Hi again and thanks for stopping back through. I know the previous post’s message came heavy, but I can’t and won’t apologize for the reality check. The experience I had, seeing death first-hand, was no joke and comparatively tame compared to those who have been there and made it back. Say a prayer that you have today.

We’ve covered some heartfelt topics on these pages — religion, spirituality, humor, literature, et al. — in posts initially inspired by my jailhouse journaling. As I go back through those marble-covered missives, I’m pleasantly surprised to find some inspirational verses, passages and thoughts that I wrote in the moment then set aside. Today’s entry serves to bring some of those memories to life, to help me reflect on why I chose to note them, and hopefully share some common wisdom for all. So, in no particular order, let’s begin with one from our old friend Ms. Eleanor Hallowell Abbott:

“It’s better to be the laughing stock of an angel than spat at by the devil.” ~ from Old Dad (1919)

“It is not a good feeling to be at the mercy of oneself.” ~ from Son of Power by Zamin Ki Dost nee Willimina L. Armstrong (American expatriate writer, 1866-1947.)

“Conscience: the knowledge of our own acts and feelings as right or wrong.” ~ Merriam Webster

“The past is my experience, the present is my responsibility, so the future will be my challenge.” ~ from the film Freetown (2015) spoken by the character and true-to-life African missionary Joseph Forkpah. (Screenplay by Garrett Batty and Melissa Leilani Larson.)

“Some of us die, and there is no one to mourn us; the rest of us remain alive, and mourn ourselves.” ~ Maurus Jokai (Hungarian author/politician/activist, 1825-1904.)

“Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy existence.” ~ from Pastwatch by Orson Scott Card (American author, 1951 – )

“Be good, sweet maid, and let those who will be clever.” ~ from the poem “A Farewell*,” by Charles Kingsley (English clergyman/novelist/poet, 1819-1875.)

“She was like the mountain to his sky.” ~ from Beloved by Toni Morrison (American novelist, 1931 – 2019)

“She was like a house whose lawn was landscaped but whose kitchen was on fire.” ~ from Barbary Shore by Norman Mailer (American novelist, 1923-2007.)

“Dreams terminate only when God chooses to end them, and how often one regrets this, so bitter is the reality.” ~ from “Ticket No. 9672” by Jules Verne (French novelist/poet/playwright, 1828-1905.)

The following quotes appear in my notebooks without credit or notation. They’re likely excerpted from Biblical, Buddhist or other common-sense sources that made quick impression:

“To serve, and not to rule, is to conquer.”

“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only option.”

“Take an active part in your own miracle.”

“Institutional love is not God’s Love.”

“The greater the trouble, the nearer God Be.”

And here are a couple good closers for y’all:

“All arts, big and small, are the elimination of waste motion in favor of the concise declaration.” ~ from Zen In the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury (American author/screenwriter**/essaysist, 1920-2012.)

“In wine may be truth, but in tea there is peace.” ~ the author (that would be me.)

“If I’m givin’ you hush money, you better Hush, honey!” ~ Big Ed, bunk #2, North Wing A

Only in jail, kids, only in jail. (With sincere apologies to Ms. Cindy Adams.)

* The full stanza reads: “Be good, sweet maid, and let those who will be clever; Do noble things, not dream them all day long; So make life, death and that vast for-ever, one grand, sweet song.”

** In compiling these wise words, I was impressed to learn that Bradbury’s best-known screenplay is the adaptation of Herman Melville’s epic novel ‘Moby Dick’ for director John Huston’s classic 1956 film.