Subject: mission statement
From: Scottie Bowman (rbowman@indigo.ie)
Date: Wed Oct 03 2001 - 03:34:23 GMT
Until a certain limbo-dancer came swaggering in from
the Caribbean in his white suit & Sportin’ Life shoes,
I liked to think I was the oldest inhabitant around
these parts. Well. I’m still pretty ancient – certainly
too ancient to recount my unimaginably varied interests
or the startling events of my long life.
Perhaps, though, a short statement of credo might be
in order.
Kindness, I have always believed, is paramount. Kindness
in all things. I personally am invariably kind to everyone,
even at the risk of embarrassing myself or bystanders.
This is a cruel old world, after all, & a sunny smile –
which costs nothing – can light up the whole place
for one’s less fortunate brothers & sisters. And a friendly
little pat on the head can often be the ‘crowning’ touch.
Next, surely, is sincerity. There’s a great fashion these days
for irony, but this strikes me as no more than the refuge
of people who are afraid of their own feelings – or, more likely,
have no feelings. What can be more affecting, after all, than
the limpid straightforward, eye-to-eye expression of a personal
position? No matter how mundane or banal the thought,
it acquires a golden, even mystical, glow when uttered with
the proper, deep earnestness.
(By extension, I feel rather strongly it's the thought that
counts, not its mode of expression. I try not to be of those
wearisome sticklers forever whining about grammar or spelling
or typography.)
By & large, I regard the thoughts of the young as much more
valuable & interesting than those jaded by age. And the younger
the better. There’s an unmistakable sparkle & freshness about
the pensées of a fifteen year old girl (with that pert little nose
& those enchanting, flirty eyes – but, stop, I mustn’t get carried
away) which is altogether absent from those of the most illustrious
old philosphic windbag.
I must, however, confess to one small personal weakness. I’m an
absolute sucker for metaphysics. I could tell from that very first
encounter with Aquinas I was a goner. 'This is the stuff for me’,
I cried in my joy. And as for the words ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ or
‘transcendent’ or ‘ground of being’ – well, there’s simply no way
of conveying the effect.
I never read very much: just enough to feed that particular appetite.
But once I discovered Salinger I found there was no need to spread
my wings any wider. It’s all there – a bottomless treasure trove
of wisdom & good feeling. So now his collected works are
the only ones to be found on my fragile but exquisitely spindly
bedside table. As soon as Zooey is finished, it’s on, eager as ever,
to the start of Hapworth. I’m now in my twentieth year of the cycle.
I don’t see how I can ever be bored again.
All of which will explain, I hope, my pleasure in belonging
to this list.
Scottie B.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Mon Nov 12 2001 - 17:22:38 GMT