What Fresh Hell Is This?

Blogging two days in a row, wow, look at me! Anywhoo, I stumbled across yet another quote that I can totally relate with:

"I hate writing; I love having written." -- Dorothy Parker

Ah, yes, Dot, I agree completely.  And speaking of Ms. Parker, I was remembering that I read all of her short stories a few years back.  Could not get enough of her writing.  While she is best known for her witty quotes, her stories are more bittersweet than witty, as one writer smarter than I put it.  So true. I am really not a fan of short stories in general, but enjoyed hers quite a bit.

Although Dorothy suffered from what, by now, are your typical writerly afflictions (miserable childhood, multiple marriages, alcoholism, suicide attempts), I still admire her and her work. I do love her quotes. Here are a few of my favorites:

I like to have a martini,
two at the very most;
three, I'm under the table,
four I'm under my host.

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.

That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment.

This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it.

If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.

Normal Day

From the blog of Tara Whitney, genius photographer and the kind of mom/artist/person I'd love to be, is this quote:

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return." -- Mary Jean Iron

It's good for me to remember that one day, disaster will strike. Not to dwell on it or even try to prepare for it, but because I should treasure the "normal day" -- the endless days which I generally slog through with a bad attitude, hatred for my commute and certain aspects of my job, too much sugar and caffeine, and not enough items crossed off my to-do list.

It's hard for me to always feel good about these normal days and all they entail. But I will try.