May. 02, 2005 - 19:33 MDT

THEN

There are so many good commonsense words and words to quote in this old world. Things like John Donne's "Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee . . . ." which is a part of one of his beautiful poems that have caused me over the years to pause and contemplate and try to understand the full meaning of what has been written by many wise persons.

There is one man in my experience that had the knack of condensing some very profound thoughts in homey language. A man who was wise beyond the years I have lived. Will Rogers was the lariat twirling man who could say how it was and not waste a word, be funny and right all at the same time.

Today I received in e-mail some of his words (or words attributed to him) which have much to say. Following they are:

1. - Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

2. - Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

3. - There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman . . . . neither works.

4. - Never miss a good chance to shut up.

5. - Always drink upstream from the herd.

6. - If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

7. - The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.

8. - There are three kinds of men: The ones who learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.

9. - Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

10. - If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

11. - Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.

12. - After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The Moral:When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

ABOUT GROWING OLDER

First - Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Second - The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Third - Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the reads weren't paved.

Fourth - When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

Fifth - You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

Sixth - I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

Seventh - One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Eighth - One must wait until evening to see how spendid the day has been.

Ninth - Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

AND FINALLY

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Then there is one attributed to him, paraphrased: A grand lady once remarked to Will Rogers, "Well you know my ancestors came over here on the Mayflower." His reply, "I know, mine were here to meet 'em."

A nice thing about quotations is the fact that they can be considered individually and seen that the application of that set of words can be used in many different situations. For instance, "Always drink upstream of the herd." Can be so useful when used with forethought in treating with so many different situations.

Often, however we appreciate many of those astute and wise words with 20/20 hindsight. Gee, wish I'd of thought of that before I . . . . .

Once someone told me of a saying that hits me right smack in the middle, "We are too soon old and too late smart." Gee, I wish those thoughts came to me, way back THEN . . . . . . . . .