JUL 14, 23 (1/3) .. DESIDERATA .. FROSTBITE FRANK .. ETAOIN SHRDLU ..

As I sat down to write this Post, in my mind I KNEW, there was no doubt, that here on dotnet, I have written about, quoted, and published Desiderata. A profound writing and one near and dear to my heart.

I am NOT a betting man. But IF I were a betting man, I would “Have bet good money” on my above reality!

So into my dotnet “Categories” I went looking for Desiderata as one of the subtitles of this Post.

I looked. I looked again. Then I REALLY looked, yet again, under my dotnet “Categories”.

Not one place was Desiderata mentioned.

I can’t believe this! My reality (that I have indeed written about, quoted, and published Desiderata here on dot net) is NOT reality.

Whewie!

Well NOW Desiderata IS in my dotnet “Categories”.

Below is the original text from the book where Desiderata was first published.

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DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann ©1927

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Les Crane, a well known a radio announcer and television talk show host, did a mesmerizing recording of Desiderata. He won a Grammy for it in 1971. If you care to hear Desiderata, please click onto the below link. Before Desiderata begins, there may be several commercials, you can look for “skip adds”. The short wait is worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2DoBy3TlGA

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I am now where I was expecting to be when I began this Post. I want to cite a short phrase from Desiderata.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story .. for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself ..

For me personally, acceptance of this fact is great comfort. I don’t have to know all that there is to know nor idly feel superior or inferior to anyone. I can, and I do, readily accept this fact of life.

FROSTBITE FRANK

Frank is one of those people in my life that absolutely continues to amaze me! By The Way, Frank has given us several contributions here on dotnet.

Yesterday (Thursday the 13th) Frank texted me the following two messages:

“Attribute it to my alter ego, Etaoin Shrdlu.”

“He’s always stepping on air when descending stairs, or on his dancing partner’s foot.”

“Patti. Will you look at these two texts from Frank?”

Who on earth do you suppose Etaoin Shrdlu is?

Patti said, “Let’s Google Etaoin Shrdlu!”

Oh My Goodness. Below is all you will ever want or need to know about Etaoin Shrdlu!

Etaoin shrdlu is a nonsense phrase that sometimes appeared in print accidentally in the days of “hot type” publishing because of a custom of type-casting machine operators to fill out and discard lines of type when an error was made. It appeared often enough to become part of newspaper lore – a documentary about the last issue of The New York Times composed using hot metal (July 2, 1978) was titled Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu. And  “etaoin shrdlu” is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary and in the Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary.

It is the approximate order of frequency of the 12 most commonly used letters in the English language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etaoin_shrdlu

Frank fired back the below text:

It is hardly a nonsense phrase! Do your remember (no Frank we don’t) Linotype machines, which were used to make newspapers until computers were invented? They cast letters in tintype metal as a person typed. The strings of letters were set to stop at the column width, which varied per newspaper. The Linotype operator’s fingers rested on ETAOIN SHRDLU on the keyboard rather than ASDFG HJKL;’ as on a typewriter.

Frostbite Frank, you are amazing!

You’re a better man than I Gunga Din (Frank) Gunga Din! You’re a better man than I!

Smiling .. 

Cap along with Patti

Published on Thursday July 13th at 9:12pm. Tonight I will NOT (as I often am) be up until 1am or even 2am!

• ← JUL 13, 23 .. SOMEWHAT SOMBERLY .. ONWARD WE GO
• JUL 15, 23 (2/3) .. FROSTBITE FRANK AND ETAOIN SHRDLU →