Bird Droppings March 26, 2025
I’m not too fond of shopping, but I like Kroger

About eleven years ago, I spent nearly a week using ice packs as heat extractors for my computer until I got the fan fixed. Granted, I have been on my third computer since then. It was interesting. Two similar thoughts occurred to me this morning as I began my day. One I heard on the news before I left the house for sunrise chasing. The other was on my way to Kroger to get oranges and apples for Pat’s lunch. The first was a line from a Tom Petty song, and the other thought is from the Harry Potter books and movies. Almost seventeen years ago today, a new Kroger opened near our house. What a glorious day! I found another place where happiness abounds. I think it’s mainly because the store was closer, huge, and always had good products, and I like to cook, so it was nirvana for me. 

“I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings. Coming down is the hardest thing. Well, some say life will beat you down. Break your heart, steal your crown. So, I’ve started out for God knows where. I guess I’ll know when I get there.” Tom Petty  

“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.” Professor Dumbledore to Harry in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” by J.K. Rowling

John Dewey advocated learning through experience, building on past experiences to create future ones. I can almost apply Petty’s lyrics to education, and how we have standardized and bastardized learning, focusing on teaching to the test. Focusing on war efforts and the constant accumulation of things/wealth in politics seems more important than doing any good. Of course, the philosophy that the ends justify the means could be applied. That was the approach when the last passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo, and some people had the attitude, ‘ Well, it’s only a pigeon. Sadly, once there were billions of passenger pigeons flying over the forests of the East Coast, and yes, it is only a pigeon, except that we can never replicate that one at this time; it is gone. A week ago, I was discussing with a former student. Where does it end?

When it is gone, the Alaska wilderness can never be replicated; however, if the end justifies the means, many people see no problem with it. Approximately one-quarter of the known musk oxen reside in the Alaska wilderness sanctuary. However, as I sat this morning, perhaps a better, brighter thought from J.K. Rowling through Dumbledore’s character: “It is our choices that show who we are.” I wonder how soon Harry Potter books will be classics. Teachers will analyze the plots and develop theories on why Rowling characterized Harry as a boy or teenager and why an owl is his companion versus a weasel or pygmy shrew.

I recall eleventh or twelfth grade English and Ms. Stern and the classic novel “Moby Dick” According to her, the ship represented the world, and Ishmael got stuck on that ship. What was Melville telling us? I always thought it was a great story, and the history of New England’s whaling industry. I enjoyed the story, but not the analysis. When I wrote that my opinion was historical in the reference, I was told, in large red letters, that it was incorrect, according to Ms. Stern. Many years ago, our choices, not our abilities, were the doctrine. I still think the same about the book and believe Ms. Stern was wrong.

” Ability is of little account without opportunity.” Napoleon Bonaparte

“The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary.” Thomas A. Edison

Is it about being at the right place at the right time, or is it our choice? It is also about applying and choosing when an opportunity presents itself, and the plot thickens.

“It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.” Elbert Hubbard

Humility is an added aspect of today’s search, seeing in others that ability is almost an intuitive aspect of humanity.

“The world cares very little about what a person knows; it is what a person is able to do that counts. Booker T. Washington

This morning, I checked on my wife, who was working on her computer, had fixed her breakfast, and was curled up in the recliner.  One former student who emailed me spoke of realizing that school was nearing its end, graduation was only a few weeks away, and now they would have to make their way in life. That same email concerned a friend stationed in the Middle East. Watching the news doesn’t give justice to friends and families with loved ones overseas in harm’s way, as I think again about the choices we have made. I received an email from my son reminding me to review some emails to remind my wife to proofread his essays. Three of the seventy emails genuinely caught my attention.

I began with a quote from Petty, which may be applicable to both graduates and job seekers. Many aspects of what we do with our lives are our choice, and how the world perceives that choice depends on the direction and choices we make. It is not the ability you will be known for, or how great an actor, musician, or football player you are, but what you do with your talent that is seen. Family is crucial, and friends equally and consistently seek to learn more by reading, writing, thinking, and reflecting.

“If there were no writers, there would be no readers,” unknown source.

“Choose wisely,” it has been said, and in the end, some do, and some do not. Today, take stock of where you are, look ahead, and choose the path that will direct you where you need to be.

“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” Basho

We all seek quick solutions, such as five-minute abs, six minutes of wisdom, and a one-minute egg, in today’s hectic world. Wisdom is not traded on the stock exchange; it is not a commodity that can be bought and sold. It is more here now within, and it is a journey. The journey is not easy, and to gain wisdom, only those who travel that road will genuinely become wise.

“True wisdom lies in gathering the precious things of each day as it passes.” E. S. Bouton

Several nights ago, I was bored. Justified seemed to be missing, and I found Darby O’Gill and the Little People, as well as Star Trek: Insurrection. The plot revolves around a planet where all is at peace. The few residents, all 600, have forsaken technology for art, literature, and the aesthetics of life, embracing all that they can make of themselves. Interestingly, a weaver studies for 40 years to become an apprentice and then apprentices another 40 years to become a master weaver of rugs and tapestries. These people live on a planet whose innate radiation prolongs life and rejuvenates their cellular structure, giving them time to accomplish what is inside them. It sounds so easy when time allows. Daniel Day-Lewis, an actor and now a cobbler, took a five-year hiatus from movies to study cobbling (shoemaking) in Europe under the guidance of masters.

As the Star Trek movie progressed, a comment was made about a perfect moment, a special moment that stands out. Captain Pickard mentioned seeing Earth from space for the first time; many astronauts recall that moment. One morning, I witnessed a sunrise over the Atlantic on Cumberland Island, with waves splashing about and the most brilliant reds and oranges I have ever seen. A shrimp boat slowly moved through this picture, yet the boat was insignificant in its awesomeness.

As Pickard spoke with this woman on a planet of perfect moments, she offered to learn how to make every moment perfect, and the movie continued. Soon, he saw a hummingbird flit to a flower, or pollen blown from a flower.

“Wisdom is like electricity. There is no permanently wise man, but men capable of wisdom, who, being put into the certain company or other favorable conditions, become wise for a short time, as glasses rubbed acquire electric power for a while.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am intrigued as I read various thoughts on wisdom; for some reason, I am always drawn to Emerson. He was controversial yet perhaps one of the greatest thinkers and poets of his time. He was alluding to wisdom as a temporary entity in his statement. The following quote is an interesting statement from a President who often misunderstood

“Wisdom oftentimes consists of knowing what to do next.” Herbert Hoover

“Wisdom begins at the end.” Daniel Webster

We often spend time simply doing, not seeking; we spend time worrying about which path to take, preparing for the journey, and worrying about the destination. We forget to go, and there we are, no better or worse, only we are where we were to start. Among all things is the destination, but the destination is not necessarily the end; rather, it is a point B on the line AB, and still, there are C, D, E, and many more. Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your thoughts, and always give thanks. namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,
Mitakuye Oyasin
(We are all related)
docbird