This from a UK friend, from 2017. He was away from his computer and came back to a month of blogs which occasioned his comments about the length of them. It is so funny, as will be revealed. Then I will tell you my current thinking on the matter.
He: Read your blogs now. You will soon have reached War and Peace levels of pages, I think you may have reinvented the origin of species, albeit a little later than Darwin. But you express it in much more readable prose. I don’t know if you have read the account of how the elephant got its trunk but your approach is so much clearer. And the quantity/quality of reading that you put in beggars belief. Not sure if you are still feeling confused or if it has passed on into the aether . In any case, be careful as you are on the 19 floor. Hang onto the nearest thing, particularly if its a rich man, in case of dizziness. And 74 is the new 70 , so they say.
Me: My blog could be considered War and Peace and War and Peace, the Sequel. You so make me laugh!
It was so strange and touching to have rediscovered this. I was living on the 19th floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver. He jokingly refers to a rich man who was (and is) younger than I was (and am). It is eerie to read of us joking of these times when I was new to Vancouver, just having just left the UK six weeks before. I guess, one could, say that both of us were adjusting well. Both of us being quite funny and seemingly unattached. It was in response to an email written by me, which has been edited but is intact.
Me: I am feeling really rather confused this morning. Lots going on with my iconic status ever growing. As dear friend Bruce says – genuine eccentric. Even the multi billionaire owner of this fine establishment has reached out. Rich people do things so strangely. His trusted personal assistant sent me an email with his contact information. “What am i supposed to do with this???”, I queried. Apparently email him giving him my data which he already has. Three or four volleys back and forth. He is 37 or so, lives somewhere close by, apparently. Perhaps in the same Tower. This hotel is his ‘baby’. This reach out to a mere mortal (me) is unprecedented…apparently. The ball is back in his court. I keep the Emperor informed of all. The Emperor told me that he has read each and every blog of mine and has extended my stay here indefinitely. I am his ‘little’ spy – he says he will pay me in chocolate. I countered: “I want money!” He laughed. I am going to Edmonton tomorrow. Friend C. will be there later in week. I will be saying goodbye to her Dad, who is dying. I adore the man and with certainty the feeling is returned. His family reads my blog to him as he can no longer see. I will not be blogging my visit there. You and I do travel in vastly different circles….you housing charities and professors. Me billionaires and profit seeking execs.
I was most distressed by the latest terror in London. It did not seem to strike any near and dear to me but it is horrifying when one gets the news. If Chris (my blog master) had been struck no more blog as I do not know how to post. Dependency is such a bitch. It is actually sunny today, the opening of the drapes revealed. Bye for now.
It seems so long ago. I now in San Francisco, the “Owner” in Malaysia, and the “Emperor” in NYC, (apparently). Only the email UK man is where he is, and where he always will be. Chris, my blog master and I remain in continual contact. Not so much the others. “Dad” did die the next month. I returned to the Trump after my visit to Edmonton. I was welcomed by a red carpet, flowers and champagne. I almost died and went to heaven at the honour. . I think of “Dad” every day and feel he watches over me. But the others??? Who knows???? All are gone from my life – those that welcomed with the flowers, the champagne and red carpet even. No idea of what happened to any of them
I return to the UK for a visit at the end of this week. I shall, of course, see Chris, my blog master. The others?? I do not think so. But who knows?
All of this was retrievable because it was written. the power of the written word. This found on Google. “Words, they have the power to build people up, confine people to where they are, and break people down. Choose your words carefully before you utter them to others but most importantly the words you utter to yourself must be positive. Instil belief and hope within yourself. May these quotes inspire you to utter the best words to yourself so that you may achieve your dreams.
This from Emily Dickinson. “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it until it begins to shine.”
But there are other quotes that touch me and they are included.
“The meaning behind the words, the feeling is more significant than the words themselves, so listen.” Anonymous
“One kind word can change someone’s entire day.” Anonymous
“Your word is the power that you have to create; it is a gift.” Don Miguel Ruiz
“May every word that is ever spoken by our mouths be words that lift up, and never words that tear down.” Anonymous
“Never underestimate the power of words to heal and reconcile relationships.” H. Jackson Brown
“Words have a magical power. They can either bring the greatest happiness or the deepest despair.” Sigmund Freud
“Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” Anonymous
“If we understood the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely. If we understood the awesome power of our words, we would prefer silence to almost anything negative. In our thoughts and words, we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths.” Betty Eadie.
So I am feeling most melancholic. Not sure why as I have everything here in San Francisco that I ever have wanted and am so looking forward to London. The invitations pour in – people wanting to see me and share their city with me. Vancouver did not work out – why the melancholy? I do not know. It is the right word, alright. A feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause. Its synonyms are desolate, sadness, pensiveness, woe, sorrow, melancholia; unhappiness, dejection, depression, gloom, gloominess, misery, low spirits, moroseness, doldrums, defeatism, pessimism, dejectedness, dispiritedness, despondency; informal the dumps, the blues,
So I am in the dumps for no known cause. If I can find the picture it will be of the red carpet and the greeters and perhaps a picture or a view of my room on the nineteenth (19) floor.
