5-30-2001:
"So I'm reading this book by Peggy Noonan. Those who know me well, know that I'm a real fan. Only this book - Simply Speaking - is relatively mundane, or so I'm thinking. After all, it's a book about speech writing...
So, I'm reading along, enjoying her easy style, underlining points that I find interesting & smart. And then I am deeply touched & moved...Here's why I'm such a fan (Simply Speaking, p. 53):
'I think that to achieve true adulthood is to understand the simplicity of things. We're locked in a funny arc, most of us, in terms of what we know. When you're goony and fourteen years old you think the most important thing in life is love. Then you mature, become more sober & thoughtful, and realize the most important thing in life is achieving, leaving your mark - making breakthroughs in the field of science, or winning an Academy Award in recognition of a serious body of work, or creating security for yourself and your family through having a good house and sending your kids to good schools. And then you get old and realize...that most important thing in life is love. Giving love to others and receiving it from God. All the rest, the sober thoughtful things, are good and constructive...but love is the thing. The rest is just more or less what you were doing between fourteen and wisdom.'
And that out of a book about speech writing."
~~
...in which Peggy Noonan speaks the truth.
~~~
10 comments:
My knee jerk reaction to your post, Susannah, was to bring up some of the less profound and frankly puzzling stuff that Peggy Noonan (an on and off again conservative) has penned, but for now I will put a sock in it.
Yes, Peggy has come up with some gems from time to time, and this passage you site in your post is one of them.
Sometimes, she gets it right. When she does, the conservative pundits go nuts. I still think that for the most part, Noonan is a fence rider. I could be wrong.
Fredd~ Thanks for the sock. I use it myself from time to time. Peg doesn't always say things that I agree w/, but man does she have style! Glad you enjoyed this piece!
Bluepit!! So glad to see you! She gets it right plenty! I stopped reading her for a while during the 2nd Bush term, b/c I thought she was being too harsh to him. Like you said, though, I could be wrong...Clearly here she's got it!
Awww, Susannah, this brought tears to my eyes. And so true. Love is what life is about. Nicely said.
I followed your blog. Thanks for the comment.
Those were great thoughts, well said.
To me, most of the time Peggy Noonan is an enigma.
I'm with Fredd, sadly; she lost me a few years ago and I'd been a HUGE fan :-(
That is a good one. Interestingly enough (well, to me!) you wrote that on my birthday, the year I had my daughter. She would have been almost 2 months old at that point. Adulthood indeed. ;-)
Stay safe and warm, my friend.
Hardly a day goes by when I don't hear another "Liberal" sounding off about something they know little about or worse yet, have no experience with.
Just read some of the liberal blogs that we see daily on the blogisphere.
Truth101's is a prime example.
I Hope it doesn't takes Obumma as long to figure this out as it took to him to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Opus~ You bet - 'love is the thing.' Thanks for the follow; I did the same!
Joe~ Good thoughts, huh? Peg is a quirky one, sure enough.
Z! I've been a fan for a long time. Like I said, she did take a turn a while back, but I still think she has unique wisdom.
Melonie! How great to see you! It has been a while. ;) You're a May baby - a "May flower." And yes, children have a way of growing us up really quick, right? (Thanks for coming by; don't be a stranger, ok?)
SarahG~ Glad to have you around! I do read some of the lib. blogs. I like having some of those folks here, too. As long as we can have intelligent conversation, but we all know that doesn't happen everywhere... Come back soon.
AGuy~ Who knows when BHO will figure out these things...You'd think he could figure out some things like 'we don't want Obamacare!' -- 'we don't want cap & tax!' -- 'we don't want more entitlements!!' All he needs to do is listen.
Post a Comment