The Wire-Bound Book

Cliff Saunders

Collecting and memorising quotations (not merely of the “to be or not to be” variety) has been a lifelong hobby of mine and it is one that I highly recommend. The Mandela quote is a favourite of mine and the picture was taken in an aircraft after I had covered for SABC TV the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.

Keeping a diary is OK, if you can’t remember what you did or what others did to you. However, there’s always the danger of your diary falling into the “wrong hands” at the wrong time with the result that you could be accused of being part of the world-wide wicked web of wrongdoers.

Keeping books that contain not only quotations but worthwhile information that you come across is far more interesting and enables you to become a more interesting person.

As Disraeli wrote: “The wisdom of the wise and the experiences of the ages are perpetuated/preserved by quotations.”

The problem is that you hear or read such “words of wisdom” but they are soon forgotten – causing huge frustration
I always carry around a small wire-bound notebook and a pen. Going through such notebooks from time to time is a great thought-stimulator and a reminder of that which is clever, witty and generally stimulating. You will soon find that you actually “invent” your own quotable quotes as well.

I shall share with you some of what I have written in my latest notebook:
• Happiness is achieved if you have three things in your life: something to do, someone to love and something to look forward to. (anon)
• Have you found joy in your life and have you brought joy to others? (anon)
• No-one can make you feel inferior without your permission. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
• Oppression breeds rebellion and when pushed too far even the shattered can rise up and destroy their oppressors. (History Channel, TV.)
• Someone once asked a boxer about fatalities in the ring. He replied: “Sure there have been many deaths, but fortunately none of them was serious.” (TV programme)
• A hat salesman had halitosis so a wise manager made him a shoe salesman. (Movie)
• It is better to be criticised and condemned for speaking truth to power than to be accepted for being a sycophant. (my own)
• Imitation is the highest form of flattery. (movie)
• I’m working on my “bucket list.” That’s doing the things you wish to do before you kick the bucket. (movie)
• Love means never having to say you’re sorry. (Movie, Love Story)
• I’ve outlived all my friends so now I’m making friends with my enemies – and they are sure interesting! (my own)
• Did you eat an extra bowl of stupid this morning? (anon)
• I resemble that remark! (anon)
• The past predicts the future and the future repeats the past. (movie)
• It was said of a former British MP, Michael Foot, that he was “a good man who unfortunately found himself among politicians.” (SKY news)
• Poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another.
• Gratitude is the secret hope of getting more favours in future. (anon)
• If they (a divorced couple) get together again there’s still hope for the Middle East. (movie)
• A “platonic friendship” has been described as one in which it’s “play for one and tonic for the other” – OR as they say: “Were just friends, with benefits!” (movie)
• Like a bridge over troubled waters I will ease your mind. (song lyrics)
• And finally on a serious note: In this day and age (fact is throughout the ages!) many parents have lost young children and the tragedy is permanent. At Pretoria Boys High, which I attended, a Remembrance Day ceremony is held each year in memory of “old boys” who died in the First and Second World Wars. There, the principal read out the most comforting words I have ever heard for such grieving parents.

The memorable words written by Laurence Binyon are:

They shall not grow old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We shall remember them.

Journalists have been described as “intellectual Robin Hoods who steal from the witty and give to the dull.”
Methinks I have proven the veracity of that adage – although let us face it, such “thieving journalists” are often the “dullest of all.”

Back to my little wire-bound book!

Cliff Saunders, Northcliff.