OT: Old But Not Forgotten

[Guest guest]

Hey Debbie,

 

Right you are on Will Rogers being a Sage fer'shur. Lots of countries

have such characters .. probably the main one here in Turkey was a guy

named Nasreddin Hodja http://www.allaboutturkey.com/nasreddin.htm

 

I always paid a lot of attention to the tales of Will Rogers and

Nasreddin Hodja. ;-)

 

Some of Will Roger's tales I applied to life, modified a bit, and used

to train young officers. Some of the other tales I just agree with and

they are a part of my modus operandi:

 

> 8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading.

> The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on

> the electric fence and find out for themselves.

 

The above is dead on the money .. but it takes a combination of the

three personalities (at a young age) to develop a good leader.

 

> 9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes

> from bad judgment.

 

And confidence comes from experience .. good and bad experience .. it

takes a bit of both for folks to gain confidence in themselves. This I

always told my counterparts to consider when they were evaluating young

officers. Let them screw up now and then and forgive them.

 

> 10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now

> and then to make sure it's still there.

 

I used to tell my young officers that they had no time to look behind

them to see if they were the only one rushing across the open ground ..

and fear of catching a round from the rear was something that could be

distracting. So they better take care of their troops and you don't do

that be being a pompous ass and issuing orders just because you can.

 

> First ~ Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about

> your age and start bragging about it.

 

That's about where I am now .. I tell folks I have earned the right to

be ornery when I wanna be. ;-)

 

> Second ~ The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in

> line for.

 

He got that right .. my electric bill is two days overdue cause I just

didn't feel like standing in line in a friggin bank .. tomorrow gonna

pay my doorman to do this for me .. along with the 10% penalty. ;-)

 

> Third ~ Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I

> want people to know " why " I look this way. I've traveled a long

> way and some of the roads weren't paved.

 

Damn betcha on that one too .. but nobody really cares ceptin the one

whut ain't turning the odometer back. Most folks see wrinkles and all

they see is old .. some of us know they're road maps and war maps. ;-)

 

> Seventh ~ One of the many things no one tells you about aging is

> that it is such a nice change from being young.

 

Its true .. really it is. I would NOT want to be 30 years younger ..

though I could handle being 10 years younger. ;-)

 

> Ninth ~ Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

 

True here too .. I turn my friggin telephone off half the time and don't

answer the door bell unless I have invited someone. If they don't like

it they can kiss my grits. ;-)

 

> And finally ~ If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have

> anything to laugh at when you are old.

 

Laughing in general is good stuff .. them that don't know how to laugh

are not fun people to be around .. I avoid them at all cost.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-P Butch