No Do Overs

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
--Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell

And say my glory was
I had such friends
--The Municipal Gallery Revisited,
William Butler Yeats

There's only one rule that I know of, babies
—God damn it, you've got to be kind
--God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Kurt Vonnegut
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Apropos of this site, I will remember our late friend John (Lurch), of the site Main & Central.

New Years last year John sent me the following message: "You will never know how much your friendship has meant to me."

I was honored and humbled. The sentiments of one's friends are what adds value to a life. One may never know the impact of the smallest gesture, or the harm of the slightest misunderstanding. Take time to set things aright. Tomorrow may never come.

Money can buy a ticket to Zermatt, but it will not buy you heart. All the ashrams, EST and yoga retreats in the world will not buy humanity. Say, "I love you" (if you do.) You will never regret it.

The human heart can sustain only so much before it turns to stone, or breaks into a million little pieces, or becomes apathetic and indifferent. It may happen following only one offense, while the more resilient may sustain repeated assaults. Once changed, that heart is lost from the garden of fully blooming plants. It is usually stunted; sometimes, warped.

Along with living in poverty or a life of extreme want, this is life's greatest tragedy. Somerset Maugham said,"The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love."

Biologically speaking, the impulse to life is strong. Grass will grow in a parking lot if you stop tarmacking over it. Life's yearning for itself will take over once the onslaughts cease.

Nobody gets out of here alive. The show always closes. Be kind. Make sure you had a good run.

L'Chaim.