the chirping parakeet

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Like a parakeet chirping languidly in some nearby cage:

-- Is longevity laughter? I don't know, but I think it is.

-- Victory can leave anyone gasping for air. Once the enemy is defeated, the loss of such a dearly-beloved friend strikes home ... and the loneliness resumes. The trophy case may be bright with new conquests, but are shiny statues really enough? Losing good friends is not so easy.

-- I suppose the 'goodness' of spiritual endeavor cannot be avoided. The obvious is obvious -- inspiration and all that. But how many are content to rely on goodness, to assert and elevate and waste their lives? Day after day, week after week, year after year. It might be funny if it weren't so sad. It strikes me as good fortune to find a discipline that is not content with goodness.

-- On Fridays, the local paper runs a Q-and-A profile of someone within its readership area. One of the questions asks, approximately, "If you could spend a day with anyone in history, who would it be?" My assumption is that most people would like to spend pleasant rather than unpleasant days. And if that is so, would admiration be a good basis on which to spend a pleasant day with anyone? It sounds like a loser to me.

-- Do parakeets belong in cages? They are bright and beautiful, but if you cage the bright and beautiful, how long will it be before it comes around and bites you on the ass?
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