Tag: life lessons

A Few Life Lessons (No Charge)

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

This is how you wind up if you don’t have a Manifesto or a Task Force.

It’s gonna be really hot today, and I’d better get outside and work on my book before it’s too hot to try. But first–

Here are a few life lessons I’ve picked up. I am sharing them with you so that you won’t have to go to college.

*Every doofus has to have a “Manifesto.” The other doofuses won’t take you seriously if you don’t.

*Every pack of nincompoops acquires instant credibility–at least with the nooze media–by forming a “task force.” For Instance, the Trans Doe Task Force. Noozies are impressed by that, even if the expressed purpose of the “task force” is absurd.

*When calculating the IQ of a Hollywood celebrity, take a monkey’s IQ and divide by two.

*”Choice” is only “choice” if you choose what they want you to choose.

*”Oppressed people” are allowed to commit crimes against persons and property that would land you in jail if you committed them. Oppressed people are also entitled to free stuff squeezed out of your hide by the government. Also, oppressed people can do no wrong and their Feelings outweigh all other considerations.

Master these, talk ’em up loud enough–and you’re on your way to a seat on the Supreme Court. Current court-packing plans feature a total of 881 Supreme Court justices, so it’s not like you have no chance to win one.

Make Sure to Smell the Flowers!

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

20210716_062230

This is my stepdaughter’s dog, Chance, taking time to smell the flowers (look, Georgia, you’re famous!)–thus personifying a wise old saying: Make time to smell the flowers.

“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10). There’s a lot we miss if we don’t find time for stillness. That goes for me, too. Ask anyone who knows me.

When I Taught Engineering Students

Posted By: leeduigon(patty)Posted On:

Engineers Students Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock

Many years ago, I had a job teaching developmental reading to college students–not quite the same as “speed reading,” because it also worked to increase comprehension. It was a six-week course, and then I’d move on to another college.

My first gig was at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York–and what a view my classroom window had of the Hudson River valley!

Before I could start the class, I had a cordial meeting with the dean. Toward the end, he said something I didn’t expect:

“These are good kids, and very, very smart. But they’re also such stiffs! All science, all the time. Please, see if you can do anything to loosen them up a little.” (I’m glad to be able to report I did. I made my teaching a tiny bit eccentric.)

I remember that conversation because I understand, now, what the dean was getting at. He was afraid his students would grow up to be tunnel-visioned. Unable to relate to life outside their own narrow field of specialization.

There comes a point in real life, and in public life, where decision-makers have to go beyond whatever advice they’re getting from their expert advisors. Because there’s so much that the experts don’t know. Like, how most people live. Designing and building bridges that don’t fall down is important; but understanding and relating to the people who have to use the bridge, that’s important, too. We are not machines, and we have vital needs that mere science cannot meet.

Something to keep in mind, these days…