MOTTO TO LIVE BY
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive, well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!"
"That would make a good gift for Wilson and McDermott," I said.
She read the sign and laughed, but didn't say whether she agreed with me about the gift idea. I got the feeling that it wouldn't end up being a gift. She knows gifts. I don't. Or maybe she didn't agree with the message.
So Wilson and McDermott, if you're reading this, I'm afraid this blog post will have to do....
I thought the spirit of the message was a good one, but I'd take a middle ground. I would keep the chocolate and glass of wine and the skidding in sideways part, but maybe preserving my body would extend the ride, give me more woo-hoos.
A few doors down, we were at our destination, a specialty eatery and food shop called Gourmage. They serve breakfast and lunch, and some of the coolest cheeses, chocolates, sauces and food accessories in the world are available for sale. Kathleen had a smoked duck sandwich on cheese bread, with French onion soup. I sampled it. Awesome sandwich. Awesome soup.
This sandwich included roasted chicken with parsley, chopped scallions and celery, dried cranberries and a sour-cream-and-mayo sauce on a delicious croissant. It was awesome. The wonderful smoked chicken salad sandwich served at the Gristmill Restaurant in nearby Gruene has been officially replaced by by this one. It was so good I wanted another one. I declared it the best chicken salad sandwich within 50 miles.
I've written about chicken salad sandwiches before.
So maybe I'm a chicken salad sandwich in one hand, glass of wine in the other hand, skidding in sideways kind of guy. To each his own. However you do it, I wish you endless woo-hoo experiences and arriving at the end of it all with no regrets over things you didn't do.
Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2010. Building Personal Strength .
Denny, I LOVE the motto, especially the part about wine and chocolate - thank you for sharing. McDermott of Wilson and McDermott
ReplyDeleteDenny,
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Stephanie
Buck and I had a very good friend, Grace, who was a wild woman (also a highly successful entrepreneur). On her deathbed, in the ICU, the last thing she said to us was "Let's go to Vegas, honey, and have some fun."
ReplyDeleteGrace, who was also quite overweight, never exercised, and quit smoking hundreds of times, also said to me once, "Honey, if I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."
So, I'm with you, Denny. Chocolate (or chicken salad sandwich) in one hand, glass of red in the other, but I'm hedging my bets with regular checkups and maintaining a fitness level, hoping to wear out rather than rust out or implode.
Then again, keeping those random events that cut life short in mind, I would have to say that loving (and making sure the people you love know you love them) is at the very top of the list.