What's Worth Knowing

Little Ciaran has this writing board for a toy at my place.

I picked up the pen and sat him next to me.

I wrote the first letter 'P', and he dutifully read it out loud: "Pee!"

Pleased with the progress, I went on to jot down the next few letters, and he read each one out loud as I wrote.

I spelt 'P-I-P-E-R'.

And at the end, right after he read the letter 'R', he said: "Per-per!"

My eyes grew wide and my mouth broke into a grin.

I couldn't believe my ears, so I wrote Piper's name over and over again all over the board.

And everytime, the same process repeated: the little man would read each alphabet as I wrote and then shout 'Per-per' when the name was spelt out.

I felt this strange bond between the boy and the dog. Strange but true.

Piper may not get to see his own little human sister or brother for a long time to come, but I suppose this little human cousin should suffice.


And speaking of the dog... bad Piper. Naughty bitch.

She peed on my bed. Grrr...

Now I have to sleep blanket-less tonight.


I am reading a new book titled "What's Worth Knowing".

I don't suppose most people would know of it, nor even bother to read it.

Captivated by the cover of the book, I picked it up and in less than five, I had paid for the book and left the store.

The book is all about some real-life old people, and the wise words they have to offer from their own years of hard living.

Things such as these touch me.


*****

Make your days worth remembering.

There're two kinds of people - the ones who live hard and the ones who take it easy. The hard livers are tough on themselves. They take chances. They never stay comfortable for too long. The easy livers play it safe. They never push themselves. One year runs into the next, because the years are all basically the same.

To the youngsters, I say, live hard. This is your one and only life, the only show in town. You can't get any of your days back. Live as if you're going to be old someday, looking back on everything you did. It's everything you didn't do that will bug the heck out of you.

- wise words from a certain 89-year-old Bill Milton