"If" by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

But make allowance for their doubting too; 

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, 

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, 

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; 

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; 

If you can meet with triumph and disaster 

And treat those two imposters just the same; 

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, 

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings 

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 

And lose, and start again at your beginnings 

And never breath a word about your loss; 

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 

To serve your turn long after they are gone, 

And so hold on when there is nothing in you 

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; 

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; 

If all men count with you, but none too much; 

If you can fill the unforgiving minute 

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - 

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 

And - which is more - you'll be a complete human!

Fall arrives in the Ozarks

Growing up on Staten Island, I used to dislike the arrival of fall. Except for the fun of Halloween, it just seemed such a dreary, cold and all around dreadful time of year. As a youngster, Spring was my time - the warmer breezes, clear sunshine, tulips and irises...that's when I felt truly alive and enjoyed being banished to the outdoors during the day so our parents could get things done around the house without all of us kids stomping around.

But growing older, and having moved to more temperate climes, I find that Fall is beginning to be one of my favorite times of year. Walking with our dogs through the crunching leaves, feeling the chill of the air settling in, and that crisp-ness that only comes in October here in the Ozarks. It makes me long for a good book, wood in the old cast iron stove and hot chocolate warming a mug filled with marshmallows.

Watching the leaves change from golden to red, and the berries come out on the dogwoods for the birds, and stealing that last afternoon catnap in the hammock before the real cold sets in. Even our cats are enjoying the change in the seasons. We often find them at our heels, walking with us and the dogs through the woods, venturing out to climb trees and chase unsuspecting lizards.

Yep, the wheel is definitely turning, and the New Year is just around the corner. What will it bring on the chill of October, as we celebrate those who have passed and look ahead to the year before us. I for one am ready to embrace what's coming, and to look within for what will be.

When being Me annoys others

Ever had one of those days when just by being yourself, you manage to annoy just about everyone around you? I swear, it must be some innate skill hidden away in our DNA that just switches to the "On" position on occasion.

I'm not doing anything I wouldn't normally do - in this case, helping a friend through a tough time - and kapow! Everyone around me all of a sudden looks at me like I'm stark raving mad.

I assure you, I help people all the time, whether they be true friends or just folks needing directions. It's part of my nature. It's part of who I am. Always has been and always will be.

So, color me befuddled when my innate desire to help is twisted into some odd type of behavior that causes everyone I care about to look at me like I've grown a second head.

The view does become somewhat clearer, as I realize that the person I am attempting to help is also someone those around me find "annoying."

So, apparently, when someone is considered annoying by the pack, they must be thrown to the wolves and left to suffer. Somehow, that just doesn't sit right with me. Everyone deserves a chance, and they deserve assistance, annoying habits aside.

So, I guess I will reside in the corner with my "annoying" hat on, because I don't intend to change who I am to suit the masses.