The Opposite of Death

I read Nando Parrado's amazing survival story a few years ago in Outside Magazine and it has stuck with me ever since.

He was one of the people whose plane crashed in the Andes and who survived for almost 2 months up there. Their story was made famous in the movie "Alive!"

He said the most amazing and profound thing toward the end of the story, when he and several others decided to walk out of the mountains. They thought they were at the edge of the mountain range, but on summiting a mountain, found that they were right in the middle. At that moment, they felt all hope was lost:

I felt a sharp and sudden longing for my mother and sister, and for my father, whom I was sure I would never see again. But despite the hopelessness of my situation, the memory of him filled me with joy. It staggered me—the mountains could not crush my ability to love. In that moment, I discovered a simple, astounding secret: Death has an opposite, but it is not mere living. It is not courage or faith or will. The opposite of death is love. How had I missed that? How does anyone miss that? My fears lifted, and I knew that I would not let death control me. I would walk through that godforsaken country with love and hope in my heart. I would walk until I'd walked all the life out of me, and when I fell, I would die that much closer to home.

The opposite of death is love. Keep loving, my friends. Keep loving.

Disproportionately Pleasing

I got this from Mayberry Mom who got it from Bub and Pie.

- Accelerating out of corners

- Drooly babies

- Making the first scoop mark in peanut butter

- Neutrogena soap

- Clean sheets

- A tiny tail-tip dog wag

- The silence when the fridge shuts off

- Having the cashier use their club card when you forgot yours

- Staircases with worn "moons" in the treads

- Purple-ink rubber stamp marks in old library books

How about you?

Next stop, Darwin Awards

Guess which of these bottles is harmless saline eye drops and which is peroxide carbamate ear drops?



Now guess at 5:30 a.m. when you have your glasses off.

No, I did not put eye drops in my ear.

Which leaves the other alternative. Peroxide in my eye.

Yes, I did. Yes, it hurts more than you can imagine. And that is the last time those two bottles ever share the same shelf.

Letters to everyone

I got this idea from Meno's Blog. She got it from someone else.

Dear "Friend,"

Thanks for waiting til I went out of town to trash me to other people. Did you think it wouldn't get back to me? Well, it did.

--Not your friend anymore

__________________________

Dear Neighbor,

Please get a job or get some headphones for while you practice your guitar. Our houses are really close together, and it is getting really old.

-- The woman in the back house

__________________________

Dear people who call me,

I really do want to talk to you. But my phone is buried in the bottom of my purse and I'm driving. Later.

-- The world's worse phone-answerer

_________________________


Dear Swimmers at the gym,

I know aqua aerobics is supposed to end on the hour. But sometimes we run 2 or 3 minutes late. Can you NOT begin swimming laps thru the middle of the class?

--The lady in the dark green swimsuit who flipped you off under the water because she is classy that way

_________________________

Dear person on my ass in the slow lane,

Yes, I am going 45. I WAS going 65 until you started tailgating me. Go around or I will go even slower. What is your problem?

-- Little Miss Passive-Aggressive

________________________

What do YOU need to say to someone?

Housekeeping

I admit that I am not good at the blogroll thing. I have gotten hopelessly behind and many of the blogs I read aren't even on there.

I sometimes wonder if it is just another cluttery sidebar thing, but then I remember that the way I have found most of my favorite blogs is by clicking around other people's (peoples'? English TOO HARD) blogrolls, so it stays.

I just went through and updated a little. Put in some "new" blogs (people I have been reading for less than 2 years, given how often I update the thing) and took off some blogs I don't read or blogs written by people who have been fairly jackassy to me (NOW aren't you curious? I will never tell. Unless you ask bwaa haaaa. But if your blog is there, you have the official Suebobian NonJackass Award of Merit).

If you aren't there and wish to be, seal 5 $20 bills in a #10 envelope and mail them to...no, just leave a comment. It will help me to get off my butt and add people.

If you are a lurker and suddenly want to be on my blogroll well hmph. Would it hurt you to comment every once in a while? Are your wrists broken? If all the other kids jumped off a bridge, would you jump off too? (Don't ask me what I am talking about here. Even I do not know).