Thursday, October 25, 2012

Goals

I have two basic goals in life:  make a little bit of a difference, and try to leave a place in better condition than I found it.  I know I haven't always succeeded.

Today's blog really isn't about me.

A former college professor of mine recently lost her mother, and I expressed a quick thought on one of those on line obituary guest books.  By the way, I hate those things.  I send a real card with real handwriting whenever possible.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a home address, so on line it was.

In the small world department, a co-worker's mother is employed at the same place as my former college professor, so messages were passed.  I don't write to expect a "thank you" in return, but it was nice to receive one.

Let me tell you a little bit about my former college professor.  It was a literature course, one of my Achilles heels.  In case you're wondering, art is another.  I came from a high school where art and literature were confined to the bathroom walls, and it was some pretty good stuff.

Getting back to college, it was a literature course with no tests.  However, we did have to write a paper every week.  If it sounds easy, it wasn't.  Tests force you to memorize.  Papers force you to think, and one is a lot more important than the other.

My former college professor made a difference, and she left places in better condition than she found them.  Her mother must have been very proud.