One of my favorite reads is Mary Schmich in the Chicago Tribune. She is funny, thoughtful, bright and wise. She hates me saying so, but Mary's style reminds me a lot of someone else I read every day on the internet. Smart and wise women. That's what I loved about the movie The 300. The protagonist's wife was smart and wise. In any case, Mary wrote about a billboard that a divorce lawyer had put up in Chicago. It's down now. Stupid thing. Life is Short, Get a Divorce. What follows are some thoughts Mary made without my edit or comment. She's right. Life IS Short.
Life's short, and this is your wake-up call
by Mary Schmich
May 11, 2007
They've taken down the Gold Coast billboard that said, "Life's short. Get a divorce," but the hard truth remains: Life is short.
We all need daily reminders of how easy it is to fritter away our fleeting tour of the planet, so here are a few more billboards I'd like to see around town:
Life's short.
Make that call.
Life's short.
Write that letter.
Life's short.
You'll live longer if you fix that thing that's driving you nuts.
Life's short.
Too short for bad wine, bad coffee and uncomfortable underwear. But there's always room for "American Idol."
Life's short.
Embarrassing e-mails live forever.
Are you sure you should hit "Send?"
Life's short.
Don't waste another day with a hangover.
Life's short.
Spend less time looking in the mirror and more time looking at the sky.
Life's short.
When was the last time you watched the stars?
Life's short.
Get TiVo.
Life's short.
Too short to figure out TiVo. Just get rid of the TV. But not until "American Idol" is over.
Life's short.
No point sniffling for Melinda and Blake when Jordin wins. You'll soon forget them all.
Life's short.
Don't waste it arguing about "American Idol."
Life is too short to finish boring books.
Life's short.
Get over it.
Get over the grudge.
Get over the sorrow.
Get over the fear.
Get over your parents.
Get over the memory.
Get over the disbelief that on the cosmic clock your life lasts barely longer than a cough.
Life's short.
Shorter now than when you started reading this.
Life's short.
Be ready to die.
Life's short.
Stop making excuses.
Life is short but there's still time for breakfast.
Life's short.
So am I.
What's wrong with short?
Life's short.
But never too short to help a friend.
Life's short.
Good weather is shorter.
Go outside.
Life's short.
But there's no need to rush.
Life's short.
Lengthen. Your. Breath.
(Billboard footnote: According to some ancient yogis, we're each granted a limited number of breaths in life. The more slowly you breathe, the longer you'll live.)
Life's short.
Do you really want to watch that rerun of a rerun of that sitcom rerun?
Life's short.
Show your neck and knees while you're young.
Life's short.
How much of yours will you waste at a computer?
Life's short.
Yours is longer than some.
How short is life? It's long enough to read "Our Ancestors' Short Lives" by the great Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, which ends with this line:
"Life, however long, will always be short. Too short for anything to be added."
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment