Spelunking the internet

It's always interesting what one finds when looking for something completely different on the internet. A song has been in my head since a friend's admission of infatuation with someone otherwise spoken for. So, off I go, searching You Tube to see if I can find the Roches'
"The Married Men" to send to the friend in an email.

No, it's not on You Tube, but over 25 years has not lessened the memories of their eponymous release. These women are the shining example of well crafted three part harmonies and sarcastic lyrics. One of my sisters had the album in heavy rotation in '79/'80, so much so that I remember ALL of the lyrics from the album.

Of course, the YouTube mining expedition didn't find the cut I was looking for, so I went to their website to see if they had some snippets. Something to send to the friend (alas, I'll have to point her to the lyrics). As is typical, I had to nose around their website.

What I found is the Paradoxical Commandments and anyone who knows me will probably read the following and agree that this sounds like something I would say (though not nearly as eloquently). Kent Keith wrote them in 1968. I've never seen this before, but I have to give him a lot of credit for putting something so simple and profound into words.

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

So, here's to spelunking. Like exploring a cave underground, sometimes you don't find exactly what you expected-but what you found should be shared with others. Thanks, Mr. Keith.