Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
"To muse, to creep, to halt at will, to gaze ... such sweet wayfaring"
William Wordsworth
Aahhh ... I read that a couple of years ago. It was useful at the time, but I am not sure I retained much of it ... incorporated much of it into my character. I am neither an optimist, nor a pessimist. if anything, I would describe myself as a realist. I accept what appears the more obvious version. I subscribed to Seligman's emails for a while, but the continual optimism made me depressed.
ReplyDeleteI rarely remember much from such books but enjoy reading them. I tend towards pessimism on some things. The story behind me buying it is that I browsed it and put I back on the shelf. As I get closer to retirement I am thinking of writing again and walking out the store I looked at all the books and thought it will be impossible to get published .... And yet I am already a published author! I went back and bought the book, I figured I needed some encouragement.
ReplyDeleteAh, I do not think it impossible to get published. What is difficult is writing well. What I think is a well-written book, others would say is turgid.
ReplyDeleteI went into Dymocks to get Richard Flanagan's Booker book today. They had sold out. But, the interesting thing - to me - was that I had to search and search to find the empty spot on the shelf. There were no trumpets ... So instead, I took the escalator downstairs and bought three Ladybird readers for Alannah.
ReplyDeleteGreat composition!
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