Ostomy Memories Wonders About Smarts

IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO BE SMART.  Brainy people screw up just like the rest of us.  Life is just too complicated, I guess.  All those curves they throw at you, all the unexpected ins and outs of everything.  Sometimes the list of things one has to take into account seems endless.  “It takes something more than intelligence,” wrote Dostoyevsky, “to act intelligently.”  To begin with, you have to give a damn, ‘cause if you don’t care, you’re going to go off half-cocked and who knows what’ll happen.  “Hey, guys, watch this.”  You have to consider the repercussions of your actions upon others.  Selfishness, by definition, isn’t intelligent.  Moreover, you have to realize that time, if you need more, is almost always on your side.  This is why they have supervisors, and editors, and little fantasy angels perched on your shoulder whispering “Are you sure you want to do this?”  There was one on Ike’s epaulet when he postponed D-Day for 24 hours.  How many of us have enduring memories of our mother, pulling us back from some brink, shrieking “What did I raise, an idiot?!”  

"... Time if you need more is almost always on your side"

I had people say that to me a lot until they had to stop- "Time is on your side"

My Dr. had me on 3 of the same types of meds at once costing over $500/mo (that's with insurance) as a last-ditch effort to get my colon to work. I don't know why people were convinced research/new treatments and my colon's timeline were on the same side. Hoping/praying, time/research/treatments are on my daughter's side if she did inherit the yet-to-be-known genetic marker. Hence why I signed away everything they do to me at the Clinic for research purposes &zwj

Nothing like being a human lab rat, huh?  I admit to having had some doubts about that one sentence that you quoted, even with "almost" as a caveat.  I suppose it depends upon how pressing or extraordinary is the subject matter.  Stay well.

I feel like an idiot after reading some of the big words I see on this site. I've never used a dictionary so much in my life. &zwj

Just think of it as extracurricular education.  Don't feel alone, either.  I'm having to look up words all the time.  

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

You know, I'm okay with being a lab rat if I can help my daughter or other women. But I had told them I'm not a guinea pig to experiment on because my most important role is being there for my kids.

We're on the same page with almost as a caveat... even with "almost" it still drew my attention enough to say something about it.

Thank God. I don't feel so bad if you look up words too, you put words together better than anyone.

I have to say, I thought about that line too. It seems that the older I get, the less often I find that time is on my side.

Terry

I don't know what I'd do without online dictionaries. And let's not forget the good old thesaurus!

Terry

It's interesting how our perspective changes over time and through circumstances.