unknown

“You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older.” -Anouk Aimée (pseudonym of Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 1932))

“The appearances of things change according to the emotions and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.” -Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

Appearances and Looks Quiz
- What is the meaning of the word ‘beauty’?
- What is the meaning of the phrase ‘inner beauty’?
- Why might you not want to answer your door dressed and groomed sloppily?

“I’m beautiful in my own way because God makes no mistakes.” -Author Unknown

Appearances and Looks Quiz Answers
- Beauty is the quality of being pleasing to the mind.
- Inner beauties are virtues such as goodness, politeness, and caring.
- Always answer the door dressed and groomed well, because you never know when you might be greeting the Queen or the President.

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” -Confucius (K’ung Fu-tzu or K’ung Ch’iu (about 551 B.C.E. - about 479 B.C.E.))

“I am, as I am; whether hideous, or handsome, depends upon who is made judge.” -Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)

“Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.” -David Hume (1711 - 1776)

“People who are ‘animated’ are more attractive.” -Author Unknown

“It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the thing you do with it. You are beautiful.” -Stephenie Meyer (born 1973): “The Host” (6 May 2008)

“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” -Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Bonheur ‘Coco’ Chanel (1883 - 1971))

“That’s the thing about inner beauty: Unlike physical beauty, which grabs the spotlight for itself, inner beauty shines on everyone, catching them, holding them in its embrace, making them more beautiful too.” -Author Unknown

“Anyone is automatically a lot more attractive when they’re funny.” -Author Unknown

The folks at Make Fun Of Life! hope you will laugh a little more, learn a little more, and love life a little more . . . each and every day . . . we just want you to be happy.

1 Comment

Pirates

5/17/2022

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Picture of a pirate on a ship holding a musket in one hand and holding his other hand up over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he tries to look at something.

When considering career options, do not overlook the possibility of becoming a pirate. To learn more about this potentially lucrative field of work and to find out if a pirate’s life might be right for you, simply continue reading . . .

Rich: What are pirates afraid of?
Rick: The darrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk!

Serendipity: What kind of socks does a pirate wear?
Felicity: Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgyle!

Agatha: What does a fancy pirate add to his dinner?
Agnes: A garrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnish!

Pirates: No-good people who most assuredly arrive at a no-good end.

Real-life pirates are murderous, thieving, low-life criminal scum who steal ships and have historically met their end on the hangman’s noose, and in more recent times have been sent to filthy, overcrowded, rat-infested prisons for the remainder of their miserable days, but we will have some fun at their expense nonetheless.

Morris: Where do pirates keep their cookies?
Morton: In cookie jarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!

Amelia: How much did the pirate pay for his peg-leg and hook-hand?
Emily: An arm and a leg!

William the Crook

A pirate named William the Crook,
Serves his crew with his gigantic hook,
“I impale some marshmallows,
Toast them up for the fellows,
Make some cocoa, and read them a book.”

by Author Unknown

Bucky: How do pirates know that they are pirates?
Skippy: They think, therefore they arrr.

Picture of a rustic wooden chest with three locks and carrying handles on its ends.

Forget about the treasure chests shown in pretend pirate movies - the one shown above is how a real treasure chest would have looked. What, is it not glamorous enough for the likes of you? Aaarrr, well, suit yourself. If by chance you want to see what an authentic pirate chest would have held inside, continue reading and you will soon come to a picture of real pirate loot, shown further below.

Clark: Why can you not take a picture of a pirate with a wooden leg?
Kent: Because a wooden leg does not take pictures!

Tucker: What goes, “99-thump, 99-thump?”
Tyler: A pirate centipede with a wooden leg.

Most people only ever see fancy ‘made for the movies’ pirates. What could you expect to see from a real pirate? A real pirate would be wearing filthy rags and have the dreaded scurvy, and because we would not want to disgust you by showing you such a person, we won’t! Now let’s all make pirate noises. Rrr! Arrr! Rrr-rrr-rrr!

Annette: Where do pirates park their ships?
Nettie: In the harrrrrrrrrrrrrrrbor!

Merrill: What is a pirate’s second favorite type of transportation?
Marla: A carrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Scurvy is a preventable health condition caused by going too long without eating foods containing vitamin C, as some seafarers such as pirates do. The symptoms are too horrible to describe here, so just be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables so that you do not become a scurvy pirate!

Byron: What “Star Wars” character is really a pirate?
Myron: Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-2-D-2!

Helga: What is a pirate’s favorite doll?
Hilda: Barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrbie!

A pirate ship came ashore for a night at a mysterious island between Arabia and India. The first mate ended up in an eatery sitting at a table with an oil lamp on it. The lamp was dirty, so he rubbed it clean, and a genie came out, promising to grant him any three wishes he wanted. Immediately he wished for a huge mug of cold apple cider that would never run dry. “Granted,” said the genie. Excitedly the pirate downed the entire mug, and as promised, it magically refilled itself. He emptied it again, and it again magically refilled, just as he had wished. “This is great!” he said. “And what about your second and third wishes?” asked the genie. The pirate, still delighted about his magic mug, quickly replied, “I’ll have two more just like this!”

Picture of a pile of old worn-down gold and silver coins.

This pirate treasure may not be much to look at, but to a real pirate, it is the stuff of dreams. Up until quite recent times, coins were basically lumps of metal such as silver, copper, gold, or alloys (combinations of different metals melted together) that had been hammered flat or made by clumsily pouring molten metal into rough molds. Old coins from the time of pirates and sailing ships often were not perfectly round, not very shiny, and were well-worn-down, but were nonetheless valuable.

Jeffrey: What did the pirate ship captain keep in his musical treasure chest?
Geoffrey: The lute!

Pirate from Nertskinski

A pirate who hailed from Nertskinski
Became so exceedingly thinski
That while cleaning his gun,
When the day’s fight was done,
He looked down the bore and fell inski.

by Lewis Carroll (pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898))

Pearl: How much did the pirate pay to get his ears pierced for earrings?
Cora: A buccaneer!

Cassandra: Where do pirates get their hair cut?
Cassie: At the barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrber shop!

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Interrupting pirate!
Interrup -
Arrrrrr!

Knock, scratch, knock.
Who’s there?
Captain Hook.

Jack: What is a pirate’s favorite letter?
Jake: You would think it is the ‘r’ but it is really the ‘c.’

Pirate ship: A thugboat.

Picture of an old dilapidated sailing ship docked in a harbor.

Pirates often did not take pride in their vessels, so what we see here is typical of the sad state of disrepair in which a gang of murderous thieves would have kept a ship.

Connie: What clings to the underside of pirate ships and slows them down?
Constance: Barrrrrrnacles!

For any landlubbers who might be foolhardy enough to want to learn about real pirates, we heartily recommend the book, “Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates” (3 November 2015) by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. You can get it into your grubby paws by making a visit to your local library, or you can exchange some gold doubloons or whatever currency you might have for it at your favorite bookseller.

Martin: What is a buccaneer?
Mortimer: What pirates pay for corn these days.

A man went to the employment office looking for work. He was told that he could have the part of Long John Silver in a new movie version of “Treasure Island.” “That’s marvelous!” said the man. “How much will I be paid?” “Ten thousand dollars a week,” was the reply. “Great!” said the man. “So do I start acting on Monday?” “Oh, no,” said the clerk. “On Monday, you’re having your leg amputated.”

Pirate Pete: What do you call a pirate with two eyes and two legs and two hands?
Pirate Paul: Rookie.

Toby: When do pirates plant trees?
Tobias: On Arrrborrr Day! (For to make their wooden legs, don’t you be a-knowin’!)

Swashbuckling: To engage in daring and romantic adventures with ostentatious bravado or flamboyance. Aaarrr, don’t ask us, we really don’t know what that means, either.

Erma: Why could the pirate not play cards?
Myrna: Because the captain was standing on the deck!

Pegleg: Why do pirate ships have Global Positioning System (GPS) devices?
Captain Hook: So that pirates always know where they arrr-rrr!

Picture of a pirate flag with a skull and crossbones on it flying from a flagpole and a clear blue sky in the background.

A flag bearing a black field, upon which is displayed a skull and crossbones, is associated with pirate ships . . . but what if real pirates do not give such warnings, instead preferring to make surprise sneak attacks, or raids, upon sleepy coastal towns and unprotected merchant trading ships?

Agatha: Why did the pirate take his mother to the movie theater with him?
Amanda: Because the movie was rated ‘arrrrrr!’

Creative types think pirates are so great that they are making up new kinds of pirates: pirate princesses, pirate cheerleaders, pirate cats, pirate fairies . . . how much further can this silliness go?

Pirate cheerleaders have it easy: “Give me an Rrrrrr!”

Astor: Why are pirates called pirates?
Reed: They just arrrrrr!

Naomi: Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?
Vanessa: Because they spend years at ‘c’!

A Pirate of Boulder

There was a bold pirate of Boulder
Whose cutlass was slung from his shoulder.
He’d mighty fine notions
Of plundering oceans,
But his mom said, “Perhaps when you’re older.”

by Graham Lester at https://grahamlester.webs.com/index.htm

Dudley: What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday?
Smedley: “Aye, matey!”

Milford: What is a pirate’s second career choice?
Milton: Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrchitect!

A common belief about pirates is that they made people walk along a plank until they fell into the sea, where they would be eaten by sharks. This popular notion simply is not true; author James Matthew Barrie made it up for his children’s storybook, “Peter Pan” (1928).

Riddle: What has eight arms and eight legs and eight eyes?
Solution: Eight pirates!

Patrice: What is a pirate’s favorite hobby?
Tricia: Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt.

“I’ll never pet an alligator again,” Captain Hook said offhandedly.

Lydia: What is a pirate’s favorite country?
Lynette: Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgentina!

Renée: Where do pirates put their trash?
Sheila: In the garrrrrrrrrrrrrrrbage can!

Mack: What does a pirate do after saying, “Arrr!” one too many times?
Cam: Ask if anybody has a sore throat lozenge.

Blake: Why does Captain Hook have trouble telling time?
Caleb: His second hand keeps falling off.

Sue: What does a vegetarian pirate do?
Stu: He starrrrrrrrrrrrrrrves!

Picture of a toy pirate ship made from a block of Styrofoam with a thin sheet of plywood atop it, a thin wooden stick for a mast, and a piece of a paper for a sail, with a skull and crossbones drawn by hand on the sail. The toy pirate ship is floating in a pond.

Well, shiver me timbers, laddies and lassies, thar’s pirates in them thar waters! Yes, indeed, the pirates aaaaaarrr coming, the pirates aaaaaarrr coming! Quick, we’d better think up some more pirate jokes before they get here so we can entertain them! More fun and learning is coming up next . . . on MFOL!

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Shopping

5/9/2022

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Picture of a man shopping in a store for a suit.

“Whenever you buy something from a small local business, an actual person does a little happy dance.” -Author Unknown

“I don’t play sports. The only strenuous activity I do is shopping. But there’s a lot of walking involved in that - running sometimes, if there’s a sale.” -Author Unknown

“About eighty percent of the food on shelves of supermarkets today didn’t exist 100 years ago.” -Larry McCleary

To Market

To market, to market,
     To buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again,
     Jiggety jig,

To market, to market,
     To buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again,
     Jiggety jog,

To market, to market,
     To buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again,
     Market is done.

by Author Unknown

“I bet deep down you still wish your mom would take you clothes shopping every August for the new school year.” -Bridget Willard

“The woman just ahead of you at the supermarket checkout has all the delectable groceries you didn’t even know they carried.” -Mignon McLaughlin

A store manager overheard a clerk saying to a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for some weeks now, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer who was walking out the door and said, “That isn’t true, ma’am. Of course, we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it a couple of weeks ago.” Then the manager drew the clerk aside and growled, “Never, never, never, never say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she wanted?” “Rain.”

“I’ve been shopping all my life and still have nothing to wear!” -Sally Poplin

“I always make a list before I go to the grocery store. Sometimes I even remember to bring it with me.” -Author Unknown

“Grocery list (grow•sree list), noun: What you spend half an hour writing, then forget to take with you to the store.” -Author Unknown

“The best things in life are free. The second-best are very expensive.” -Coco Chanel

“When the checker at the supermarket asked my uncle if he would like the milk in a bag, my uncle replied, ‘No, just leave it in the carton.’” -Author Unknown

“Self-Checkout Line - The place where customers of an establishment become unpaid employees of the establishment.” -Richard E. Turner (1937 - 2011): “The Curmudgeon’s Short Dictionary of Modern Phrases” (about 2009), ‘The Grammar Curmudgeon, a.k.a. ‘The Mudge’’

Overheard: Today I went to the corner shop - and bought four corners.

“Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.” -Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.): as attributed in Darius Lyman: “The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave: from the Latin” (1856): “Sententiae,” Maxim 847

Overheard: The food at the convenience store in my neighborhood is so old that the expiration dates are in Roman numerals.

“When you go out to buy, don’t show your silver.” -Author Unknown

Grocery Store Bagger, speaking to Customer: Paper or plastic?
Customer: Surprise me!

“The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one.” -Erma Bombeck (Erma Louise Bombeck (born Erma Louise Fiste (1927 - 1996)))

“I went into a general store. They wouldn’t let me buy anything specifically.” -Steven Wright (Steven Alexander Wright (born 1955))

Picture taken inside a shop at the cashier station with a sign reading, ‘Please Squeak Toy For Cashier, Thank You’ and a gray toy plastic elephant squeaky toy next to it.

Dolly: What do you get when alien teenagers invade shopping malls on Earth?
Molly: Clothes encounters of the weird kind.

“If it’s good, they’ll stop making it.” -Herbert Block

Two men were lost in the desert. They were desperate for water, but just as they thought there was no hope, they chanced upon a village where market day was in full swing. They went to the first market stall they saw, and asked if they could buy some water. “No,” replied the stall owner, “I only sell fruit. Try the next stall.” So off they went to the next stall and again they asked for water. “Sorry,” said the merchant, “but I only sell custard.” “Custard?” one of the men said to the other, “What kind of place is this?” By then completely desperate, they went to the next stall, only to be told, “Sorry, but I only sell jelly.” Hearing this, one of the thirsty men turned to the other and asked, “Do you think this is a trifle bazaar?”

Overheard: Whenever I am at the market, I always seem to get the shopping cart with the one bad wheel.

Rule 1: The customer is always right.
Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, reread rule 1.
-Stew Leonard: policy of Stew Leonard’s dairy stores.

“When I was in the supermarket I saw a man and a woman wrapped in a barcode. I asked, ‘Are you two an item?’” -Author Unknown

So a guy walked into an antiques store and asked, “What’s new?”

“Three women and a goose make a market.” -Author Unknown

“I’m obsessed with shopping. I’ll get these urges to buy, like to shop for stuff on the internet. I search for all kinds of weird gizmos I could get.” -Tom Felton

Customer to bookstore owner: “I would like to return this book on modern medical procedures.”
Owner: “Is something wrong with it?”
Customer: “Someone removed the appendix.”

“Ill ware is never cheape.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in George Herbert (1593 - 1633): “Jacula Prudentum; or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. Selected by Mr. George Herbert” (1651), proverb 61

The manager of a grocery store nabbed a shoplifter in the act. He was escorting the suspect to the office in the front of the store near the cash registers, when the shoplifter broke from his grip and tried to run away. After a scuffle, the store manager pinned him against the wall and looked up to see a number of surprised customers staring at him. “Everything’s fine, folks,” he reassured them. “This guy just tried to go through the express line with more than ten items.”

Sign at a farmer’s market: Please Do Not Put All Of Your Eggs In One Basket.

“Don’t a fellow feel good after he gets out of a store where he nearly bought something.” -Frank McKinney Hubbard (Frank McKinney ‘Kin’ Hubbard (1868 - 1930))

Question: What is the most expensive vehicle to operate?
Answer: A shopping cart.

Shopper: Someone who goes buy-buy.

Overheard: Once you’ve seen one shopping center, you’ve seen a mall.

Customer: Have you anything for gray hair?
Clerk: Nothing but the greatest respect.

The first product to have a UPC bar code on its packaging was Wrigley’s gum.

“Pleasing ware is halfe sould.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in George Herbert (1593 - 1633): “Jacula Prudentum; or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. Selected by Mr. George Herbert” (1651), number 14

A small storeowner was being pressured to sell his store to the owners of a large department store, who had bought every building on the block, except his. Frustrated by the man’s refusal to sell, they eventually opened their huge store on either side of the small one, with a big banner running from one side to the other, proclaiming in huge letters “Grand Opening.” Below it, across the front of his small store, the man put up a small banner over his door: “Main Entrance.”

Storeroom: The distance required between the supermarket aisles so that children in shopping carts cannot easily reach everything.

Rumor has it that the best time to buy a new car is at the end of the month, because the sales people want their monthly reports to look good.

Huan: What are cashiers in China called?
Lok: Chinese checkers.

“Cheap things are not good; good things are not cheap.” -Author Unknown

The proprietor of a highly successful optical shop was instructing his son on how to charge a customer. “Son,” he said, “after you have fitted the glasses, and the customer asks what the charge will be, you say,” ‘The charge is 98 dollars.’ Then you pause and wait to see if he flinches. If the customer doesn’t flinch, you then say, “For the frames. The lenses will be another 98 dollars.” Then you pause again, this time only slightly, and watch for the flinch. If he doesn’t flinch this time, you say firmly, “Each.”

“Shopping: Retail therapy.” -Joe Heuer

“A bargain is something you don’t need at a price you can’t resist.” -Franklin P. Jones (Franklin Pierce Jones (1908 - 1980))

Sales Clerk to Customer: “This is an actual fire sale. The boss said that if I do not make a sale today, I am fired.”

Overheard: Aspirin, 300 for $2.87 - at that price, I can’t afford not to have a headache!

“Gift Shop: A place where you can see all of the things that you hope your relatives will not send to you for Christmas.” -Author Unknown

“Supermarket entrance: Say hello to good buys.” -Frank Tyger (1929 - 2011)

“I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. When I got there, the guy was locking the front door. I said, “Hey, the sign says you’re open 24 hours.” He said, ‘Yes, but not in a row.’” -Steven Wright (Steven Alexander Wright (born 1955))

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” -John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

“The other line moves faster.” -Etorre

“I went window shopping today! I bought four windows.” -Tommy Cooper

“Is there ever a day when mattresses are not on sale?” -Author Unknown

Who buys,
Had need of an hundred Eyes;
But one’s enough,
For him that sells the Stuff.
-Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia” (1732), number 6129

“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” -Author Unknown

“Let the buyer beware.” -John Fitzherbert: “A Book of Husbandry” (1523)

Shopping Tip: Do not shop when you are hungry. Shop after eating something, otherwise you will be tempted to buy everything that looks good and is edible in the store, including things you normally would not buy, things that you should not buy, and things that can ruin your diet and your budget.

“He is never likely to have a good thing cheap who is afraid to ask the price.” -Author Unknown

“We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.” -Henny Youngman (Henry ‘Henny’ Youngman (1906 - 1998))

“People will buy anything that’s one to a customer.” -Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951)

“Buying something on sale is a special feeling. In fact, the less I pay for something, the more it’s worth to me. I have a dress that I paid so little for that I am afraid to wear it. I could spill something on it and then how would I replace it for that amount of money?” -Rita Rudner

“Right or wrong, the customer is always right.” -Marshall Field

This is MFOL! . . . your one-stop shop for humor and inspiration and learning . . .

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Love

5/1/2022

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Picture of a pair of yellow-collared lovebirds, a type of parrot, with both the male and female of the species having identical plumage, in this instance, green, black, and yellow feathers, and distinctive red beaks and white outlines where the beaks meet the face and also around the eyes.

Aren’t you two just the cutest little lovebirds?

“To love and be loved, is to feel the Sun from both sides.” -David Viscott (David Steven Viscott (1938 - 1996))

“You don’t have to be perfect to be worth loving.” -Harold S. Kushner (Harold Samuel Kushner (born 1935))

Book of Love

If I could read you like a book,
     And if I chanced to steal a look,
I wonder if I’d find that you
     Were just as faithful, and as true
In chapter four, page sixty-seven
     As you were on page eleven?

by Author Unknown

“Where there is great love, there are always miracles.” -Willa Sibert Cather (born Wilella Sibert Cather (1873 - 1947))

“Love is metaphysical gravity.” -R. Buckminster Fuller (Richard Buckminster ‘Bucky’ Fuller (1895 - 1983))

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” -Dr. Seuss (pseudonym of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904 - 1991))

Melissa: Do you love me with all your heart?
Fred: Uh-huh.
Melissa: Do you think I am the most beautiful woman in the world?
Fred: Uh-huh.
Melissa: Am I the only one for you?
Fred: Uh-huh.
Melissa: Oh, you say the most wonderful things!

“Love is a verb.” -Clare Boothe Luce (1903 - 1987)

“What we love, we shall grow to resemble.” -Bernard of Clairvaux (C.E. 1090 - C.E. 1153)

“The heart that loves is always young.” -Author Unknown

“Love is the reward of love.” -Johann Friedrich von Schiller (Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805))

“Love is space and time measured by the heart.” -Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

“Love is never without some thorns.” -Author Unknown

“No one is perfect until you fall in love with them.” -Author Unknown

Perfect Love

They walked in the lane together,
     The sky was covered with stars;
They reached the gate in silence,
     He lifted down the bars.

She neither smiled nor thanked him,
     Because she knew not how;
For he was a farmer’s son,
     And she, a Jersey cow.

by Author Unknown

“Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that the person will love you back. Do not expect love in return, just wait for it to grow in their hearts but if it does not, be content it grew in yours.” -Author Unknown

“To be loved, be lovable.” [translation to English]
“Ut ameris, amabilis esto.” [original Latin]
-Publius Ovidius Naso (also known simply as Ovid (43 B.C.E. - C.E. 17)): “Ars Amatoria” (English: “The Art of Love”), Book II, line 107

“I love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow.” -Edmond Rostand (1868 - 1918)

“We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us.” -Bernard of Clairvaux (C.E. 1090 - C.E. 1153)

“It’s love that makes the world go ’round.” -W. S. Gilbert (William Schwenck Gilbert (1836 - 1911))

“Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other.” -Euripides (about 480 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.): “Orestes” (408 B.C.E.), line 298, as translated by William Arrowsmith

The Opposite of Two

What is the opposite of two?
     A lonely me, a lonely you.

by Richard Wilbur (Richard Purdy Wilbur (born 1921)): “Opposites” (1973)

“All love shifts and changes. I don’t know if you can be wholeheartedly in love all the time.” -Julie Andrews

“True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.” -Erich Segal

“The heart is a strange beast and not ruled by logic.” -Maria V. Snyder (born 1973)

“What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.” -Pearl Bailey (Pearl Mae Bailey (1918 - 1990)): as quoted in “Weekly World News” (25 April 2005)

“We don’t love qualities; we love a person; sometimes by reason of their defects as well as their qualities.” -Jacques Maritain

“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881))

“When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.” -Elizabeth Bowen (Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen (1899 - 1973))

“When we first fall in love, we feel that we know all there is to know about life, and perhaps we are right.” -Author Unknown

Picture of the handwritten words, ‘I love you,’ and the words, ‘What does it mean? Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net’

“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; It does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” -Paul of Tarsus: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘First Corinthians,’ chapter 13, verses 4 through 8

“I think . . . if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.” -Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 - 1910))

Together

Because we do
     All things together
All things improve,
     Even weather.

Our daily meat
     And bread taste better,
Trees are greener,
     Rain is wetter.

by Paul Engle (1908 - 1991)

People have made a silly pastime of holding a daisy and plucking off its petals while saying, “He loves me, he loves me not,” or “She loves me, she loves me not.” Supposedly, the last petal has the answer - but how would a flower know?

“Just because someone does not love you the way you want him or her to, does not mean they do not love you with everything they have got.” -Author Unknown

“The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness.” -Victor Hugo (Victor Marie Hugo (1802 - 1885))

“Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))

“Love is not enough. It must be the foundation, the cornerstone - but not the complete structure. It is much too pliable, too yielding.” -Bette Davis (Ruth Elizabeth ‘Bette’ Davis (1908 - 1989)): “The Lonely Life” (1962), chapter 19

“We loved with a love that was more than love.” -Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849): “Annabel Lee”; type of work: poem

“He was happy and unhappy all at once. He was in love.” -Petra Mathers: “Victor and Christabel” (1993)

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Olive.
Olive, who?
Olive you!

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1595 - 1596), Act I, scene 1, line 140; words of fictional character Lysander

“Hearts are wild creatures. That’s why our ribs are cages.” -Author Unknown

Jared: How do you mend a broken heart?
Annie: With ticker tape.

“To fall in love is awfully simple, but to fall out of love is simply awful.” -Bess Myerson (1924 - 2014)

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” -Robert A. Heinlein (Robert Anson Heinlein (1907 - 1988)): “Stranger in a Strange Land”

“To love someone means to see him as God intended him.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881))

“Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): “Venus and Adonis” (1593), line 821; type of work: narrative poem

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861): “Sonnets from the Portuguese” (1850)

“Draw a circle, not a heart, around the one you love, because a heart can break, but a circle goes on forever.” -Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky (1911 - 1987))

Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay.
Love isn’t love until you give it away.
-Michael W. Smith

“What power has love but forgiveness?” -William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963)

Do you love me?
     Or do you not?
You told me once,
     But I forgot.
-Elena Helms

“I’m bananas for you - let’s never split!” -Author Unknown

“Love creates an ‘us’ without destroying the ‘me’.” -Leo Buscaglia (Felice Leonardo ‘Leo’ Buscaglia, also known as Leo F. Buscaglia (1924 - 1998))

“If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater.” -Author Unknown

“I love you right up to the Moon - and back.” -Sam McBratney

“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much a heart can hold.” -Zelda Fitzgerald (born Zelda Sayre (1900 - 1948))

I Love You!

I love you, I love you,
     I love you, I do.
But don’t get excited -
     I love monkeys, too!

by Author Unknown

“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” -Plato (about 427 B.C.E. - 347 B.C.E.): “The Symposium”

“True love isn’t so much a dreamy feeling that you have as it is an enduring commitment to give sacrificially - even, or perhaps especially, when you don’t feel like it.” -William R. Mattox, Junior

“Perfect love casts out fear.” -Uell Stanley Andersen (1917 - 1986)

“I love you more than all the stars in the sky.” -Author Unknown

“Who ever loved that lov'd* not at first sight?” -Christopher Marlowe (Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe (1564 - 1593)): “Hero and Leander”
*love’d: loved

“Love at first sight is a great time saver.” -Author Unknown

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” -Sam Keen (born 1931)

“To acquire love, fill yourself up with it until you become a magnet.” -Charles Haanel (1866 - 1949)

“We can only learn to love by loving.” -Iris Murdoch (Jean Iris ‘Iris’ Murdoch (1919 - 1999))

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary.” -Teresa of Calcutta (also known as Mother Teresa (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (1910 - 1997)))

“One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love.” -Sophocles (496 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.)

“What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love!” -Victor Hugo (Victor Marie Hugo (1802 - 1885))

“Love is by far the most important thing of all.” -Brian Tracy (born 1944)

“The secret of health, happiness, and long life: If you simply learn how to accept and express love, you will live longer . . . be happier . . . grow healthier. For love is a powerful force.” -Alfred A. Montapert (Alfred Armand Montapert (1906 - 1997))

“To love, and to be loved, is the greatest happiness of existence.” -Sydney Smith (1771 - 1845): “Lady Holland’s Memoir” (1855), ‘Of Friendship’

I loved you yesterday,
     I love you still -
I always have,
     I always will.
-Author Unknown

“Real love stories never have endings.” -Richard Bach (Richard David Bach (born 1936))

“Do all things with love.” -Og Mandino (Augustine ‘Og’ Mandino II (1923 - 1996))

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” -Author Unknown

This is MFOL! . . . where LMLML! (Levity Makes Life More Livable!)

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Self-Regard and Self-Acceptance

4/23/2022

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Picture of a happy smiling woman looking at herself in a mirror.

Fearlessly accept the one and only you . . .

“If I had one gift that I could give you, my friend, it would be the ability to see yourself as others see you, because only then would you know how extremely special you are.” -B. A. Billingsly

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” -Joseph Campbell (1904 - 1987)

“Accept everything about yourself - I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and the end - no apologies, no regrets.” -Clark Moustakas (Clark E. Moustakas (1923 - 2012)): as quoted in Lori Knutson: “Sacred Simplicities: Meeting the Miracles in Our Lives” (2004), page 141

“Live as if you like yourself, and it may happen.” -Marge Piercy (born 1936)

“There might be things about yourself that you do not like . . . until one day you notice those same things in someone else who seems to be doing well enough in life. So go ahead and take a closer look at other people. You will see something of yourself in some of them and you will come to know an important truth, which is that you are a good enough person just as you are.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“It is not worth the while to let our imperfections disturb us always.” -Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

“You are wholly complete, and your success in life will be in direct proportion to your ability to accept this truth about you.” -Robert Anthony (Robert Newton Anthony (1916 - 2006))

“I May Not Be Totally Perfect, But Parts of Me Are Excellent” -Ashleigh Brilliant (Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant (born 1933)): title of book (1978)

“Be what you are. This is the first step towards becoming better than you are.” -Julius Charles Hare (1795 - 1855) and Augustus William Hare (1792 - 1834): “Guesses at Truth: By Two Brothers” (1861), page 555

“The greatest miracle you can hope for is self-acceptance.” -Maxwell Maltz (1899 - 1975)

“Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.” -Louise L. Hay (Louise Lynn Hay (1926 - 2017))

“When I start comparing myself to every stranger I pass on the street - convinced that each one is thinner, richer, smarter, and happier than I am - I will try to remember that they’re looking at me and thinking exactly the same thing.” -Barbara Graham

“When a person grows to like himself, he becomes more tolerant of others.” -Lao Wei: “Strawberry Wisdom”

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” -Lucille Ball (Lucille Désirée Ball (1911 - 1989))

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832): “Faust” (1806), Part 1

“If you must love your neighbor as yourself, it is at least as fair to love yourself as your neighbor.” -Nicolas Chamfort (also known as Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1741 - 1794))

“Self-approval and self-acceptance in the now are the main keys to positive changes in every area of our lives.” -Louise L. Hay (Louise Lynn Hay (1926 - 2017))

Affirmation: “I accept myself as I am, all the while knowing I am also capable of becoming so much more.”

“Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as you see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” -Stacey Charter

“Whatever you are doing, love yourself for doing it. Whatever you are feeling, love yourself for feeling it.” -Thaddeus Golas (Thaddeus Stanley Golas (1924 - 1997))

“I care not so much what I am in the opinion of others as what I am in my own; I would be rich of myself and not by borrowing.” -Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592): “Essais” (English: “Essays”) (March 1580), ‘Of Glory’

“The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” -Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson (1928 - 2014))

“Every human being is trying to say something to others. Trying to cry out, ‘I am alive, notice me! Speak to me! Listen to me! Confirm for me that I am important. That I matter!’” -Marion D. Hanks (Marion Duff Hanks (1921 - 2011))

“Be a Friend to thyself and others will too.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 847

“I’m not perfect, but I’m pretty good.” -Author Unknown

“Accept yourself as you are. Otherwise you will never see opportunity. You will not feel free to move toward it; you will feel you are not deserving.” -Maxwell Maltz (1899 - 1975)

“To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.” -Author Unknown

“Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” -Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622)

“Be yourself . . . you’re better at it.” -Author Unknown

“It needs to be said and heard: It’s okay to be who you are.” -Hailee Steinfeld (born 1996)

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” -Carl Rogers (Carl Ransom Rogers (1902 - 1987))

Overheard: Would you like you, if you met you?

“It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.” -Desiderius Erasmus (Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus (1466 - 1536))

“No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness.” -Deborah Day

“We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies.” -Roderick Thorp (Roderick Mayne Thorp, Junior (1936 - 1999)): “Rainbow Drive” (1986)

“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” -Brené Brown (Casandra Brené Brown (born 1965))

“To know oneself, one should assert oneself.” -Albert Camus (1913 - 1960)

Self-love, my liege*, is not so vile a sin
As self-neglecting.
-William Shakespeare(1564 - 1616): “Henry V” (about 1599), Act 2, scene 4, lines 74 and 75
*liege: a feudal superior to whom allegiance and service are due, within a feudal society in which land use by subjects is exchanged for work.

“I don’t want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.” -Henry James (Henry James, Junior (1843 - 1916))

“To accept ourselves as we are means to value our imperfections as much as our perfections.” -Sandra Bierig

“If you can learn to love yourself and all the flaws, you can love other people so much better. And that makes you so happy.” -Kristin Chenoweth (Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (born in 1968 as Kristi Dawn Chenoweth))

“Don’t be-little yourself. Be-big yourself.” -Corita Kent (Mary Corita Kent (1918 - 1986))

“When you acknowledge the less than perfect parts of yourself, something magical begins to happen. Along with the negative, you’ll also begin to notice the positive, the wonderful aspects of yourself that you may not have given yourself credit for, or perhaps even been aware of.” -Richard Carlson (1961 - 2006): “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” (1997)

“Stop hating yourself for everything that you aren’t. Start loving yourself for everything that you are.” -Author Unknown

“Don’t look for approval from anyone other than yourself.” -Jonathan Lockwood Huie (born 1945)

“A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.” -Vernon Howard (Vernon Linwood Howard (1918 - 1992))

“Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” -Heath L. Buckmaster: “Box of Hair: A Fairy Tale” (30 April 2008)

“You were born to be real, not to be perfect.” -Author Unknown

“It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.” -Sally Field (Sally Margaret Field Mahoney (born 1946))

“You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” -Diane Von Furstenberg (born 1946 as Diane Simone Michelle Halfin)

“Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship to myself.” -Nathaniel Branden (born 1930)

“Self-respect is not a function of size, age, or wealth. Breathe deep, sing loud and sweet, ‘I am me, I am unique, I am magnificent.’” -Jonathan Lockwood Huie (born 1945)

“Once you embrace your value, talents, and strengths, it neutralizes when others think less of you.” -Rob Liano at https://robliano.wordpress.com/

“Too many people overvalue what they are not, and undervalue what they are.” -Malcolm S. Forbes (Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1919 - 1990))

“Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” -Author Unknown

“What self-acceptance does is open up more possibilities of succeeding because you aren’t fighting yourself along the way.” -Shannon Ables

“Option A: Spend your life trying to get others to accept you. Option B: Accept yourself, and spend your life with others who recognize what a beauty you are.” -Scott Stabile

“If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.” -Charles Bukowski (1920 - 1994)

“The greatest success is successful self-acceptance.” -Ben Sweet

“What you think of yourself is much more important than what people think of you.” -Author Unknown

“I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.” -Johnny Depp (born 1963 as John Christopher Depp II)

“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” -Amy Bloom (born 1953)

“It’s not your job to like me . . . it’s mine!” -Byron Katie (Byron Kathleen Mitchell (born 1942))

“When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits - anything that kept me small. My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.” -Kim McMillen: “When I Loved Myself Enough” (2001)

“Be yourself. Try to be anything else but your genuine self, even if you deceive the entire world, and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing . . . You have been blessed with special skills that are yours alone. Use them, whatever they may be and forget about wearing another’s hat. A talented chariot driver can win gold and renown with his skills. Let him pick figs and he would starve. No one can take your place! Realize this and be yourself. You have no obligation to succeed. You have only the obligation to be true to yourself. Do the very best that you can, in the things you do best, and you will know, in thy soul, that you are the greatest success in the world.” -Og Mandino (Augustine ‘Og’ Mandino II (1923 - 1996)): “The Greatest Success in the World” (1968), page 94

“Loving yourself isn’t vanity, it’s sanity.” -André Gide (André Paul Guillaume Gide (1869 - 1951))

“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.” -Roy T. Bennett: “The Light in the Heart” (26 February 2016)

“You work so hard to fix yourself, but maybe what you need isn’t another tactic, another book, another expert, another five-step plan. Maybe, you don’t need to be fixed. Maybe, what’s really holding you back is the idea that you need to be fixed.” -Vironika Tugaleva (born 1988)

“I’ve finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?” -Goldie Hawn (Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born 1945))

“If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” -Fred Rogers (Fred McFeely Rogers (1928 - 2003))

“Change is possible, but it must start with self-acceptance.” -Alexander Lowen (1910 - 2008)

“Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.” -Ellen Sue Stern

“If you want to be somebody, somebody really special, be yourself.” -Author Unknown

“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” -Louise L. Hay (Louise Lynn Hay (1926 - 2017))

“Acceptance is the key to everything.” -Michael J. Fox (pseudonym of Michael Andrew Fox (born 1961))

“When you stop living your life based on what others think of you, real life begins. At that moment, you will finally see the door of self-acceptance opened.” -Shannon L. Alder at https://www.shannonalder.com/

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.” -Mary Dunbar (Evelyn Mary Dunbar (1906 - 1960))

The most delightful surprise in life
Is to suddenly recognize your own worth.
-Maxwell Maltz (1899 - 1975)

“Our entire life - consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.” -Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (1910 - 1987)

“What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself.” -Hecato (also known as Hecaton of Rhodes): as quoted in Seneca (Lucius Annaeus Seneca, also known as Seneca the Younger (about 4 B.C.E. - C.E. 65)): “Epistulae morales ad Lucilium” (about C.E. 65)

“One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world: Making the most of one’s best.” -Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878 - 1969)

This is MFOL! . . . the website for exceptional people like you . . .

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Self-Improvement and Self-Help

4/16/2022

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Picture of a road sign with the words, ‘Your New Self Just Ahead, Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net’ and a blue sky with hazy white clouds in the background.

“Change yourself and your fortune will change with you.” -Author Unknown

“It only takes one person to change your life - you.” -Ruth Casey

“Each person’s task in life is to become an increasingly better person.” -Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 - 1910))

“The better person you become, the better people you will attract.” -Author Unknown

“A truly wise person will constantly move forward, striving for self-improvement.” -Marvin J. Ashton (Marvin Jeremy Ashton (1915 - 1994))

“Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.” -Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622)

“How do we become true and good, happy and genuine, joyful and free? Only by getting in touch with good, true, happy, genuine human beings, only by seeking the company of the strong and the free, only by catching spontaneity and freedom from those who are themselves spontaneous and free.” -Charles Malike (1906 - 1988)

“If you improve 1 percent a day, then in 100 days, guess what? You’re 100 percent better.” -Coach Carter

“Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades.” -Mademoiselle Du Deffand (Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, Marquise du Deffand (1697 - 1780))

“Be the kind of person you want to meet.” -Author Unknown

“Let’s build a better you . . . we will need some glue, pop-sickle sticks, pipe cleaners, glitter, crayons, yarn, construction paper . . . what, you say you are not made out of any of those things?” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person.” -Scott Sorrell

“Ignore the ones who say it’s too late to start over. Disregard those who say you’ll never amount to anything. Turn a deaf ear to those who say you aren’t smart enough, fast enough, tall enough, or big enough - ignore them.” -Max Lucado (born 1955)

“In the long term the most important question . . . is not what you are but what you are becoming.” -Gary Hamel

“Everyone planning to make something worthwhile out of himself must be a self-remade man, and should be an intelligent remodeling job going on all the time.” -Sterling W. Sill (Sterling Welling Sill (1903 - 1994))

“Every day is a day you can be a better person than you were yesterday.” -Author Unknown

“Do not think of your faults, still less of others’ faults; look for what is good and strong, and try to imitate it. Your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.” -John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

“Build upon strengths, and weaknesses will gradually take care of themselves.” -Joyce C. Lock

“There’s only one corner of the Universe you can be certain of improving and that’s your own self . . . You have to begin there, not outside, not on other people. That comes afterwards, when you’ve worked on your own corner.” -Aldous Huxley (Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894 - 1963)): “Time Must Have a Stop” (1944)

“Know thyself? If I knew myself, I’d run away.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

“To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.” -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

“No man is capable of self-improvement if he sees no other model but himself.” -Conrado I. Generoso

“Be yourself. No one can ever tell you you’re doing it wrong.” -James Leo Herlihy (1927 - 1993)

“It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time.” -Margery Williams (Margery Williams Bianco (1881 - 1944)): “The Velveteen Rabbit” (1922)

“What we shall be, we are becoming.” -Author Unknown

“I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I have ever met.” -Dwight L. Moody (Dwight Lyman Moody (1837 - 1899))

“USA stands for Unconditional Self-Acceptance.” -Author Unknown

“If you are still searching for that one person who will change your life, take a look in the mirror.” -Author Unknown

“If you want a kinder world, then behave with kindness; if you want a peaceful world, make peace within.” -Dan Millman (born 1946)

“Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.” -Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980)

“Might I give counsel to any man, I would say to him, try to frequent the company of your betters. In books and in life, that is the most wholesome society; learn to admire rightly; the great pleasure of life is that. Note what great men admire.” -William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863)

“Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” -George W. Crane (George Washington Crane III (1901 - 1995))

“How can there be self-help ‘groups’?” -Author Unknown

“People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.” -Oliver Goldsmith (1728 - 1774)

“If we are unduly absorbed in improving our lives we may forget altogether to live them.” -Alan Watts (Alan Wilson Watts (1915 - 1973))

“Improvement begins with I.” -Arnold H. Glasow (Arnold Henry Glasow (1905 - 1998))

“None will improve your lot if you yourself do not.” -Bertolt Brecht (Eugen Berthold Friedrich ‘Bertolt’ Brecht (1898 - 1956)) (1933)

“For a person to build a rich and rewarding life for himself, there are certain qualities and bits of knowledge that he needs to acquire. There are also things, harmful attitudes, superstitions, and emotions that he needs to chip away. A person needs to chip away everything that doesn’t look like the person he or she most wants to become.” -Earl Nightingale (1921 - 1989)

“Help thyself.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Chiefly the mould of a man’s fortune is in his own hands.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): “Essays” (1625), ‘Of Fortune’

“I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God’s help I shall succeed.” -Vincent van Gogh (Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853 - 1890))

“Seeing ourselves as we want to be is a key to personal growth. To successfully bring about change in our lives we need to implement a system of change that is built upon three assumptions. First Assumption: We change our lives by changing the attitudes of our minds. Second Assumption: We become what we think about all day long. Third Assumption: Our mind is naturally goal seeking. Please remember these assumptions. Our mind is always trying to accomplish something. We have a powerful machine wanting to achieve goals. It will set the goals that we allow it to.” -Hyrum W. Smith

“Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” -Author Unknown

“In that worthiest of all struggles, the struggle for self-mastery and goodness, we are far less patient with ourselves than God is with us.” -J. G. Holland (Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819 - 1881))

“Whatever you are, try to be a good one.” -William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863): as quoted in Laurence Hutton’s memoir, ‘A Boy I Once Knew,’ serialized in “St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks” (March 1897), Volume 24, Number 5, page 413, column 2

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” -Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987)

“Identify and develop your unique talents and abilities, the things that make you special.” -Brian Tracy (born 1944)

“The simple part is, every thought we think and every word we speak is creating our future. If you change your thinking, you can change your life.” -Louise L. Hay (Louise Lynn Hay (1926 - 2017))

“Self-help must precede help from others. Even for making certain of help from Heaven one has to help oneself.” -Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (1896 - 1995)

“Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.” -Julius Charles Hare (1795 - 1855)

“It is right to be contented with what we have, but never with what we are.” -James Mackintosh (1765 - 1832): as attributed in “The True Briton” (7 July 1853) magazine

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” -Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967)

“It is not always possible to be the best, but it is always possible to improve your own performance.” -Jackie Stewart (John Young ‘Jackie’ Stewart (born 1939))

“Try a little harder to be a little better.” -Gordon B. Hinckley (Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 - 2008))

“The better I get, the more I realize how much better I can get.” -Martina Navratilova (born 1956)

“That’s the risk you take if you change: that people you’ve been involved with won’t like the new you. But other people who do will come along.” -Lisa Alther (born 1944)

“You don’t get better by chance; you get better by change.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in Kit Summers and Robert Schwarz: “Juggling with Finesse” (1987), page 19

September of each year is Self-Improvement Month. Why wait - let’s get started now!

“The first step to improvement, whether mental, moral, or religious, is to know ourselves - our weaknesses, errors, deficiencies, and sins, that, by divine grace, we may overcome and turn from them all.” -Tryon Edwards (1809 - 1894): as quoted in Tryon Edwards, editor: “A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, Both Ancient and Modern” (1891), page 517

“Seeing yourself as you want to be is the key to personal growth.” -Author Unknown

“There is no shame in having fallen. Nor any shame in being born into a lowly estate. There is only shame in not struggling to rise. And also shame for not wishing to attain the better. Or not dreaming about it and praying for it.” -Samuel Amalu

“We are either progressing or retrograding all the while; there is no such thing as remaining stationary in this life.” -James Freeman Clarke (1810 - 1888)

“I went to a bookstore today and asked the manager where the self-help section was. She said, ‘If I told you, that would defeat the whole purpose.’” -Brian Kiley (born 1962)

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” -Judy Garland (Frances Gumm (1922 - 1969)): as quoted in “The Reader’s Digest” (1998)

“If you want a quality, act as if you already had it. Try the ‘as if’ technique.” -William James (1842 - 1910)

“People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher and better than themselves.” -Tryon Edwards (1809 - 1894): as quoted in Tryon Edwards, editor: “A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, Both Ancient and Modern” (1891), page 156

“You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be.” -David Viscott (1938 - 1996)

“The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, ‘If you will take care of me, I will take care of you.’ Now I say, ‘I will take care of me for you if you will take care of you for me.’” -Jim Rohn (Emanuel James ‘Jim’ Rohn (1930 - 2009))

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.” -James Allen (1864 - 1912)

“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” -William Faulkner (William Cuthbert ‘Will’ Faulkner (1897 - 1962))

“Everything comes by being! Be the love you seek. Be the friend you seek. Be the honesty you seek. Be the integrity you seek. Be the patience you seek. Be the tolerance you seek. Be the compassion you seek.” -Bryant McGill (born 1969)

“The Bible is the best self-help book - if you haven’t read it you should take a look. It is full of life stories that we all can see that life is, at times, not so easy.” -Catherine Pulsifer (born 1927): “Take A Look”

“It is necessary to try to surpass oneself always; this occupation ought to last as long as life.” -Queen Christina of Sweden (born Kristina Augusta Wasa, later known as Christina Alexandra (1626 - 1689))

“I am that which must ever surpass itself.” -Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

“If you want to attract happy, positive things . . . become a happy, positive person! Work from the inside out!” -Mandy Hale (born 1978)

“You are more likely to be successful at attempting to be better than yourself than to be better than someone else.” -Author Unknown

“To be always intending to live a new life, but never to find time to set about it; this is as if a man should put off eating, and drinking, and sleeping, from one day and night to another, till he is starved and destroyed.” -John Tillotson (1630 - 1694): as attributed in “The Ladies’ Companion; or, Peoples’ Annual” (August 1842)

“Never mind what others do; do better than yourself, beat your own record from day to day, and you are a success.” -William J. H. Boetcker (William John Henry Boetcker (1873 - 1962))

“There are times when a man should be content with what he has, but never with what he is.” -William George Jordan (1864 - 1928): “The Majesty of Calmness: Individual Problems and Possibilities” (1900)

“Your life will never improve unless you start making daily improvements.” -Lewis Howes (Lewis David Howes (born 1983))

“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. True nobility comes from being superior to your previous self.” -Author Unknown: Hindustani proverb: as quoted in George Derby, compiler: “A Conspectus of American Biography” (1906), page 726

“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens - and when it happens, it lasts.” -John Wooden (1910 - 2010)

“Be the best version of you.” -Author Unknown

We are MFOL! . . . and just like you, we’re always improving . . .

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Environmentalism and Animal Rights

4/8/2022

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‘Tree-hugger’ is another name for an environmentalist.

“Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.” -Bradley Millar

“I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers.” -Steven Wright (Steven Alexander Wright (born 1955))

“Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom with the dishes.” -P. J. O’Rourke

Kindness to Animals

Speak gently to the herring and kindly to the calf,
Be blithesome with the bunny, at barnacles don’t laugh!
Give nuts unto the monkey, and buns unto the bear,
Ne’er hint at currant jelly if you chance to see a hare!
Oh, little girls, pray hide your combs when tortoises draw nigh,
And never in the hearing of a pigeon whisper Pie!
But give the stranded jelly-fish a shove into the sea, -
Be always kind to animals wherever you may be!
Oh, make not game of sparrows, nor faces at the ram,
And ne’er allude to mint sauce when calling on a lamb.
Don’t beard the thoughtful oyster, don’t dare the cod to crimp,
Don’t cheat the pike, or ever try to pot the playful shrimp.
Tread lightly on the turning worm, don’t bruise the butterfly,
Don’t ridicule the wry-neck, nor sneer at salmon-fry;
Oh, ne’er delight to make dogs fight, nor bantams disagree, -
Be always kind to animals wherever you may be!
Be lenient with lobsters, and ever kind to crabs,
And be not disrespectful to cuttle-fish or dabs;
Chase not the Cochin-China, chaff not the ox obese,
And babble not of feather-beds in company with geese.
Be tender with the tadpole, and let the limpet thrive,
Be merciful to mussels, don’t skin your eels alive;
When talking to a turtle don’t mention calipee-
Be always kind to animals wherever you may be.

by J. Ashby-Sterry

“And all young people are concerned environmentalists, but no one is interested in keeping the schoolyard clean!” -David McKay

“I am I plus my surroundings, and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not preserve myself.” -José Ortega y Gasset (1883 - 1955): “Meditations of Quixote” (1911)

“For the first time in history, one bag of groceries produces two bags of trash.” -Robert Orben (born 1927)

“We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.” -Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965): “The Philosophy of Civilization” (1951)

“If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.” -Jack Handey (born 1949)

“People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.” -Author Unknown

“It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians.” -Henrik Ibsen (Henrik Johan ‘Henrik’ Ibsen (1828 - 1906))

“The environment is everything that isn’t me.” -Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

“Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely silent where once they were filled with the beauty of bird song.” -Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964): “Silent Spring” (27 September 1962)

“Remember, people, if you were meant to have a fur coat, nature would have given you one. Do not be a thief and steal a fur coat from some animal who is its rightful owner.” -Author Unknown

When is Earth Day? Earth Day is observed by environmental activists on 22 April of each year. If you are a regular person and not an environmental activist, Earth Day is every day.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -Doctor Seuss (pseudonym of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904 - 1991)): “The Lorax” (1971)

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster region has become one of the world’s most unique wildlife sanctuaries, with thriving populations of wolves, deer, beavers, eagles, fish, and other animals.

“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.” - Jacques Cousteau (Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910 - 1997))

“The basis of all animal rights should be the Golden Rule: we should treat them as we would wish them to treat us, were any other species in our dominant position.” -Christine Stevens

“Strip mining prevents forest fires.” -Author Unknown

Ninety-nine percent of all animal species that ever lived on Earth are now extinct - not because of human activity, but because every species has a ‘life cycle.’ Every species appears on the planet, goes through some changes, and then eventually dies out. This is part of the natural ‘cycle of life.’ By some estimates, animal species average about five million years of existence. Everything that begins also ends.

“No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink.” -Murray Banks

“Our priorities are out of whack. We spend too much to protect birds and fish at the expense of people.” -Sam Graves

Wrong-Way Alien

A curious creature from Saturn
Came to Earth on some orbital pattern.
     It saw our brown air,
     And cement everywhere,
And screamed, “Why did I take that turn?!”

by Author Unknown

Each year, the United States of America produces enough plastic wrap to shrink-wrap the entire state of Texas. Are you thinking what we’re thinking? Let’s do it!

What should you do if you discover an endangered animal that eats only endangered plants?

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was formed in 1866. It is a long-standing organization, unlike the here-today-and-gone-tomorrow groups of obnoxious hip young attention seekers who hold noisy protest demonstrations in front of shopping malls and on street corners. Additionally, the ASPCA has fantastic pet toys so that you and your furry friend can play together. The ASPCA website is www.aspca.org.

Thames in Flames

In England, when crossing the Thames,
It sparkles and shimmers, like James.
     It’s even reputed
     To be unpolluted,
Though in places it bursts into flames!

by Author Unknown

“No one should be able to enter a wilderness by mechanical means.” -Garrett Hardin: as quoted in “The Ecologist” (February 1974)

Animal Rights Activist: Ma’am, do you realize some poor dumb beast suffered horribly so that you could wear that mink coat you have on?
Woman: How dare you talk that way about my husband!

“(Henry Bergh) was a notable defender of animals, and was the founder, in 1866, of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This was the first humane society in the United States, antedating - a strange commentary - the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, founded by another Fifth Avenue resident, Elbridge T. Gerry, in 1874. Bergh was originally outraged by the treatment of horses on New York’s streets, especially the overworked beasts that pulled the omnibuses and stages.” -Jerry E. Patterson: “Fifth Avenue: The Best Address” (1998)

“With everything we read about spray cans and the ozone layer, it’s enough to scareosol to death.” -Author Unknown

Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
-Alan M. Eddison: as quoted in Rosemary McDougall: “Worse Verse” (1969)

“The whale is endangered, while the ant continues to do just fine.” -Burton Hillis (pseudonym of William Edward ‘Bill’ Vaughan (1915 - 1977))

“Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees.” -Author Unknown: “The Bible,” ‘Book of Revelation,’ chapter 7, verse 3

“To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival.” -Wendell Berry (Wendell Erdman Berry (born 1934))

The worst air polluter in the entire state of Washington is a volcano that goes by the name of Mount Saint Helens.

“A zoo is a facility where animals are imprisoned for the crime of being different from us.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Nobody knows the exact age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better.” -Author Unknown

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for smoggy skies
Insecticided grains
For strip-mined mountains, majesty
Above the asphalt plain.
America, America,
Man sheds his waste on thee
And hides the pines
With billboard signs
From sea to oily sea!

by George Carlin (George Denis Patrick Carlin (1937 - 2008))

“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” -Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)

“Each generation takes the Earth as trustees. We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and consumed.” -J. Sterling Morton

Little Timmy, age five, was looking at a picture book. When he came to a picture of a zebra, his father asked him what animal that was. Timmy thought a moment, and then answered, “It’s a cow that ate bio-engineered corn.”

“Pollution: The dirtiest word in the world.” -Author Unknown

This animal is very bad:
When attacked, it defends itself.
-Theodore P. K.

China produces more than 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks every year, using an estimated 25 million trees to do so. Hmmm . . . kinda makes reusable chopsticks seem like a good alternative, perhaps?

“Love thy neighbor, whether thy neighbor is a fuzzy bunny or a chirping chickadee or a grandpa who wears stripes with plaids.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“I personally can see no reason for conceding mind to my fellow men and denying it to animals . . . I at least cannot doubt that the interests and activities of animals are correlated with awareness and feeling in the same way as my own and which may be for aught I know just as vivid.” -Walter Russel (Lord Brain)

A Robin Redbreast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage.
-William Blake (1757 - 1827): ‘Auguries of Innocence’ (1803), lines 5 and 6; type of work: poem

“He that plants trees loves others besides himself.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734)

It turns out that everything is actually everything else, just recycled. Matter becomes energy, and energy becomes matter, and so on. Nothing is ever destroyed, it just changes form. The Universe is a giant recycling system.

“Save a tree. Eat a beaver.” -Author Unknown

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags were not good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.” The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment.” He was right - our generation did not have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles and soda bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. Back then, we had one television, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And, the television had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. But isn’t it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from an opinionated young person.

by Author Unknown

Most landfilled trash retains its original weight, volume, and form for 40 years or longer.

“Save the krill. Eat a whale.” -Author Unknown

“Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed - chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides, branching horns, or magnificent bole backbones. Few that fell trees plant them; nor would planting avail much towards getting back anything like the noble primeval forests . . . It took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these Western woods - trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra. Through all the wonderful, eventful centuries . . . God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools - only Uncle Sam can do that.” -John Muir (1838 - 1914): “Our National Parks” (1901), chapter 10

“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” -Marshall McLuhan (Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911 - 1980)) (1965)

“We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody.” -R. Buckminster Fuller (Richard Buckminster ‘Bucky’ Fuller (1895 - 1983))

“The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.” -Author Unknown: Indian proverb

“We talk so much about leaving a better planet to our children, that we forget about leaving better children to this planet. Educate your children - say ‘no’ to them every once in a while.” -Author Unknown

“You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation means that you have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself. This is not only vital for the preservation of animal life generally, but for the future existence of man himself - a point that seems to escape many people.” -Gerald Durrell

“Extinction is Forever.” -Author Unknown: Friends of the Animals

“The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” -Ross Perot (Henry Ross ‘Ross’ Perot (1930 - 2019))

Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing.
-Christina Rossetti (Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)): “Hurt No Living Thing”

We are MFOL! . . . saving the environment by recycling old jokes . . .

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Questions and Queries

4/1/2022

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Picture of a woman gazing quizzically upward, with large questions marks floating around her.

How can I get people to like me?

If you were to be trapped in a television show forever, which show would you choose?

Aren’t you just the cutest thing?

If you were a robot but did not know it, would you want people to tell you?

Where did you get that big, beautiful smile?

How can you know what you think until you speak so that you can hear what you have to say?

“It’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” -Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell (1872 - 1970))

If you were on the second floor of a three-story building, would you be upstairs and downstairs at the same time?

Would you tell me a true thing?

“I have become a question to myself.” [translation to English]
“Mihi quaestio factus sum.” [original Latin]
-Augustine of Hippo (C.E. 354 - C.E. 430): “Confessions” (about 397), X, 33

If we can make semi-conductors, can you just imagine what we could do if we made complete conductors?

What is the speed of dark?

Do you realize just how many holes there could be in the ground if people would just take the time to get a shovel and dig the dirt out of them?

What could possibly go wrong?

Why do British people not sound British when they sing?

Should Friday the 13th be made into a holiday?

If a chameleon was placed in a mirrored box, what color would it be - clear?

Why do we never hear any father-in-law jokes?

Why is it that when you walk up the stairs and you get to the top, you always think there is still one more step?

Is there a butterscotch flavored soft drink?

Everyone says it’s just Jim Dandy . . . but who is this Jim Dandy feller?

Is there something else you should be doing right now?

Does it seem that some people specialize in turning positives into negatives?

What did moths congregate around before campfires, torches, and light bulbs were invented?

Does wasting time damage eternity?

Can we spell creativity any way we want to?

If you could have picked your own name, what would it be?

What do penguins wear for play clothes?

Have you noticed that since everyone has a digital camera or a cell phone with a built-in camera these days, no one talks about seeing UFO’s and monsters and ghosts like they used to?

Who wants to go outside and play?

“He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a question remains a fool forever.” -Tom J. Connelly

Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why do people go to the top of tall buildings and then put money in telescopes so they can see things on the ground in close-up?

An average four-year-old child asks 437 questions a day. Have you asked a question today?

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Since there is a speed of light and a speed of sound, is there a speed of smell and a speed of taste?

What would love do now?

Do some people have a condition that makes it difficult for them to remember the good things that happen and easy to remember the bad things that happen?

Are adults just older children?

Is it right that you should have only a broken down flea-bitten donkey while the local warlord has 300 camels and 1,200 horses?

What do you think is the right age for marriage and why?

“You’ve got to ask! Asking is, in my opinion, the world’s most powerful - and neglected - secret to success and happiness.” -Percy Ross

Who is the funniest person in the world?

What things do you always carry with you in your pocket, purse, backpack, or wallet?

What just happened?

Can you name something that is not weird, odd, or unusual?

Why are highways built so close to the ground?

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Alex?
Alex, who?
Alex the questions around here!

Why hasn’t someone invented a bed that makes itself yet?

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Teacher: What if this was not a rhetorical question?
Student: What if this was not a hypothetical situation?

What do you like to do for fun?

A year from now, what will you wish you had done today?

“The word ‘question’ originates from the Latin root ‘quaestio’ meaning ‘to seek.’ Inside the word ‘question’ is the word ‘quest,’ suggesting that within every question is an adventure, a pursuit which can lead us to hidden treasure.” -Tom Wujec: “Five Star Mind” (1995)

How many days are in a light year?

“Since we have kneecaps to protect our leg joints, why do we not have elbowcaps to protect our funny bones?” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“If not you, who? If not now, when?” -Garry Herbert

How fast do you have to go to keep up with the Sun so that you are never in darkness?

What’s next?

Are there legitimate ways to earn money online?

“Asking silly questions now is better than correcting serious mistakes later.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

How old were you when you were born?

If life is so wonderful and exciting and full of interesting people and places and things, then why are we all by ourselves looking at the screens of our electronic devices?

What are male ballerinas called?

Sales Person: Be sure to ask me if you have any questions.
Customer: Sure thing . . . so do I have any questions?

Why is France so far away?

If a birdhouse is placed in a tree, does it then become a treehouse?

Picture of a man gazing quizzically upward, with large questions marks floating around him.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?

“There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.” -Charles Steinmetz (Charles Proteus Steinmetz (born Karl August Rudolf (1865 - 1923)))

Do you have all of your ducks in a row?

“Apart from the known and the unknown, what else is there?” -Harold Pinter

Who is the most interesting person you ever met, and why?

At the end of the day, are you better off than you were at the start of the day?

Why do we believe everything we see on the internet but question what The Bible says?

What is your favorite work of art?

Are social media websites turning us into weird little creatures - maybe not all of us, but enough of us so that the rest of us should be concerned?

What is keeping you from doing the things you need to do?

Does your physical address plus the time equal your space-time coordinates?

If you could be any kind of animal, what would you want to be and why?

Are we ever going to make it up this hill?

Which is a sign of higher intelligence, asking questions, or not asking questions?

Why does this keep happening?

“Why do people park in driveways and drive on parkways?” -Larry Anderson

Why is there one in every crowd?

Which do you like more: scary movies, romantic movies, or comedy movies?

What kind of place is this?

“Bromidic though it may sound, some questions don’t have answers, which is a terribly difficult lesson to learn.” -Katharine Graham (1917 - 2001)

If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

“A questioning man is halfway to being wise.” -Author Unknown: Irish proverb

What is the best advice you ever received?

“Ask the experienced rather than the learned.” -Author Unknown

Would you rather go shopping or sightseeing, and why?

“There are no foolish questions, only foolish silence.” -Author Unknown

If a thousand seagulls were in an airplane while it was flying, with each bird weighing two pounds, and all of them flying around inside the airplane, would the airplane weigh 2,000 pounds more?

Do you play a musical instrument?

If you could go back in time and speak to your younger self, what age would you choose and what would you say?

Why do we say an alarm is going off when it is actually turning on?

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Would we all be better off if we refused to accept anything that was offered to us for free?

What is your favorite song?

If the Universe is expanding, why are parking spaces so hard to find?

“If water had a flavor, what color would it sound like?” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

What do you think is beyond the stars?

Wow, those were some challenging and difficult questions! Fortunately, the topic that follows below this one on MFOL! is much easier . . .

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