A QUOTE

“Who doesn’t love a good quote?” – Pat Moeschen

Those of you following along in the back will note that I just invented a quote about liking a quote, and then I quoted it. Try to keep up.

I had a sketch of a plan to write about my recent trip to Philadelphia, or my near past experience at SolarFest in Vermont last weekend, but earlier today I came across a quote that I found so funny and true to my identity that I have hijacked my own blog to ruminate on said quote. Well, marinate and then ruminate, after which I may be required to fumigate. Try to keep up.

The quote is by author and humorist (humorist is my dream gig, but no one wants to pay me for being funny, so patient advocate and retired music educator will have to do for now)…..named Douglas Adams. Adams wrote Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which I am ashamed to type out loud that I have not read. In my GoodReads profile, my “Want to Read” list, Hitchhikers sits among almost 200 books that have caught my eye. It’s a damn shame that I read incessantly, but will likely never complete this task since I keep adding to the list. Now I am trying to keep up.

So Douglas Adams has about a million funny quotes, and it would have been really cool to have dinner with him, but he’s been in the ether since 2001, so that won’t be happening. Try to keep up.

The quote that I am about to reveal to you, loyal reader, is one of his that I had not seen until today:

“He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which.” -Douglas Adams

This hit me like a big rig with no brakes. I’ll admit that I’m a bit (more than a bit) short on the genius part, but the naive incompetence is right up my alley.

The part that made me laugh out loud (I refuse to type LOL…damn, just did) is the ‘difficult to tell which was which’. So, if I am deciphering his meaning correctly (remember….a bit short on genius here), he is describing a man that digs into any and all life activities with fervor, and although thinking he will simply yell DAMN THE TORPEDOES while swimming with the rabid sharks, he might be too dumb to realize that he is going to fail with flying colors…..but that’s ok, because the activities, projects, and his general definition of living life come across as someone whose mind is not quite wired up the same way as the general population AND all the people who are around him aren’t sure if he’s smart or crazier than a two peckered billygoat.

Try to keep up.

That. Is. Me. I got dealt the cards, took a look at my hand, threw up, took another look, bluffed while smiling, and then just continue to say: I’ve got this, let’s do it.

It’s what I strive for. I have fun while doing ALL OF IT. I blame (thank) my parents, who instilled the following concept by placing it in my brain, when I was 12, with continued blunt force:

“Look, life is going to get complicated all by itself, and unfortunately, you are going to learn this at a young age. You have been diagnosed with a serious condition and it’s going to change a lot of things about the way you live. The secret here is that it is only Mt. Everest if you make it so in your mind. It does not have to be this incredible struggle of feeling sorry for yourself and wondering why this has happened. It did happen and that’s that. Now, you will learn to accept the fact that you will likely live with this condition for the rest of your life, however long that is, but I will tell you how we are going to handle it in this house. You are not anymore special than your sister, your mother of myself. Hell, you’re not even more special than the cats. We all live here, and we are all equal. Your mother and I do not feel guilty about this diagnosis because it is no one’s fault. We will work with this and go about our daily lives. While I’m at it, you may not be able to pull start the lawnmower pretty soon, but as long as you can still push it while walking behind it, you will still be cutting the grass. The doctors have recommended that you stretch your legs at least 3 times a day. Your mother and I will help you with this. We will do it before school, right after school, and just before bed. Let’s start there and see what happens. This doesn’t change who you are as a person, and it doesn’t have to change your outlook on life, but you will understand that better as you get older. I expect the same as I expected of you before, and we WILL talk about your attitude if I see that it is becoming a problem. One more thing……it all boils down to how you react and respond to what has happened here. It’s not a mountain unless you make it out to be.” -Tim Moeschen, August 1985

Forty years later, I choose to attack everything in life with a mixture of genius and moronic incompetence, but you know what? I’m laughing all the way.

My father died on December 20, 1993 of lung cancer. He was 51 years and 9 months old. Sometimes I talk with him. I think he’s proud.

Stay safe, stay awesome, and stay tuned.

CBC: (cheeseburger counter) 21.This was a bad week because my best friend and influencer Jim Morris (not his real name) ordered 2AM DoorDash McDonald’s when we were in Philly. We snarfed them down while listening to The Beastie Boys because of course we did. Try to keep up.