Reflections from the back nine
Just some thoughts:
“I was never really insane, except on occasions where my heart was touched.”–said Edgar Allan Poe
Poe’s mother-in-law was also his aunt. You think you would want to marry one of your cousins?
Upon his death October 7, 1849 a reporter wrote in his obituary: “We hope he has found his rest, for he needed it.”
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June 14, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
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Just some thoughts: When I was on staff at the United States Golf Association I worked a lot of odd (long) hours. Often I would be in the office working late at night. I would walk down to the kitchen put on a pot of coffee then go back to my office to work. At that time there was a radio show on a station out of New York City that I would listen to as I worked that featured nothing but Frank Sinatra music.. It featured an outstanding disc jockey by the name of Sid Mark, The Sid Mark show would be on every Friday and Saturday nights. Friday nights out of Philadelphia and Saturday nights late out of New York. One night Saturday night I was so taken with an album he was playing I called the station and talked with him regarding the album he had just played. Thus through him I obtained a copy. If you want some great late night listening get yourself a copy of the great guitarist |
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Surely there are famous people that we don’t particularly have a fondness for their talent, their art or their skill but yet an appreciation for them.
Example for me would be Charlie Parker. Over the years I have listened to a bit of his work but don’t really care that much for his music. But he must have been a genius in his work. I can assure one that you will not find any of his cd’s around anything I have. He will not be played in one of the old car rides I often take to the country.
Current day examples for me would be say Prince or Freddy Mercury of the group Queen. My son and I sat the other night here in Franklin and heard the artist who replaced Mercury with the group Queen after Mercury’s death. Without question my son had a much greater appreciation for the talent this man was sharing and with the audience on this evening than I did.
A few years back Clint Eastwood made what I thought was a very good movie on the life of Charlie Parker called “Bird.” My cousin and I sat in a theater in Greenwich Village in New York City and watched the film. The film did not inspire me to run and buy any of his works, but we both came away with a greater appreciation of Bird and his talents.
One does not have to especially like what another does to appreciate and be respectful of the talent that it takes to perform that skill. Far too often one bases whether something is good or bad based on whether they like it or not. Not a good gauge.
“When Bird was 16 he looked 38. He had the oldest-looking face I ever saw,” said a Kansas City jazz-club owner.
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July 19, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
To a lot of folks Andy Rooney was just some old codger that appeared at the end of a TV show each Sunday night called “Sixty Minutes.” Well Rooney was more than just some old codger with over grown eye brows, who looked like he had never smiled.
When I was a teenager I once heard an old fella, who was standing behind the old coal stove at Gunn’s Grocery store in my hometown of Pimento, Indiana, say to some whipper snapper, “If you’d just shut up a bit more often and listen more to some folks around you who have lived life a bit more than you, you might just learn something.” Rooney once said that :”The best classroom is at the feet of an elderly person.”
I get that. I think we all can learn from the generation (s) before us. I have always felt that way about Rooney. Rooney lived to be ninety-two years old. He died November 4, 2011. Often on the show “Sixty Minutes” he would just share some bit of life he had experienced. His wit and wisdom caused me to pick up his book My War–Andy Rooney. Rooney served in WW II.
There are some classic lines in the book. He spoke of his mother. “She was a great mother to have and I’ve often wondered how she was able to get so much satisfaction from doing for us what so many mothers today do without satisfaction.”
He once said of himself: “I never gave into the idea that I was stupid even though there was some evidence of that.”
“A good teacher hands out more encouragement than pupils deserve as a matter of teaching technique.” I like that one and also believe it should happen.
Rooney’s assessment of college ” College often brings out the worst in perfectly good young men and women.”
Rooney makes an interesting observation about many college students. Today first rate colleges get as many as three to four times applicants as they can accept. Go to one of those campuses, colleges today on a party week-end and one might wonder what the college applicants who weren’t selected must be like if these were the young people attending are the cream of the crop. Ouch.
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July 28, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
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June 7, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
Needless to say I never met him but if I did the first thing I would say to him would be, “Thank you.”
I had just been in a small town back in my home area. While there I visited the grave of my parents and an aunt and uncle, my dad’s brother and his wife. All four, special people in my life. Something I always do when I go back to that area.
Earlier that day I had been in the library in my hometown area (Terre Haute, Indina) a few minutes north of where I was now. I had just left the local library and thought “I think I’ll just take a drive around the town square.” Something I had done more times that I could count in my youth. Sadly as I drove the square I was reminded of a line from an Alan Jackson song:
“I go back now and the stores are all empty–except for an old coke sign dated 1950”
Making a loop I saw the old fountain/soda shop that I used to frequent. Back then it was Arnold’s News stand. Surprising It appeared to still be in operation. So I stopped, parked the car and went in. I I even got a cherry coke that they had from the fountain.
As I sat in one of the old booths from years gone by I took out a folder. I wanted to read some of the papers I had copied while at both libraries. I had gone to this last library as I wanted to look about some local history of my grandparents and read some of the sports pages from the time I was in high school in that area.
I had copied pictures, articles and box scores. Yes, I am even vain enough to say, I copied the article that had listed yours truly as “Honorable Mention” on the all tournament team in the Indiana state high school sectionals. Earlier I had driven by the old gym where that sectional was held. The gym thankfully is still standing but no longer used by the high school there for their play. I had worked the doors open enough for me to squeeze in and take one more look at the old gym.You know I think I even heard the thump of a ball bouncing, the yell of an old cheerleader and the ref’s whistle. The old scoreboard was still hanging in the southwest corner of the gym.
Now why the thank you Andrew Carnegie. I do sometimes get side-tracked. The small library where I had spent a good part of the day was a Andrew Carnegie library. Andrew Carnegie at one time was said to be the world’s wealthiest man. He believed so much in education and gave much of his wealth away so cities and towns could have a library. It is said that 1,689 library were built with the monies he gave. The library in this town was built from his money, built in 1905. I believe this picture is of the library in Sullivan, Indiana. Along with the library in Terre Haute I had often stopped at this library for some research. Side note: You know a lot of those old “rich guys” in our country’s history get an unfair rap regarding their wealth. Not all of them “robbed everyone.” Some certainly gave back.
I go to the library often. Often means two-three times a week. From a very early age of our grand kids I started the practice of taking them to the library. Yes often it was done under the bribe of “ice-cream/ cookies afterwards.” I firmly believe if a kid/ child will read, learn to like books, they will get themselves educated in some manner. One of the questions I try to often ask my grand kids is “What are you reading?”
So Mr. Carnegie I say thank you and I think a lot of folks do also.
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November 12,2014
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
Most of us in our youth had things said to us by older people that we often well, laughed at, ignored or just plain thought was stupid.
I grew up in a rural community and often old men would say to the young especially teenage boys certain bits of “wisdom.” I can remember these things being said with a group of us standing around an old stove at the local grocery store, at the feed mill, garage, restaurant or fillin’ station.
For whatever reason they felt the need to saying something they felt might help us in our journey from youth into a more maturity level. Or sometimes just busting on us. One old boy used to say to us after a ball game, in which we had probably lost: “You boys—I think the only think you boys use your heads for is to separate your ears.” An often repeated line at my house coming from my grandma would be: “All that glitters is not gold.”
A good friend of mine had this uncle that would often say to him and his siblings about the matter of alcohol:
Boys just remember: “Tryin’ to sneak beer by Jesus is like tryin’ to sneak daylight by a rooster.”
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August 8, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
“If it be possible as far as it depends on you, live in peace with all men.”
Romans 12;18
“I overlook quite a few things. If I don’t get along with someone, I leave them alone. I don’t dwell on the negative.”—Said by ninety-three year old Sonja. (Another Country-Mary Pipher)
The Message says it this way:
“If you got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even, that’s not for you to do.”
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May 2, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
