Thursday, December 28, 2006

A Credo From the World's Greatest Beach Bum

As I sit here trying to unpack my library back into the house that we now get to keep, I came across Jimmy Buffet's TALES FROM MARGARITAVILLE. The man is a terrifically talented writer, not to mention awesome musician. He's an idol of mine. I highly recommend reading whatever you can get your hands on that he's written, but the above is a classic.

In the story, "ARE YOU READY FOR FREDDY?" Buffett lays out six lessons of life, taught to him by an old musician on tour. Given the emotional roller coaster that we have been on the last three months with baby, life, job, etc. I had sort of forgotten about these. I shouldn't have. I reprint them here, just so you too can partake of this wisdom. I had promised myself that when I became a lawyer, I was going to get these put on a plaque on my desk. It hasn't happened yet, but I'll get it there eventually. I'm highlighting the ones that I think are of particular importance. Oh what the heck. I actually have to highlight them all, now that I'm reading them again. They're all equally important. Forgive the crudity contained herein, but they're his words, not mine.

Without further ado:

"Lesson One: Never forget--they are always the enemy.

"Lesson Two: Just remember, assholes are born that way, and they usually don't change.

"Lesson Three: You do not want to go to jail.

"Lesson Four: When you start to take this job seriously, you're in trouble.

"Lesson Five: It takes no more time to see the good side of life than it takes to see the bad.

"Lesson Six: If you decide to run with the ball, just count on fumbling and getting the shit knocked out of you a lot, but never forget just how much fun it is to be able to run with the ball."

Words of wisdom, indeed.

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