Rules of the Road For this Blog

The American writer and humorist Garrison Keillor once said on The Prairie Home Companion,

"There is no excuse for unkind humor."

I have taken that maxim to heart and tried to practice it in real life. I take great joy in teasing people and poking fun at their foibles, but I try to do that in the most kind way possible, with a toungue firmly stuck in my cheek and visible at all times.

Such will be the guideline here. Share your stories of long ago, but be kind and generous to your old friends. You can tell stories that illustrate a point, and sometimes a painful point, but use your writing skills to weave your story so that it is hurtful to no one.

The same for things of our youth that should be left in our youth. Let the innocense of youth stay innocent. If you learned something that led you to make a change in your life, even if it was hurtful to you or people close to you, that is fine to share, but do it in way that respects each other's privacy and feelings.

Old Friends / Bookends
Paul Simon

Old friends, old friends,

Sat on their park bench like bookends,

A newspaper blown through the grass,

Falls on the round toes, of the high shoes,

Of the old friends.

Old friends, winter companions, the old men

Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset,

The sounds of the city sifting through trees

Settles like dust, on the shoulders,
Of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today,

Sharing a park bench quietly?

How terribly strange to be seventy,

Old friends, memory brushes the same years,

Silently sharing the same fears...

Time it was,
And what a time it was,
 It was

A time of innocence,

A time of confidences,

Long ago it must be,

I have a photograph,

Preserve your memories

They're all that's left you