1) This been such a horrible, cataclysmic week: the monumental collapse of the Iowa caucuses, the State of the Union, and the President’s acquittal. I was deeply impressed by the ugliness of social media, especially ye Twyttyr. So I made an impromptu decision yesterday afternoon, sitting in a Cambridge coffee shop, to take a break from word-based social media. I’ll stay active on ye Flyckr and will occasionally poke my nose into ye Yllo, but except for Etiquetteer, will be staying away from ye Fycebykke and ye Twyttyr.
2) And then the loveliest thing happened. Walking through Central Square a signboard in front of the florist read “Come in for a free rose if your name is ROBERT.” So . . . I did! And was given a full-blown Free Spirit rose, a luscious pale peach shading to pink. I felt like Henry Gibson leaving the shop.
3) This morning, parlor coffee and devotional yielded two readings that were helpful to me:
II Thessalonians 3:1-2: “Finally brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you; and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all men have not faith.” [emphasis mine]
Baltasar Gracián’s The Art of Worldly Wisdom, #131: “A gallant spirit. The soul has its fine dress cloths, the spiritual dash and boldness that make the heart look splendid. Not everyone has room for gallantry, for it calls for magnanimity. Its first concern is always to speak well of the enemy, and act even better. It shines most brightly when it has the chance to avenge itself. It does not avoide these situations, but takes advantage of them, turning a potential act of vengeance into an unepxected act of generosity. It is also the best part of governing others, the adornment of politics. It never shows off its triumphs - it affects nothing - and when they are due to merit, it knows how to dissimulate.”