Denver Lakeside Amusement Park tower
Satellite view of Lakeside Amusement Park
April 2004
In the designs of providence there are no mere coincidences.
Pope John Paul II
Growing up is not easy.
Being a grown-up is easier.
Well, maybe not easier, but more comprehensible.
Youth is an exciting time.
Old age can be a depressing time.
The time that flies between youth and old age is a painting that we create by our choices and experiences.
The lines and colors that we use to limn that painting are determined by how we choose to live our lives.
These short and banal statements describe the painting that becomes our existence (and vice versa).
The colors and shades on our palette---the size of our canvas---are chosen by us.
But sometimes what goes into our painting is not chosen by us.
The words luck and lucky are used a lot.
"I was just lucky, I guess."
"What luck!
“I had bad luck”.
There are those unexpected ups and downs
---fortunes and misfortunes---those surprises.
I’ll keep my metaphor going.
Is our life an abstract painting?
Surreal?
Realistic?
Other?
What have I done with my life?
What has my life done to me?
Did I enjoy my life?
I tell my students that they’ll remember very little about what they learned in high school.
I tell them that we mostly remember the sad and funny moments.
I remember, for example, when I was in 11th grade, and Marlene Snowden’s dress came off during lunch.
It was one of those wrap-around type dresses, and the big “safety” pin popped off.
I remember my 10th grade English class when Mr. Dickerson came into class and told us that JFK had been killed.
I remember the day on the playground that Thomas Brimm the Bully “made me” jump on a can of black tar, and the can exploded, and I got covered with black, sticky goo.
I was in fourth grade.
I remember how much I enjoyed lighting firecrackers on the Fourth of July.
I remember riding my first bicycle with its trainer wheels, and later, the excitement I felt when I got my first “real” bicycle: a green, 3-speed Schwinn!
I remember how much fun it was to be in a bumper car at Lakeside Amusement Park.
I remember the kiss I had with Joann Babbs in the long tunnel at the same park.
I remember the cinnamon sticks that I made using oil of cinnamon and toothpicks.
Remember to Remember.
IT'S ABOUT RENEWABLE RESOURCES!
Pope John Paul II
Growing up is not easy.
Being a grown-up is easier.
Well, maybe not easier, but more comprehensible.
Youth is an exciting time.
Old age can be a depressing time.
The time that flies between youth and old age is a painting that we create by our choices and experiences.
The lines and colors that we use to limn that painting are determined by how we choose to live our lives.
These short and banal statements describe the painting that becomes our existence (and vice versa).
The colors and shades on our palette---the size of our canvas---are chosen by us.
But sometimes what goes into our painting is not chosen by us.
The words luck and lucky are used a lot.
"I was just lucky, I guess."
"What luck!
“I had bad luck”.
There are those unexpected ups and downs
---fortunes and misfortunes---those surprises.
I’ll keep my metaphor going.
Is our life an abstract painting?
Surreal?
Realistic?
Other?
What have I done with my life?
What has my life done to me?
Did I enjoy my life?
I tell my students that they’ll remember very little about what they learned in high school.
I tell them that we mostly remember the sad and funny moments.
I remember, for example, when I was in 11th grade, and Marlene Snowden’s dress came off during lunch.
It was one of those wrap-around type dresses, and the big “safety” pin popped off.
I remember my 10th grade English class when Mr. Dickerson came into class and told us that JFK had been killed.
I remember the day on the playground that Thomas Brimm the Bully “made me” jump on a can of black tar, and the can exploded, and I got covered with black, sticky goo.
I was in fourth grade.
I remember how much I enjoyed lighting firecrackers on the Fourth of July.
I remember riding my first bicycle with its trainer wheels, and later, the excitement I felt when I got my first “real” bicycle: a green, 3-speed Schwinn!
I remember how much fun it was to be in a bumper car at Lakeside Amusement Park.
I remember the kiss I had with Joann Babbs in the long tunnel at the same park.
I remember the cinnamon sticks that I made using oil of cinnamon and toothpicks.
Remember to Remember.
IT'S ABOUT RENEWABLE RESOURCES!
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