Sunday, June 1, 2025

Sic transit gloria mundi, memento mori, and other Latin expressions

The following three sentences did not originate with me but they provide a good jumping off place (translation: inspiration) for what I want to say today:

In my 20s, I spent a lot of time wondering what other people thought about me.

In my 40s, I didn't care at all what other people thought about me.

In my 60s, I realized that other people were not thinking about me at all; they were much too busy thinking about themselves.

I want to add a fourth item to that list:

In my 80s, I have realized that most of the people I ever thought about or who might ever have thought about me are dead.

One day I will be dead too.

And so will you.

Everybody dies eventually. The mortality rate is 100%.

I hope this hasn't come as a shock to you.

Actress (or more linguistically preferred nowadays, actor) Loretta Swit (Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in M*A*S*H) died this week but Margaret O'Brien is still alive.

If you don't know who Margaret O'Brien is, look it up in your Funk & Wagnalls.

Dick Martin of the comedy team Rowan and Martin used to say "look it up in your Funk & Wagnalls" on Laugh-In. Today he would probably say to google it. If you have never heard of Rowan and Martin or Laugh-In you are probably a member of Gen Z or Gen Y or Gen X or even possibly a Millennial. If so, you should stop reading the blogs of old people and find a more productive way to spend your time, preferably on something that pays well.

P.S. - Fortunately, for Christians there is the hope provided by the resurrection of Christ. Look it up in your Funk & Wagnalls.

4 comments:

  1. Death is the only guarantee in life! Cheery thought . . .

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    1. Somebody said the only things certain in life are death and taxes. Neither one is a cheery thought. Thank you, Janice!

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  2. As I move closer to death I find myself reading the obituaries. I used to laugh at old folks doing that. I just have a need to know that some of my peers are still here.

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    1. I check frequently for obituaries of friends with whom we have lost contact and old classmates from SIXTY-PLUS years ago. I hope to be around for quite a while yet since my grandfather lived to be 95, but you really never know how long you have. Jimmy Carter was in hospice for two years. Right now, every new day has become something to be thankful for. Thank you, Emma.

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