A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

Sir Winston Churchill

"Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me." Elwood P. Dowd, from Harvey.

Why thank you, Elwood (actually Mary Chase), I've enjoyed quoting you so much that you've replaced Zappa in my signature:

****************
Some people think that if they go too far,
they'll never get back to where the rest of them are.
I might be crazy, but there's one thing I know:
You might be surprised what you find out when you go!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Zappa

The only gift is a portion of thyself.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

I find this true. And yet ...

...and yet the story of The Giving Tree leaves me conflicted. I am uneasy reading the story, casting myself in the role of the tree. Am I codependent? An enabler? A crippler? Or merely leaning back from the abyss, frightened by my own mortality?

THE GIVING TREE

Once there was a giving tree who loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come to play
Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade
Laughing all the summer’s hours away.
And so they love,
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.

But soon the boy grew older and one day he came and said,
"Can you give me some money, tree, to buy something I’ve found?"
"I have no money," said the tree, "Just apples, twigs and leaves."
"But you can take my apples, boy, and sell them in the town."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.

But soon again the boy came back and he said to the tree,
"I’m now a man and I must have a house that’s all my home."
"I can’t give you a house" he said, "The forest is my house."
"But you may cut my branches off and build yourself a home"
And so he did.
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.

And time went by and the boy came back with sadness in his eyes.
"My life has turned so cold," he says, "and I need sunny days."
"I’ve nothing but my trunk," he says, "But you can cut it down
And build yourself a boat and sail away."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.

And after years the boy came back, both of them were old.
"I really cannot help you if you ask for another gift."
"I’m nothing but an old stump now. I’m sorry but I’ve nothing more to give"
"I do not need very much now, just a quiet place to rest,"
The boy, he whispered, with a weary smile.
"Well", said the tree, "An old stump is still good for that."
"Come, boy", he said, "Sit down, sit down and rest a while."
And so he did and
Oh, the trees was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.

-- Shel Silverstein from Bobby Bare's "Singing in the Kitchen", 1974

Shel writes much like a lot of Southern writers; Williams, Faulkner & Twain (at least I see Sam that way)... lots of moral ambiguity.

"I don't want any of your statistics.
I took your whole batch and lit my pipe with it. I hate your kind of people.
You are always ciphering out how much a man's health is injured, and how much his intellect is impaired, and how many pitiful dollars and cents he wastes in the course of ninety-two years' indulgence in the fatal practice of smoking; and in the equally fatal practice of drinking coffee; and in playing billiards occasionally; and in taking a glass of wine at dinner, etc., etc., etc. . . .
You never see but one side of the question. You are blind to the fact that most old men in America smoke and drink coffee, although, according to your theory, they ought to have died young; and that hearty old Englishmen drink wine and survive it, and portly old Dutchmen both drink and smoke freely, and yet grow older and fatter all the time.
And you never try to find out how much solid comfort, relaxation and enjoyment a man derives from smoking in the course of a lifetime, (and which is worth ten times the money he would save by letting it alone,) nor the appalling aggregate of happiness lost in a lifetime by your kind of people from NOT smoking."
Mark Twain San Francisco, 1865

Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. -Robert Frost

"Libraries are where scholarship begins. All the books in the world won't help you if they are just piled up in a heap." paraphrased from David Eddings "Mallorean" series.

Holding onto anger is like grasping onto a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else.
You are the one who gets burned.

Gotama Buddha

Dogs and people are pack animals, not to be confused with herd animals, and thrive on the give and take of the pack.

The tree gave and received and it made him happy. We may think the tree got the short end of the bargain, but as long as the tree was satisfied, who are we to judge.

looks to me like a parent, child, relationship. The parent constantly giving to the child and receiving pleasure and satisfaction from doing so. Who am I to judge?;)

Thank you, xoB.

"Be kind, for everyone you know is fighting a great/hard battle."
-- Philo of Alexandria

Posted on behalf of grant.

"I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it."
-- Edgar Allan Poe

posted on my own behalf! perhaps now I bewhole.

The Eagle suffers little birds to sing.
Titus Andronicus, A4, s4

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

Unknown.

I'm Dan Quayle. Who are you?

Woman: I'm your Secret Service agent.