Thanks to a comment from "Pat" I found and listened to a song by John Denver, "Some Days Are Diamonds, Some Days Are Stones". She responded to my complaints about a day that had turned out to be a frustrating obstacle course. I like John Denver but I didn't know that song. Pat says she keeps a little bowl of pebbles with "diamonds" scattered among them, sparkly beads. Rhinestone buttons would be nice. That's a lovely idea, thank you.

I keep thinking of a line from that Rogers & Hammerstein song, from The King and I: "If you become a teacher/By your pupils you'll be taught." Not that I'm teaching you anything with my blather, but Pat has taught me something.

I think I stagger along from stepping stone to stepping stone (different kind of stone), clutching at signposts along the way to guide me or at least cheer me on. I'll give you another line, this one from Marshall McLuhan. He said "the price of eternal vigilance is indifference." I think he was referring to the Red Telephone, the one that was supposed to ring when World War Three was imminent - or something. McLuhan thought that the people assigned to be on the alert for the phone would get tired of being so tense and would gradually slump into inertia or indifference. That's a small price to pay, actually, and I don't think it's true. I think that the price of eternal vigilance is eternal vigilance. You can't ever let down.

"Don't give a inch." I think that's from Ken Kesey but I could be wrong. I often am. Still, it's another signpost to spur me on my way.

On my way to where? I guess I'll know when I get there. In the meantime, I'm on the look out for pebbles and rhinestones.