prelude

The first decision you have to make is if you want to waste any calories reading this “It’s Saturday"? The second decision you have to make is do you have any built-up calories to waste? And your answers are?

No, the “William Tell Overture” (the theme music for the 1950s TV show, The Lone Ranger) was not written by a musician named William Tell. It is the overture, or prelude, to Guillaume Tell (William Tell), an opera in four acts by Gioacchino Rossini, first performed in Paris in 1829. An overture, or prelude, is an introduction. It precedes that which it introduces, and while important, it is less important than that which it precedes. Tonto said--Soooo put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto were camping in the wilderness. After they got their tent set up, both men fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says,"'Kemo Sabe, look towards sky, what you see?" The Lone Ranger replies, "I see millions of stars." "What that tell you?" asked Tonto. The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then says, "Astronomically-speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time-wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Tonto?" "You dumber than buffalo... It mean someone stole tent."

This is how I answered the question which Heather asked of me for Storyworth  :Dad, Which fads did you embrace growing up? It was maybe 1961 and I was a sophomore in high school at good ol’ Danube High. A group of senior boys wore Levi blue jeans to school. It was a no no? And especially since they wore engineer boots and white shirts with their collars standing up. They were sent home for the day! BUT the fad of wearing Levi blue jeans made its way into acceptable clothing. I bought right into it. I liked it and wore them right away. You remember the Levies with the rivets holding the jeans together and metal buttons in the flies instead of zippers. It was easy for me as these were the jeans I wore on the farm doing work a mile and a quarter south of Roseland, MN. My Mom, Anna, just washed them up getting the dirt and manure off the best she could; good enough for me! And I still like to wear them. I just bought a new pair of Levi 501s on Amazon on their October blast at half price. I’m a pretty simple guy!  Well folks, this wearing blue jeans fad was just the prelude of what was coming!!!! haha

When at good old Northwestern College, Oli Watamaker, was in the next room of the dorm. He was an Afro-American; I think from New Jersey. He was there to play football. I called him “scantback” as he was rather a slender, little guy and could really run like a gazelle. He loved it! He was very superstitious and excitable (i.e. I could pull pranks on him and really get him scared; his eyes got as big as golf balls).  We weren’t necessarily good friends, but we did enjoy each other. Well, at semester, he quit school and was going back home. He came into my room one night with a pair of jeans, Levis 501s; a pair of his jeans.  He told me that he wanted me to have them as a memory of him. I wore them for a couple of years.

There is a saying--When you choose to collect experiences rather than things, you never ever run out of storage space. I like some stuff but not too much. I like experiences and relationships much more than stuff. But that is just me. Some of you prefer stuff more than experiences and relationships.  Aren’t we all different. Sooo is there a difference between a collector and hoarder?  Do we really need all the stuff that we haven’t used, or even looked at for 10 years or even worn for 10 years or do we need 10 of everything?  Is this a prelude to our future? I was at a car dealer getting some regular maintenance on my vehicle and was in the waiting area.  I went and sat in a chair where I could see the traffic flow and action in the show room. I had to look over a lady who was about four feet from me in a chair. I said to her—I’m not looking at you but at the activity going on behind you—it’s ok even if you were looking at me as I don’t care anymore at my age!  We both had a good laugh.  Sooooo some stuff do change with age I guess!

Theladydownthestreet I see has lost a lot of weight.  I noticed but wasn’t really looking at her. How could I not notice.  MrssPerfect says—It’s an easy formula, change your eating habits a.k.a. a lifestyle change (i.e. reduce calorie intake) and exercise continuously equals less weight.  Ladydownthestreet, congratulations, you look great! Saturday question—Do folks learn lifestyles from their parents? My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, the best discipline is self-discipline!

When eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it, I read what Kate, anybody can be a Kate, wrote—"In our deepest place, we want to be known not for our beauty, which will fade with age, but for our heart. Within our hearts lie the intangible, beautiful gems that we call ‘fruit of the Spirit,’ the beauties of love, kindness, faithfulness, and so on (Gal. 5:22-23). In your living, be known for your beautiful heart, the thing that matters most.” Some folks really have kind hearts and some not soooo much!

Here today, gone tomorrow! Why are we soooo surprised that things change? As my mentor would say to me—erv, this too shall pass! Nuttin stays great forever and nuttin stays bad forever! Expect it! If I put myself in a good position, it appears that the odds of good stuff happening to me are much better than if I put myself in a bad position. Da! Maybe that is a prelude to my future. What do you think? That is what I thought. Soooo I need to think about what are the good positions and what are the bad positions maybe. How do I decide? It appears that it really helps being wise and where do I get wisdom? WorldClassLarry says—erv, just look around, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

Saturday question—What is your moral compass? How did you decide what the direction is of your moral compass? Do you stick to your moral compass direction? I’m guessing that your moral compass directs how you live your life (i.e. at least most of the time unless huge massive money is involved, haha). I assume your moral compass will be a prelude to how you live the rest of your life. ItchieBitchie says—My moral compass is whatever the direction the wind is blowing! It works for me, sooo far anyway! C’mon erv, it’s all about the power and the money, ain’t it!

MissPerfect says--If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me? Saturday questions—Are you good to yourself? What does it mean to be good to yourself? When in Branson, a lady at the front desk asked us our ages as she had a benefit for us if we qualified.  She said we didn’t qualify as we were too old. Usually, I didn’t qualify for stuff because I was not old enough but now I don’t qualify because I’m toooo old. We had such a good laugh! A guy can’t win for losing! I think it’s just a prelude folks!

TonyThePhonyBaloney—You can camouflage aging a little, but you can’t stop it. The writer of Ecclesiastes describes aging in a grim, poetic fashion. He labels old age as ‘the days of trouble.’ Google says most folks start aging in their 40s and 50s and then it’s downhill from there (i.e. it’s just the prelude and then the real book starts). The prime physical age for athletes is between 25 and 35. Us old folks think in our heads we are still in our prime, but we aren’t (i.e. we still think we are 20 years old) and then we get hurt and we wonder why. It’s only in our heads). BUT love (i.e. especially unconditional love) is the same at all ages, it is what it is. That’s my opinion, anyway I think soooo, maybe, could be! Possibly. CrazyMarvin says—C’mon erv, no human can have unconditional love!  We are all self-centered and care mostly about ourselves (i.e. pretty egotistical we are). Wake up erv! Don’t be soooo naïve! Listen CrazyMarvin, it seems to me that the great ones are the humbler folks.

It's a prelude usually. If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck! Great folks and jerks are in all occupations, in all parts of the world, in different income levels, have different levels of education. etc. I have played a lot of picklelball in many different venues and at different skill levels. I think I have had the most fun when folks are kind, have sportsmanship, interested in friendships, and are courteous.  BUT there are always jerks, always! Suggestion to you teachers, coaches, administrators of pickleball—Teach those qualities just as much as skills; it will make everyone have a much better experience including your clubs, resorts, and even yourself.  And if any of you are really courageous, tell the jerks they are jerks as they usually don’t know it.  Yikes! CoachSpotty says—Not me, those jerks will think I’m the jerk and eat me alive (i.e. jerks don’t even like to be around other jerks)! SweetJane says--I elect just not to be around them! That seems to work!

A friend says--When the gonger gongs it’s over folks! The opposite of prelude is the postscript. Like our legacy. We all leave a legacy if we think we will or not. I continue to believe that the biggest part of our legacy is how folks remember how we treated them and not by what we worldly accomplish but then some of you might think differently than me. Your friends, family, and acquaintances know who you were, don’t kid yourself.  Do you ever get personally attached to a trophy of your past? That trophy could be many things that you admire about yourself and have accomplished. We might have them on our shelf on display or just in our heads. What do you think will happen to those trophies when we die?  For the most part, they are going in the dumpster as no one really cares about the bowling trophies that we won in 1985. OldManBill says--Now that is hitting the nail on the head; I already see that in my increasing age!

I’m pretty much packed up and ready to head down to the Valley of the Sun and to live again in my “little tin hut.” This is just a prelude of my anticipation of an exciting winter! Oh yes!  Can’t wait; this will be a new and different and adventurous and exciting year. Oh ya! “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”—Henry David Thoreau

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said--Never let yesterday use up today.