A recent email contained wisdoms from David in England. His contributions are usually ones of raucous humour but this contribution is thoughtful and inspiring. But, first of all, let us dispense with a word of the day which shall be raucous: strident, screeching, squawky, squawking, sharp, grating, discordant, dissonant, inharmonious, unmelodious, jarring, brassy; rough, rasping, husky, hoarse, scratchy; noisy, loud, piercing, shrill, ear-splitting, penetrating, clamorous, cacophonous. ANTONYMS soft, dulcet.
These word searches are so much fun!! I am going to spend the day attempting to weave dulcet into sentences. It is a new word for me. I can imagine saying, while curtseying:
Me: How dulcet of you.
Them: (Fainting and falling away not knowing what dulcet means).
But now onto David’s wisdom
As we grow older we realize that wearing a $300 dollar watch or a $30.00 watch matters not, they both tell time.
Whether we carry a $300 dollar or a $3 wallet, the money is still the same. Whether we drink a $300 bottle of wine or a $6.00 bottle of wine, the hangover is still the same.
Whether we the house we live in is 300 or 3000 square feet, the loneliness we feel is the same. Whether we drive a $1,000 banger or a $80,000 Benz they both serve the same purpose.
Your realize that the happiness does not come from the material things in the world. But rather, it comes from the short time we have on this earth living and laughing with those we love.
Stay humble, we both end up in the same size hole.
I do love sharing David’s wisdoms, jokes and photographs. It seems like a collaboration. Now here is another word that excites, Its synonyms are: cooperation, alliance, partnership, participation, combination, association, concert; teamwork, joint effort, working together, coopetition.
My life and this blog is enhanced by the alliance with David, the concert and the teamwork between the two of us. This is an opportunity for me to tell you that the blog is going to be enhanced by the presence of another under the section LONG LOST STRANGERS. As you will see, it is a collaboration that was formed on Instagram and who knows where it will go, But it seems like fun as we sort out gender, gender roles and relationships from two different perspectives, often agreeing. It should be fun, join in. .
I write from heaven. Yesterday I awoke in San Francisco where the city faced another day of oppressive temperatures. San Francisco is not prepared for such exigencies. Air conditioning is a rarity, particularly in older buildings. I was dying as I hate heat, my hotel room was stifling. But my personal driver arrived and whisked me off to my temporary Marin home equipped with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and air conditioning. My room is freezing. I arrived, looked about in wonder and called the front desk, reaching the manger.
Me: This is Alexis. I LOVE my room.
He: I am glad you like it.
Me: Could I please have a microwave in my room?
He: I will have one sent right over.
Me: Oh thank you! I love you!.
He: I love you too.
This room is on the ground floor and there is a patio with two chairs and a table. It is rather secluded, at the end of the line and overlooks trees, bushes and a pond. I FINALLY get to relax. I can eat in, picnicking on my patio, then pulling on my bathing suit and jumping in the pool, doing my knee exercises. I can chat with the people by the pool, as I did yesterday meeting this wonderful young woman. Despite an age difference of forty years we were in total accord; men are, by and large, unreliable liars who only want what they cannot have. Jobs and working situations can suck out your soul. She had just quit a job that demanded her all and gave her back nothing. That most people, both male and female, are stagnant and resent any change or growth in others. It was a rather amazing conversation and, for me, solidified my strength to carry on, but not rely on a guy for anything. I suppose there can be a second chance but the likelihood of it turning bad again is huge. Breakfast will begin in about half an hour. Time to get dressed, take a picture of Bunny and Pretty in their new home and send this off.
For some reason, the title to Wallace Stegner’s book Crossing to Safety keeps coming to mind. It feels, at this moment, that I have crossed to safety, leaving behind the horrors of my life. I google the book, reading an extremely well written review. I had read the book in another life time (when I belonged to book clubs with other women). The sentence from the review struck me as being so profoundly true. ‘Larry realizes that ”Sid Lang best understands that my marriage is as surely built on addiction and dependence as his is.” The vast majority of marriages observed over my lifetime have been built on addition and dependance. I do have a formula for a good marriage but, at this point in time, no candidate.
