Category: Fourre-tout

“Because a man plays a king superbly well does not mean that he would make a good king.” 
Louis L’Amour

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Once upon a time (all fairy tales start like this), a little boy was born into an affluent family. He was of course well taken care of and grew up to be a tall, pleasant looking young man.
But with wealth comes privilege and sadly the young man became accustomed to having the right to anything he desired.

With the help of his father he grew richer but also with an exaggerated feeling of self-importance.
He soon became the GMNL/CEO (Give Me No Lip/Chief Executive Officer) of a large conglomerate, and like a conquering warlord he took to affix his coat of arms on everything he acquired.

After a long series of ups and downs, spurred by ego and driven by machismo he managed the unlikely feat of becoming the leader of a large country. This surprised many people and probably the man himself who during his scorched earth campaign constantly raged that the whole thing was “rigged”.

But once on the throne, he soon learned that the job of a CEO is quite a bit different from the job of a president.
A CEO very seldom hears the word “no”. It is even doubtful that he knows the meaning of it. He is is usually surrounded by sycophants who know better than giving this answer to their boss. They know from experience that this two-letter word is far more offensive than a four-letter word.

For a GMNL/CEO, a refusal to agree with him is synonymous to treason, and treason has to be punished. Underlings know that such a man holds them in servitude and they will stoop to anything to avoid hearing “you are fired!”

A wise president on the other hand, surrounds himself with advisers who are not afraid to disagree with him and won’t be punished for dissenting.

Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one. Diogenes

A CEO’s decisions might affect a few thousands people whereas a president’s resolve has an impact on the entire nation and the stability of the entire world.

The new king proved to be an impulsive man prone to send angry courier-pigeons messages to those who disagreed with him. Many people thought that it was not very kingly, but it proved very difficult to recall a pigeon once in flight.

One day a wandering soothsayer approached the King and whispered: Beware the Ides of March, Caesar!
The king who had no idea what that meant brushed him off and walked away surrounded by his minions.

With March fast approaching, a prudent man should always keep in mind that the Tarpeian Rock  is close to the Capitol.

Alain ??

Being a twin is like being born with a best friend. 
Tricia Marrapodi

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You might have done it your way but regrets some regrets are part of life.

Regardless of what some braggarts are saying everybody has some, sometimes deeply buried in your psyche.
One of mine is the absence of an identical twin brother.

It takes a long time to become BFF with somebody. Can you imagine the fantastic luck of being born with one?

Can you imagine sharing your life with somebody who, regardless of the odds, will always unconditionally be on your side?
Somebody who will scratch your back the minute you feel an itch?
Somebody who will anticipate and fulfill your wishes without ever having to ask?
Somebody who would finish a sentence for you?
Somebody who would never forget your birthday?

Yes, I do miss having a twin brother.

I have had girlfriends, some decent, some so and so, but girlfriends are a light year behind when compared with a twin.
A girlfriend will quarrel with you, betray you, leave you (or vice-versa)… things that are absolutely unimaginable coming from a twin.

For whatever reasons, brothers and sisters are commonly at odds. Twins never.
It might have something to do with spending 9 months together squeezed in very tight quarters. To succeed, you must to cooperate.
A twin is a product made of kryptonite, guaranteed for life and backed by an ironclad policy. It is totally devoid of fine print.

Bonds between a brother or a sister are not made of the same material. Their ties are brittle and they are not rustproof. With time they might fail.

So again, having a twin is a fabulous blessing worth its weight in gold.
And yes, I am jealous and envious. I am wondering if even late in life I could acquire a twin because (as Lord Byron said) “to know true happiness you must share it.”

So just be aware that I am in the market for a functional identical twin. If you come across one (even used) I am extremely interested.

Waiting impatiently to hear from you.

Alain ? 

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. 
Red Smith

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Don’t ever delude yourself into thinking that writing is easy. It is not.
It is a brain-swelling job that requires dogged determination and stamina.

A writer is basically an amalgam of a poet, a baker and a chiropractor. His job involves a lot of musing, kneading and massaging.

When you endeavor to write a story, you first need to come up with a subject. And it is not as easy as it sounds. Practically everything on earth has been written about… by others.
You want to present your personal view of an event, and (in my case) it is often opinionated.
I always thought that readers are not interested by bland accounts.

When you put together a story, you try to be true to yourself and express opinions in a civil manner and without unduly offending anybody. But regardless of the subject, you are bound to hurt someone’s feelings. It cannot be helped or avoided.

“I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind.”
Patrick Dennis

When I begin a piece, I start by quickly jotting down a temporary title and random thoughts, in no particular order. After this, I often go for a solitary walk mulling over what I wrote or what I should include. Exercise relieves the stress and gets the creative juices flowing.

After my constitutional I flesh out the story with details gathered on the Internet and then, like freshly kneaded dough, I let it rest. I sleep on it.

The second day I read my story again and pay attention to the fluidity of the text. A story should flow steadily, but not chaotically. It should be interesting, droll and provocative at the same time. I also check for repetitions and accuracy and that’s where the Internet comes handy. In doubt about a fact or a date? No worries mate, you Google it, a few times if necessary.

A text is massaged, kneaded and modified a countless number of times. Bless Microsoft’s “cut and paste” and “spell-checker” for that, but never blindly accept all the latter’s suggestions.
Once in a while I think of the time when everything was penned by hand and when editing must have been a nightmare.
I often reflect on Alexandre Dumas who employed it is said more than 45 “nègres” (ghostwriters) to write or correct his stories.
Today, thanks to word-processing, I can manage without even a “négrillon”.

When I am halfway through my story, I might change the working title if it not in synch with my story anymore. It happens often.
And finally, I try whenever I can to post an accompanying picture that I personally took.

No writing is useless. Its purpose is to make you pause and take a position on various issues.
If you let others do this for you (as seen recently), you are courting big trouble.

Alain