tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post8388720064660255662..comments2023-08-12T07:11:53.806-06:00Comments on Elusive Abstractions: Alone and ForgottenRoberta Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-26012827861084491402008-01-18T15:43:00.000-07:002008-01-18T15:43:00.000-07:00Loved your comment, wheeldancer. It certainly bri...Loved your comment, wheeldancer. It certainly brings into focus a wonderful perspective I had not considered.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-70416196553992819812008-01-17T21:14:00.000-07:002008-01-17T21:14:00.000-07:00So I wonder, what is 'alone' in this digital age? ...So I wonder, what is 'alone' in this digital age? Perhaps your preparations are for a different type of together, a more selective together where you cast your thoughts into the great beyond and come together with folks you may never meet. I'll not, for example, likely invite you to tea anytime soon but I regularly invite your thoughts into my home and find it a better place with them here. <BR/><BR/>The part of yourself you share in your writing becomes part of the reader. As the old bag said, maybe when we are comfortable enough with ourselves we can find pleasure in being alone with the self we have assembled over the years. Until we forget ourselves, those who touched our lives aren't forgotten even though they may not have the knowledge that they are remembered. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for adding threads to my tapestry!WheelDancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219805760534549996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-59617300746201497602008-01-11T14:29:00.000-07:002008-01-11T14:29:00.000-07:00Hi susan of spinning. Enjoyed your comment. Thank ...Hi susan of spinning. Enjoyed your comment. Thank you. I'll polish up my dancing shoes for the spring and try to divert my attention in that direction.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-61951649990160411282008-01-11T14:25:00.000-07:002008-01-11T14:25:00.000-07:00anonymous comment posted on January 9 --I know, I ...anonymous comment posted on January 9 --<BR/><BR/>I know, I know.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-13047341086237988242008-01-11T14:24:00.000-07:002008-01-11T14:24:00.000-07:00matty, since you posted this comment I have been t...matty, since you posted this comment I have been to your place and read your latest post. It is somber but still delightful and I think you are so right. All of us seem to flow in a mindset linked to something outside of ourselves -- that even though miles separate we drift into a common state of consciousness. I'm not sure if it is connected to moon, tides, seasons, or simply an interconnectivity of the overall spirit of humanity.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-67174650633498787352008-01-11T10:05:00.000-07:002008-01-11T10:05:00.000-07:00Roberta, I held off on reading this because I knew...Roberta, I held off on reading this because I knew it was going to be heavy-duty and deserved the concentration and time.<BR/><BR/>It is an honest and well-put post on a touchy topic that faces reality and the fact of life that we're not all going to "rage against the dying of the light" but rather go with a travel plan. <BR/><BR/>I too have felt the guilt of excuses to want to stay home instead. But one thing I might say is that come Spring many of us will be more willing to take a larger part in life. I've always tended to eat more in the autumn months and hibernate in winter and that may be your nature as well.<BR/><BR/>susan @ spinningAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-4145326994383921372008-01-09T22:13:00.000-07:002008-01-09T22:13:00.000-07:00The old saying,"Make the most of your moments, for...The old saying,"Make the most of your moments, for moments cannot be saved, stolen, or reused."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-38943997647917323012008-01-09T22:12:00.000-07:002008-01-09T22:12:00.000-07:00Thanks Roberta,You gave me the encouragement to po...Thanks Roberta,<BR/>You gave me the encouragement to post how I truly feel at this time of the year. And I hope I don't get any wishy-washy sentimental 'get-well' cards!Spicyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02092460015575995500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-54427676790292061092008-01-09T17:24:00.000-07:002008-01-09T17:24:00.000-07:00X OX OPaulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555472024981357622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-22745435586048292112008-01-09T11:34:00.000-07:002008-01-09T11:34:00.000-07:00Hi joy. Again you prove that you have such a spec...Hi <B>joy</B>. Again you prove that you have such a special understanding of the human spirit, it is no wonder you write such fine pieces and such exceptional poetry.<BR/><BR/>I thank you for giving this 'moan' an "A" because even after it was written, and so many said I could post it, I will still in a state of fearful reserve. <BR/><BR/>Thank you for giving me top marks. I promise not to run with it and make every other post a wailing bit but I feel so much less restricted by this week's conversation than I did a week ago. Feeling upbeat enough I think I'll see if Hub wants me to go with him on a wild and wooly trek.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-44587267840449409722008-01-09T11:29:00.000-07:002008-01-09T11:29:00.000-07:00Nice discussion, jim. Lots to think about here an...Nice discussion, <B>jim</B>. Lots to think about here and I like your confidence that you are able to leave behind what must be left behind and anticipate without concern what needs to be anticipated. Thanks for the interesting comment.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-16795634954923998372008-01-09T11:27:00.000-07:002008-01-09T11:27:00.000-07:00pauline, as usual you make me laugh. I promise to...<B>pauline</B>, as usual you make me laugh. I promise to use up my body and life to its fullest extent. I'm not one to toss anything that has even the remotest chance of being useful even if that usefulness was not the original intent. And with friends like you, every day is part of a grand trip.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-82420121087650130402008-01-09T11:21:00.000-07:002008-01-09T11:21:00.000-07:00Jeanne OB, what delightful words of wisdom so deli...Jeanne <B>OB</B>, what delightful words of wisdom so delightfully put. I'd bake you some bread to take on a trail ride (just don't ask me to come alone) if you lived closer just for giving me that sage bit of advice that makes me feel like somewhere in this heap I may have valid reasons for being how I am.Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-72008818544783722272008-01-09T11:17:00.000-07:002008-01-09T11:17:00.000-07:00Hi matty. I promise to think long and hard about ...Hi <B>matty</B>. I promise to think long and hard about what you said. I've said it before and I'll say it again that you, m'lady are more courage than anyone I know. And in addition to that ever since you and I first spoke I could hear big vitality and enthusiasm in even your written voice that told me you are a 'go getter'. Me, not so much. But I promise to take all you said to heart, to ponder it, and exercise it whenever I have the ambition to do so. <BR/><BR/>But maybe there's something else going on here. Maybe, it's that little girl inside you that is spurring you on. I haven't sensed any little girl inside me for some time now but if she's still there, and she starts to squirm, maybe this spring, we're going to play hopscotch, go bike-riding, and maybe even go with Hub for a long, long drive. :)Roberta Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032348890093502999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-42684391170372545842008-01-09T10:28:00.000-07:002008-01-09T10:28:00.000-07:00Well, aren't we glad you decided to post this piec...Well, aren't we glad you decided to post this piece? We all would have been robbed of one of your best and most touching posts...ever! <BR/><BR/>My God...how I connect to what you have said....just another thing we have in common...but without the bread-making. I manage to find other things to fill those gaps...gaps where I really should be 'out-and-about' more; but manage to confine myself inside more that I should. I see my kids a lot, but I haven't hung-out with friends and other family members as much as I should. My 'computer life' has taken over...big time. Maybe I've been preparing and practicing for old age too...and just didn't know it. One thing I know Roberta....we may be alone; but I truly don't think we will be forgotten.<BR/><BR/>Again...this was one of your most beautiful pieces....thank you for posting it my dear friend.... ~JoyJoy Des Jardinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893445642606862131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-42045874879684779872008-01-09T06:18:00.000-07:002008-01-09T06:18:00.000-07:00I have been reading Beckett since my twenties, sto...I have been reading Beckett since my twenties, stories and plays about wearish old men wandering the streets alone or sitting in near-empty rooms and I've always felt a great affinity with them, that one day I would join them. They are not sad cases; they are works of art and something I have been working towards for nearly fifty years. The simple fact is that I've always been older than I am. There are certain roles in theatre that all actors aspire to, King Lear would be one and Krapp another. I sit in my office (there a photo included in my latest blog if you want to see it) and I sometimes feel, this is too tidy ol' son; you'll never get to be Krapp if you keep the place as spic-and-span as this.<BR/><BR/>It's not that I yearn to be old – actually the older and more infirm I get the more irritated I get by my inability to, for example, learn by osmosis like I used to – but, and this is a characteristic of me, if I'm going to be 'old' I want to be the best 'old' I can be if that makes any sense. In some respects I feel like for some years now I've been trying out old age to see how it fits. Or to make sure it fits when it's my time.<BR/><BR/>My wife and I rarely go out any more. Everything's too far away or too expensive, but really these are just excuses – it's too much bother. I suppose we're luckier than you in that this is pretty much how we both feel.<BR/><BR/>As for children? I'm lucky to see my daughter once a month these days and when she does arrive, guilt-ridden and tired-looking, it's obvious that I've been squeezed into a busy schedule. But that’s fine. I don't need the constant reassurance I once did. I have no real fears for my actual old age when it comes; my daughter and I both rank duty very highly, she'll do the right thing no matter how <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/topic/crabbit-1" REL="nofollow">crabbit</A> an old bugger I get to be.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-84795328712786541782008-01-09T05:14:00.000-07:002008-01-09T05:14:00.000-07:00Another thing we have in common, this hermit impul...Another thing we have in common, this hermit impulse and yet I don't want to practice for what might not be the inevitable (my 100 year old Vermont friend is a marvelous example of live 'til you die). When I read this: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body , but rather to skid in broadside , thoroughly used up , totally worn out & loudly proclaiming--WOW--WHAT A RIDE !" I knew that's the way I want to live. We ought to all do what works best for us.Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555472024981357622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-67987559234027938062008-01-08T20:47:00.000-07:002008-01-08T20:47:00.000-07:00Maybe it's not planning to be alone, but rather it...Maybe it's not <I>planning</I> to be alone, but rather it's the knowledge and acceptance that we are comfortable with being alone...<BR/><BR/>...and that maybe<BR/>we even<BR/>like<BR/>it<BR/>and<BR/>that we<BR/>no longer have <BR/>to pretend we don't<BR/><BR/>...and maybe even that it could be an indulgent thing when it arrives.<BR/><BR/>>:-)The Old Baghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08102309231670261719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2729729299765225091.post-12681688630681423172008-01-08T17:28:00.000-07:002008-01-08T17:28:00.000-07:00So how's that plan working for you Roberta?Is it n...So how's that plan working for you Roberta?<BR/>Is it not a sin to act old before you're really old?<BR/>Is your hubby and children feeling rejected because of your 'plan' to practice being alone?<BR/>I'm not saying that its not good to have a plan...it is...but can't you put your plan on the back of the stove for awhile......and participate with vigor in Hub's life and your children's right now...this day..while you can?<BR/>Are you not cheating them and you out of what life has to offer today?<BR/>I know exactly what you mean....as I do it also....I tend to enjoy my solitude & aloneness to the point of being a hermit!<BR/>We were born alone and we will die alone...but while we're here...should we not dance and be merry?<BR/>Selfishly... I take a day here and there to enjoy my aloneness...the rest of the time I go along to get along...even if I don't want to.<BR/>Eventually...yes...I'll be alone with my thoughts and infirmities..I'll have a lot of time to practice then. I'm a fast learner.<BR/>And Roberta...I do have a little girl inside of me...she's about 6 yrs old...once in awhile I let her come out to play..once in awhile I talk to her. She's a wonderful little ragamuffin with hand-me-down clothes and a wild imagination.<BR/>Roberta...maybe you're not a very social person in the 1st place...could be you just enjoy solitude. We can't all be social butterfly's...thank God.Spicyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02092460015575995500noreply@blogger.com