Ah, Wintergreen, you've quoted from that obscure Les Crane poem from long ago! Permit me to include a few more quotes from "The Wish List of Desires" along with my interpretations of what I take the lines to mean.Wintergreen wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:22 am "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
Max Ehrmann
Barrow Supporters Branch
Indiana USA
All done in the best possible spirit of bitterness of course!!!
Disclosure: The following is an entirely TIC production:
"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."
Meaning? Maybe for IE, but there's not been much peace for long-suffering Barrow fans as a result of our erstwhile manager's deafening silence of the last ten days. However, there's been plenty of noise on this forum and a feeling that the hastiness of the exit borders on the indecent, coming as it did before "The Parade" or before the champers had hit the back of the throat.
"Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story."
Meaning? In the world of professional football the spirit of these lines becomes inverted, resulting in "truth" becoming heavily wedded with deceitfulness, and the right to justify themselves in pulling the wool over the eyes of the "dull and ignorant" (ie the fans, aka serfs or peasants) who have a story but a story that will never be listened to. (Wasn't it Chief Joseph who said "white football man, he speak with forked tongue"? It certainly wasn't Sitting Bull, but it might well have been the latter.)
"Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans"
Meaning? Just make sure those plans are in place (but now for somewhere completely different) even before everybody connected has had the chance to enjoy the achievements.
"Keep interested in your own career, however humble"
Meaning? Just so long as "humble" isn't expected to stretch down as far as somewhere as humble as Barrow; no one should be expected to "keep interested" in a career somewhere as humble as that for very long, surely?
"Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery"
Meaning? Do a fun podcast for Bolton, but just for fun mind you, not in any way touting any wares or advertising any interest . . .
"Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection."
Meaning? Unless it's to Barrow, where all can be sugar-coated with empty platitudes such as "I am so proud to be manager of this football club" whilst already heading down the M61
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
Meaning? It's really obscure this bit, but I take it to be a coded reference to a new arrival at the University of Bolton Stadium, where the new star has a right to be there and so we all wait and see how everything unfolds . . .
"Keep peace with your soul"
Meaning? Posing the question as to whether that is possible in the world of football. Machiavellianism comes naturally to the professional football man.
