Like some people (but maybe not so much anymore), when I was a young wife and mom I would clip interesting or thought-provoking items from the newspaper and occasionally put them up on my fridge with (mostly ridiculously goofy looking) magnets. I kept a few when we replaced our fridge several years ago - good God, you'd think from the looks of them they were from the 1800's!
Most of them were "gems" that appeared in
Ann Landers' syndicated advice column. I preferred "Ann" over her twin sister
Dear Abby, although they were both great. They both took on controversial and taboo subjects with plain-spoken forthrightness. (Dear Abby's
daughter gives advice under her mother's pen name today, and IMHO she does not have near the common sense her mother or aunt did. Wonder how that happened.)
Anyway, I've intended to scrapbook some of these clippings for awhile but since they are looking so lousy I decided to post them here instead and type out the text for posterity :) They are not all from Ann Landers, but I'll start with the ones that are. Here's a pic of said lousy looking old clippings
The first one is a poem not by Ann, but by C.W. Longenecker (
a real poet?) called "The Victor." The preface in Ann's column reads, "I will be 90 years old on my next birthday and am grateful that my mind is still good and my memory is excellent. In this era of downsizing,
when so many family men are losing their jobs and becoming discouraged, I remembered this poem that my father had framed and hung on the wall in his office. It might help some discouraged people if they read it in your column." (emphasis mine)
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win but think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost.
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later the man who wins
is the man who thinks he can.
It's still good, whoever wrote it :)
In the middle of the pic are a few of Ann's "gems" - little thoughtful sayings she found worthy to print from time to time
"Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head."
"It is far better to be alone than to wish you were"
"If it's love, it will last. And if it isn't, who needs it?"
"Hatred is like acid. It does more harm to the container in which it is stored than to the object on which it is poured."
Next is "
Maturity" - I assume the author is Ann but don't know for sure
Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence.
Maturity is patience. It is the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of a long-term gain.
Maturity is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks.
Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat, without complaint or collapse.
Maturity is being big enough to say, "I was wrong." And, when right, the mature person need not experience the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so."
Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities and then do nothing.
Maturity means dependability, keeping one's word and coming through in a crisis. The immature are masters of the alibi. They are confused and conflicted. Their lives are a maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business and good intentions that somehow never materialize.
Maturity is the art of living in peace with what we cannot change, the courage to change what should be changed and the wisdom to know the difference.
The bottom clipping shows a version of the Pledge of Allegiance compiled from various versions reported by teachers
"I led the pigeons to the flag of the United States of America and to the public for Richard Stans one nation under guard and a vegetable with little tea and just rice for all please be seated."
These little clippings have given me smiles over the years - hope they gave you some too :)
Oh, there's one more - I felt this Dilbert comic from 1999 reflected the perpetual state of my marriage at the time (click to enlarge)
LOL :)
