CRUMBS OF CANDOR: My commonplace book

Published 7:00 am Sunday, October 17, 2021

What is an expert? Well, an EX is a has-been and a SPURT is a drip under pressure. Draw your own conclusions.

You can’t believe everything you hear. Some people feel the need to judge others based on misinformation or lies told by others. Be kind to everyone and form your own opinions based on what you know, not what you’ve heard. Allow others to change.

Even straight from the horse’s mouth we sometimes need to take it with a pound of Morton…

My weight is one hundred and plenty and I’m plenty-four years old.

No, I’m not seventy-four years old. I am sixteen with fifty-eight years of experience.

Fact—Grapes are the only fruit that ripens no further after picked.

If this appears discombobulated it is with good reason. Have you ever heard of a Commonplace book? It’s not a diary or journal but more of repository and collection of notes, quotes, observations, ideas, brainstorms, pictures, anecdotes, epiphanies and booklists that are noteworthy to keep.

Commonplace books date back to the 15th century. By the 17th century, commonplacing had become a conventional practice formally taught in school.

Thomas Jefferson maintained such a book in which he gathered significant lessons and life impacting statements of traveling singers, poets and instructors.

Imagine my glee on realizing that I have kept similar books throughout decades. As a visual learner the act of writing something down further impresses it upon my mind.

An eternal note taker I have always kept a similar sort of record but sadly it was scattered across scraps of paper, margins, or jotted down in whatever notebook or anything else available. It might have been scrawled on the back of a business card, paper napkin, tissue box, or various items that were readily found despite being undesirable.

Currently I have one book in particular yet still have others are scattered throughout the house and car near my work areas so that I can make notations before forgetting them or confusing them so that they no longer made sense.

As my work to tame them into a better order and keeping them together and intact continues, notes are made with more intention. Reading through some of these, it is apparent that I can observe how my values, visions and ideas have evolved. It is a reminder of what is important not only to me but to my posterity, especially in our current environment filled with distractions and disillusionments.

Yes, we live in perilous times but through the habit of commonplacing, we can find some comfort and peace as the challenges of modern life creep in and overwhelm us.

This practice often inspires me so I simply record it in my book. There is no pressure to produce anything profound or amazing. The words I scribble, often adding how it impacts me or my circumstances, give me hope, build my faith and provide a bit of common sense as well as serenity in our crazy world.

Here is a smattering of some notes:

“Until willingness overflows obligation, men fight as conscripts rather than following the flag as patriots. Duty is never worthily performed until it is performed by one who would gladly do more if only he could.” ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

When you almost obey a commandment, you almost receive a blessing.

The strongest bridge ever built used only two boards and three nails.

He who forgives first ends the argument.

Am I gratefully humble or grumbly hateful?

My favorite color is October.

JOY = Jesus, Others, Yourself in that order.

Some entries are taken from everyday conversations with family and friends. My eldest grandson comes up with remarkable pearls of wisdom regularly. Here is one that popped up today with his interesting spin:

“If you are mad, you can get glad in the same pair of pants you got mad in . . . or you can change clothes.”

Sometimes the most humorous words, phrases and stories are nothing more than the FamilySpeak unique to every household.

My young son once being distracted by my daughter said, “Leave me alone! I’m constipating!” He obviously made the wrong word choice.

Other entries are bits of conversation or humorous words with another person such as when my dear friend was recovering from many months of cancer treatments. Telling me that she leaned too far forward and fell over her walker trying to retrieve something she dropped. I suggested one of the long handled grabbers. She burst into laughter and said, “That is what I dropped!“

Who knows? Perhaps one day my grandchildren will thumb through them and gain some insight at precisely the right moment to help them through a trial, challenge or dilemma or provide much needed comic relief.

At any rate, jot it down.

— Hill describes herself as a cook and cookbook author, jack of all trades and master of none, a Christian wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.