The early lives of humans abound with examples.  When at the age of five I wanted a cookie about 4 PM my mother often counseled, “Wait, or it will spoil your supper.”  Of course, it will, and the same irregular eating hours unfortunately apply in the senior years.

In the sixteenth century the Dutch philosopher Erasmus in his  book “On Civility in Boys” taught boys how to become men by learning to control their appetites, delay their gratifications,  and consider the sensibilities of others.  The book was a best seller for two centuries. (Wall Street Journal, page C7, October 1 & 2, 2011.)  Almost  everyone acknowledges that not delaying gratification can bring unwelcome consequences ranging from the minor to the gigantic.  Nations that finance projects by borrowing unduly from the future risk bankruptcy, social unrest and maybe even revolution.

Apparently all nations now are guilty, but Greece stands out.  Travelers to that country say the government provides many amenities  The voters have become addicted to the many unsustainable benefits and naturally resist, often violently, giving them up.

Ancient Greece provided the model for democratic government.  It is ironic that the modern heirs refuse to delay gratification that enables the best from of government to endure.

The act of selling is a challenge, but cold calling makes it a double challenge.  The sellers first must persuade the startled prospect to listen for a few minutes at least.  Later they dare to hope that their eloquence will result in an order.  Since that is not likely, they ask for an appointment for a second visit at a time convenient for the prospect.

Some people do not want to approach anyone for direct selling, and they head for another profession. They leave the field to others who enjoy the risk or the uncertainty of trying to persuade a skeptical listener.

Cold calling becomes triple challenging if the seller with a newly learned language makes a sales presentation to a native speaker of that language. In the early 1990s after a few years of intensive study of Spanish I made two trips to Mexico City.  On the first trip in order to practice cold calling in Spanish I offered to represent a Texas manufacturer of business forms at no cost to him.

On the second trip,  for a modest fee, I called on architects to promote decorative, ornamental and architectural aluminum castings. I gained no orders but did gain experience visiting Mexican business offices using both Spanish and English, as the prospective customers often preferred to reply in fluent English.  I don’t like to admit it, but they probably decided on English after hearing my opening Spanish.

Sept. 10-11 (2)

Its weakened state invited an impertinent virus which shamelessly asked “Do you want to delete or save to a virus?”  Save to a virus?  The harassed computer operator felt that this unwelcome choice was not debatable, and he expressed his ire with a thorough deletion.  Feeding and nurturing computerviruses must come to a stop!

Just as viruses invade a frail human body,  a computer virus seeks refuge in a weakened cyber mechanism. The distraught operator has two choices:  either buy a new computer or bid farewell to sending electronic impulses through the ether.

In spite of whining and complaining, most humans opt for continued computer use knowing that the frustrations associated with this unfathomable tool will continue with no end in sight.

The flaming candles on display in the movie based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte may suggest a new poem i.e. “Candle, candle burning bright.”

To the viewer the candles looked more fiery than normal.  Earlier they burned only drapery in the living room.  Later they destroyed a substantial part of the Rochester mansion.  Eventually he emerges alive but blind to spend his final days pampered by Jane’s love.

Both works employ fire.  “Tiger” is a work of just six stanzas.  Bronte uses fire twice in her noteworthy novel to start and grow a relationship with the older Mr. Rochester.  According to a critic, Bronte shocked her contemporaries by depicting women loving instead of being loved as the Victorian tradition demanded.  That love had been passive rather than assertive.

Despite the first paragraph there is as tenuous connection between Blake and Bronte.  Both lived the same eleven years on earth.  Bronte was born in 1816 and Blake died in 1827.

Filed under: Small Talk For All Tagged: C. Bronte, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, Tiger by Blake ]]> http://virgilsviews.com/2011/08/17/burning-bright/feed/ 0 heidbrink http://virgilsviews.com/2011/02/19/a-snow-story/ http://virgilsviews.com/2011/02/19/a-snow-story/#comments Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:00:26 +0000 heidbrink http://virgilsviews.com/?p=873 ]]> In a winter sometime between 1937 and 1940 two snow-covered men of early middle age knocked on the door of the farm home where I lived with my parents and younger sister.  They said their car was stalled in drifts on the state highway in front of our farm and asked for shelter until the storm abated.  They were employees of an organization active in agriculture.  My father acceded to their request since we had an unoccupied bedroom and enough space to avoid crowding.

 Their arrival certainly changed our family routine for a couple days.  We spent the time telling about ourselves and speculating if we happened to know the same people in the area.  This happened so long ago that few memories of the encounter remain.  Those that do are pleasant and were the cause of laughter in the immediately ensuing years when details of the visit were still fresh.   Fairness demands that I say that these two genial guys probably commented and laughed about these middle-aged parents and their barely teenage children.

 It is doubtful if such an encounter would take place today.  For one thing,  snow removal is faster and more effective, and distrust of strangers is common.   

 These unsolicited guests remind me of the hilarious 1942 movie, The Man Who Came to Dinner” with Monty  Woolley, Ann Sheridan and Jimmy Durante.   The major details are quite different as Woolley was an invited guest who broke a hip and recuperated in the host’s house.  The reader is asked to excuse this paragraph, a departure from the snowy theme, but fits the subject of house guests.

 This story and many like it revive memories of visits, even minor explorations, to the neighbor to the south. 

 Sometime in the summer of one of the 1960s I flew on Trans-Texas Airways from Harlingen, TX to Veracruz, Mexico.  It was a two-engine craft, probably a Convair, not a DC 3.

Three days later a bus took me to Campeche where along with others I witnessed a policeman beat up a man for some unspecified offense.  The rest of the onlookers and I managed to avoid a similar fate.  This was the only instance of police brutality I witnessed in Mexico at any time. 

 A day or so later a bus took me to the province of Yucatan and its capital, Mérida, the original destination of the trip.  It is truly a memorable experience to visit the awesome ruins of the Mayas and their forebears.  In subsequent years there were visits to this area and many others in the country.

 Visitors like to tour famous places.   Sometimes, inadvertently, they happen upon places not widely known which provide unexpected satisfaction and the thrill of discovery.

Here are some jokes from, “About Politics and Worse Things,” a clipping from an unidentified Spanish language newspaper. The want of humor may be due to its lack in the original or, more likely, to poor translation.

 It’s Old Age

You know you are getting old when you wake up in the morning feeling the effects of the previous night, and then suddenly realize that you did absolutely nothing.

 It’s The Size

A timid, but fervent suitor tells his girlfriend “Rosibel, I carry your image here in my brain.”  Rosibel replies “Ah, you make me feel so small.”

It’s The Sass

 Look, Manolito,” the mother said severely to her son, “Don’t talk back to me when your father is here.  It will give him a bad example.”

.

Nevertheless, prolonged TV watching has even more consequences according to Emily Mann, www.Rodale.com, May 6, 2010 on Yahoo.com September 8, 2010.  This popular medium not only promotes obesity, but can lead to depression!

Furthermore, a study showed that even 30 minutes of exercise after two hours of TV viewing do little to reduce the associated anxiety and depression.  Where are the endorphins which the brain secretes during vigorous exercise and which normally promote a feeling of well-being?  What happened to them? There are no clear answers.  Obviously, if this turns out of be a large problem, more research is needed.  So far it is not a major issue.

But television is not defenseless.  It renders useful information, training and entertainment.  Its problem is that much of its programming is basically mindless and stimulates neither body nor brain

For many the work in downsizing seems to resemble an earthly Hell which may force them to give more attention to end-of-life matters.

The reader may expect a weighty hint on how to facilitate a home downsizing.  There is none other than the techniques used in other areas of life when a decrease or a change is called for.  Get help from family or friends, and remember three short words “Just do it.”  Everyone learns most just be doing.  

Other than business and residence following are a few additional downsizing suggestions:

1.  Ego
2. Criticisms of family and friends
3. Wasteful work
4. Hours watching television
5. Alcohol consumption
6. Suggestions from the reader

 The reader will notice that this list calls for reductions—not eliminations.

Different ages look on age differently.  Ask a young boy how old he is, and he may respond with an enthusiastic “I’m seven and going on eight.”  He can’t wait to get older.   Give the same question to a mature man, who would be happy to put aging on hold, and if he responds, it may be a grumpy “60” and a quick change of subject.

Women seem to be more sensitive to inquiries about age than men.  Years ago I volunteered to register people eligible to vote,  On the registration form, in replying to the age question, some would write merely “21 plus.”  Meanwhile, I tried to guess their actual age.  Silently,  of course.

Curiously, this emphasis on age secrecy lessens with the passage of time.  It is not unusual for a very senior lady to take pride in her age.  She is not only are happy to reveal it, but volunteers it with an uncharacteristic enthusiasm.