"A thriller by Coben,
A John Updike Coven;
Deep thinkers by Russell,
Great films by the bushel,
A novel applauded
And Pulitzer-lauded:
This book potpourri
Was picked carefully
As a gift for my daughter
To balance Harry Potter!"
And when I died, the devil came and said,
"Now here's the deal: I'll give you your old life
all over once again, no strings attached.
Like an actor in a play, of course, you'll have
to follow the same script that you rehearsed
the first time through—you cannot change a glance,
a word, a gesture; but think of taking your first
steps again, and having your first romance
repeat itself, your love back from the dead,
beautiful and new and seventeen.
What matter if you see the future coming—
The cloven hoof of sorrow, loss's horn—
her dreamy eye, her nodding head?"
Get thee behind me, Satan, I should have said.
No Deal by Ronald Wallace, from Long for this World: New and Selected Poems. © The University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003.
From a friend…
I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and thorough lab tests, he said I was doing “fairly well” for my age (I recently turned 59.) A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, “Do you think I'll live to be 80?” My doctor asked me, “Do you smoke?”
“No” I answered.
He asked, “Do you drink beer, wine or hard liquor?” “Oh no,” I replied. “And I don’t do drugs, either!” Next, he asked, “Do you eat rich meats like rib-eye steaks, or barbecued ribs?” I said, “Not often; my former doctor told me red meat is not very healthy.” “Do you spend a lot of time getting sun exposure — for example, while playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?” “No, I don’t,” I said. The doctor then asked, “Do you gamble, or drive fast cars?” “No,” I said.
“Have lots of sexual activity?”
“Umm, no…”
My doctor looked at me and said, “Then why do you even give a shit?”
I don't usually post family stuff, but this one is a special moment: my daughter's first time behind the wheel of a car by herself (at her grandfather's house in L.A.). Yikes!
My next choice for one of the 20th century's Most Beautiful Women: Hedy Lamarr, the glamorous Austrian-born film star of the 1930s, 40s and 1950s, now largely forgotten (except perhaps by Mel Brooks). But an absolutely gorgeous stunner. To quote from her biography on Independent Movie Database (imdb.com), she was "the woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films.…"
Woman No. 1: Virna Lisi.
