I collect quotations when I see something said something better than I could say it; that’s why I study them. Look at this one from an old French leader Charles de Gaulle for instance: “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.” When people think that an organization cannot run without them, he/she should ponder on that for awhile.
The Civil War general William T. Sherman wrote in a letter: “Reason has very little influence in this world: prejudice governs.” Everyone I know comes to the table carrying a whole basket full of preconceived notions about the way they think things should be, and it becomes evident even without their realizing it.
“Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world,” said Arthur Schopenhauer. Many times I’ve thought I knew the answers until I came in contact with someone who was far beyond me in wisdom. The way I look at things probably goes back to the Sherman quote - prejudice governs.
A lyrical line in a song sometimes stands out. Bonnie Raitt sang “Life gets more precious when there’s less of it to waste.” That’s the point where I’ll jump off and establish a theme. Mary and I just hosted an overnight houseguest who drove up from Arizona with his 18 year old cat Kitty Bear. We had the greatest time talking about many things; he is a man I’ve always admired because he’s lives life to the fullest. In his early 70’s, he’s lived an adventurous life and if somehow the lights turn off he’ll leave with more experiences than the average man. We called another couple whom we all knew from the days of teaching in Bowdon and met for supper at Bonanza. Alaska represents a big part of Leo’s life, and he told us many stories of his experiences there. The location of Chilkoot Pass came up and I said Mary and I have ridden the railroad up that steep incline. “I’ve hiked it,” was his reply, 30+ miles one way.
Over ten years ago I was fortunate to receive a group of emails from him that I enjoyed reading and filed away for future re-reading. It was about the time he’d retired from school administration in Alaska and was in the process of relocating to Phoenix. Here he was flying along in his private plane accompanied by Kitty Bear: “I started Thursday about two PM. Forgot about going the Portland route and elected to go on top over the scattered clouds on the west side of the Cascades. It was beautiful… no turbulence…went to 7500 which put me over the scattered clouds…Ellensburg was crystal clear…turned south over Yakima…the snow covered ground glistened from the sunlight and the treed peaks had that mixture of green and white that is so special. … I droned along and as the sun set behind the peaks I saw my destination Madras, Oregon below. It was clear that the airport is a ways from town and only one runway had been cleared of snow and that only partially. I did not want to fly in the dark but the twinkle of light ahead that had to be Redmond beckoned. I elected to go on and it was a good decision … I touched down in the twilight with the runway lights providing that sort of ‘welcome back to earth’ glow that is priceless after a long trip.”
Later on in his trip he wrote “About noon on Saturday I headed out toward Tonapah. Seems the U.S. Navy was playing war games in an area I had to cross so I had to maintain nine thousand feet just to stay in radar contact or get run over by a jet going so fast he would not even see me… Oh, yes, in case you wonder Kitty Bear just curls up on his blanket and sleeps most of the time til I cut the power to descend and that stirs him to life and he evaluates my landings and takeoffs. Tonapah had a three cat welcoming committee…they eyed and yowled a little but settled for a stare down versus a brawl.”
So, I’ve saved his letters which are quotations. They read well ten years later. I enjoy re-reading about his exploits, but even better I enjoy hearing him tell it in person. Thanks for coming Leo and hurry back.
