23 Comments

I got a song rec that resonates with the third one, who you think you are vs who you really are ... "In my mind" by Amanda Palmer. The music may not be your cup of tea, but the lyrics might speak to you :)

Expand full comment

I've never heard that - I'll give it a listen!

Expand full comment

Late middle age... yeah. Seeing windows of opportunity close and be boarded up, realizing that hobbies amount to nothing, watching kids become adults who are starting the long path through the same shit... gah. Maybe this is enough to inspire action. Or a late life crisis.

Expand full comment

I think I might opt for the late life crisis ;-)

Expand full comment

Not sure either of us has an option, to be frank. Time to go buy a lot of scotch and a sports car.

Expand full comment

And if I feel worthless I think of this advice from Jack Vance:

"You can sell your corpse for pet food. Also, that of your wife should she predecease you, and she need never learn of your intentions. Guard her well and cherish her; she is like money in the bank."

Expand full comment

That's FANTASTIC.

Expand full comment

I never know if my song recommendations have any resonance for you but as Claudia has suggested a song I'm going to do the same. It's my song of the moment and I think the lyrics are rather beautifully apropos for this instalment of Warm Recollections😁 It's a song called The Silence by Manchester Orchestra. Give it a whirl!

I always look forward to these little reminiscences!

Hope all is well😀

Expand full comment

I'll give it a try - thank you!

Expand full comment

I like that a lot.

Expand full comment

I’ve never had a plan A either but I had dreams from A to Z.

Expand full comment

:-)

Expand full comment

Interesting juxtaposition of "My problem is I never really had a Plan A." with "When young, you want someone’s permission to be who you think you are. When older, you need your own permission to be who you actually are."

There was a point in my early 40s where the Plan A (based on who I thought I was) was a rather unsubstantial thing, rapidly overtaken by my interest in Plan B (now giving myself permission to be me."

Expand full comment

That's VERY true. I'd never realized that those two notes go so closely together...

Expand full comment

New pearls arriving.

As always, some of them sound very familiar:

1. Yes. Everyone talks about it all the time... plan B. They at least had a decent plan A.

Dal precedente Warm 17:

1. “ Unless you’re famous, to your grand-children (however affable your relationship with them) you might as well be a stranger, of actually another species………. but they’ll never actually understand, never mind believe, that you were once a real human being.”

2. “I tend to speak rather as my father drives: quickly, with occasional abrupt stops at junctions for a thoughtful hesitation, before veering off at warp speed again.”

Remaining on the topic of driving, I like some pearls read in the TW with a great sense of humor (I don't know if I'm allowed to quote them here, anyway):

1. Major motorway junctions:

« Katy Freeway, in TX. As someone who doesn't love freeways, this is my nightmare. I'd get stuck nine lanes away from the exit I'm supposed to suddenly take and wind up carrying on driving while shouting at God and eventually just start a new life wherever the road ends.»….… HA….I copied this and it's called “Throw the Tweet in quotes».

2. Latest on Boris Johnson's new book.

“ I'd rather read my own obituary. And that photo is shit.”

Expand full comment

I'm glad you like them, and thank you as always for reading — and also for spreading the word on Twitter!

Expand full comment

Michael!! Happy to spreading the word. Happy when you achieve some concrete result. I keep doing it.

Expand full comment

Thank you!

Expand full comment

ME, reading off the screen: "My problem is I never really had a Plan A."

THE HUSBAND: "Well, make one then!"

I guess it does sound like something I'd lament too😂

Expand full comment

Ha :)

Expand full comment

Lovely. I think we need a poetry book!

Expand full comment

Be careful what you wish for.

Expand full comment

I will not!

Expand full comment