Thursday, January 19, 2006

Perseverance

Perseverance,n. A lowly virtue whereby mediocrity achieves an inglorious success.
"Persevere, persevere!" cry the homilists all,
Themselves, day and night, persevering to bawl.
"Remember the fable of tortoise and hare --
The one at the goal while the other is -- where?"
Why, back there in Dreamland, renewing his lease
Of life, all his muscles preserving the peace,
The goal and the rival forgotten alike,
And the long fatigue of the needless hike.
His spirit a-squat in the grass and the dew
Of the dogless Land beyond the Stew,
He sleeps, like a saint in a holy place,
A winner of all that is good in a race.
Sukker Uffro
2006 Update: The slave to greed, soldier of envy, pupil of ignorance and father of nearly all the world's children.

27 comments:

mireille said...

Also widely and wildly misspelled. *father to nearly all the world's children* *hm* That should teach you that perseverance isn't always the way to go. xoxo

Minka said...

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein

and one more for good measure:
A door opens to me. I go in and am faced with a hundred closed doors. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

I was blown away by your definition Doug, so I didn´t even attempt making one of my own!

Tom & Icy said...

sticktoitiveness

Doug The Una said...

Mireille, I persevere differently.

Thanks, Monika. Great quotes.

Icy, that was almost presidential. Good doggie!

Unknown said...

while you sleep and when you awake, while you walk the dogs and weed your garden; we traverse hostile deserts, get tossed in swollen seas, battle with hidden enemies in dark forests, climb haughty mountains, negotiate busy rivers and crawl through bustling metropolises; and we do this every single day, jostling each other, stepping on toes, taking swipes - just to be in the limelight for a few seconds. and we do this every day, every night, just to be here in the hope that you, O Kindly Light, may chance to glance our way and reward us with a few kind words. so sometimes it pays, it's an investment

A Little Bar of Soap said...

I see that you and TLP are pushing deadly sins today. She had sloth and gluttony, and YOU add envy and greed!

Devil, get thee OUT!

Sar said...

Doug, you are not even going to believe this. This morning the girls were watching a show that included a segment where a seasoned cowboy explained the definition of perseverance to the kids. He included an example of forging on, chasing down and herding buffalo which eventually leads to an adrenaline high that can't be duplicated. Of course then I had to explain what an adrenaline high is.

Anonymous said...

Grade 10 English Teacher: "Jenna, your writing sucks. Who would read this trash? You're an affront to anyone who has ever put pen to paper." (Summed up...she was much more creative and damaging than that).

Jenna umpteen years later: "Pppllllfffttt."

Anonymous said...

I am still not convinced that there are no WMD's, and if no one finds em, I will personally go over and look for them until they are found!

Always Enduring

Cooper said...

Perseverance:

To continue to look for the women who fits into the glass slipper, despite all odds.

Anonymous said...

Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before. ~Jacob A. Riis

Therefore I will continue to beat my head upon this rock!

TLP said...

Didn't we just do this one? Or was that just me? We'll just do this one 'til we get it right.

I think maybe you just did.

Omnipotent Poobah said...

perseverance - The amount one gets when one if laid off (e.g., John got $100 and a kick in the ass per his severance agreement.

Fred said...

Perserverance: Must.continue.to.teach.even.though.my.head.is.ready.to.explode.

Miz BoheMia said...

Perseverance.... I hate this word. HATE IT I say!

Perseverance~ To persevere you must be stuck in life's doodoo for there needs to be doodoo present for you to persevere otherwise there would be peace without the doodoo and no need to persevere and we cannot have that can we now?!?

Fudge perseverance!

6 more days and I can stop friggin' persevering!

Jamie Dawn said...

Grit your teeth, grin & bear it, etc.

Doug The Una said...

Karma, that's a lot of work. Try commenting. You have such a lovely voice.

Now, Soapy, I wasn't advocating. Keep it up, though. I almost felt the holy spirit that time.

I was never seasoned, Sar. A little salt is all.

Jenna, the people we don't listen to make us who we are. Well done. You're gonna father a lot of kids.

AE, I think you can get a pretty fat contract for that.

You'll find her, Alice. I know you will.

Logo, I never stand between a woman and her intent (and rarely in front of it) but I think stone cutters use chisels. Just something to think about.

Ah, Masil, you recognized it!

Actually, TLP, when you brought it up Tuesday I thought I'd done it, but couldn't find the entry. It's the right word to repeat, though I guess. Anyway, it's here today at your semi-request.

Man, Poobah. $100? I like the new look, by the way. Regal in a Steve Allen kind of way.

Actually, Fred, in your case not strangling students is all the honor you need.

Miz B, I don't know whether to get up early or stay indoors when your in-laws leave.

Yup, J.D, your diet will be over any day now.

Actonbell, I wouldn't why you keep coming back here. And I'm grateful for your perseverance.

TLP said...

Perseverance: steadfastly trying to keep on living, inspite of the fact that we know perfectly well that 100% of us will die.

Minka said...

It is almost 4 in the morning. I have to be up by 7.30...I can´t fall asleep, so I thought I´d say hi. "HI"
I will persevere trying to count those sheep!

GABRIEL C. ZOLMAN said...

Perseverance,n. Pending severance.


)+(

Doug The Una said...

TLP, that seems like a high figure.

OK, first of all a4g, that's very funny. Second of all, it was even funnier when I misunderstood it.

Schläft gut, Mädchen.

Gabriel, that seems pessimistic for a self-employed writer.

Agi said...

Perseverance n. stuck on stupid

Ariel the Thief said...

Doug, I am still training to spell that word. I think I am improving nicely.

Sponge Girl said...

perseverance, n. From the Middle English purse severance, meaning lack of finances. Has since taken on the meaning of continuing the pursuit of happiness, despite purse severance.

Doug The Una said...

Comandante, welcome! Feel free to leave this site open.

Sugarcornpop, I'd rather not see such a picture. Maybe there's one on the Schwartz Candies website.

Stick with it, Ariel. You'll get it.

Actually, A. Spo, that's a common misconception. The actual root is the Finnish Pørssaskavaraantikánaa meaning "To fish."

Unknown said...

A socially-acceptable form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Anonymous said...

Mindless slogging. Not nearly as much fun as a mosey.