Wisdom from Frank McCourt

Among many audio books we used to enjoy on our commute was Angela's Ashes by

Frank McCourt. It was no cheery soap opera but an account of survival and hope

amid dire poverty and endless miseries. The author was a master in mixing humor

in tragedies, however. Delivered with an Irish accent, his childhood stories

often cracked us up before leaving a bitterness which made us wonder if we

should have laughed in the first place.

 

        “The master says it’s a glorious thing to die for the Faith and Dad says

        it’s a glorious thing to die for Ireland and I wonder if there’s anyone

        in the world who would like us to live.” 

        

        “He says, you have to study and learn so that you can make up your own

        mind about history and everything else but you can’t make up an empty

        mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. It is your house of treasure and

        no one in the world can interfere with it. If you won the Irish

        Sweepstakes and bought a house that needed furniture would you fill it

        with bits and pieces of rubbish? Your mind is your house and if you fill

        it with rubbish from the cinemas it will rot in your head. You might be

        poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”

        

McCourt had something to say about writing, of course.

        

        “Keep scribbling! Something will happen.”

                

        “Sit and quiet yourself. Luxuriate in a certain memory and the details

        will come. Let the images flow. You'll be amazed at what will come out

        on paper. I'm still learning what it is about the past that I want to

        write. I don't worry about it. It will emerge. It will insist on being

        told.”

 

Tim's middle-school history teacher, Mr. Fitzgerald, was of Catholic Irish 

descent and we connected right away when I mentioned the book.

 

[7grizzly]

回複 '暖冬cool夏' 的評論 : I don't pretend to understand girls. If it were Tim, I'd tell him "Eventually you die. So why worry?"

Yes. More often, I'm trying to shut up nowadays ;-)

[暖冬cool夏]

would like:)) What a mistake! She is having some hard time, and her mind is bogged down by all kinds of negative things. It's time to clean the house. Tim is perhaps in his rebellious youth. Patience is a virtue.

[7grizzly]

回複 '暖冬cool夏' 的評論 : Thanks for liking! I hope your daughter's open-minded enough for advice from mom. These days, I'm having a hard time getting anything through to Tim ;-)

[暖冬cool夏]

I love the quotes here, very nourishing! And the advice about the writing resonates with me that the first thing before you write is to sit down and quiet yourself. Very true.
My daughter came back home last night, and I will like to advise her with the first quote:)) Life is always bitter and sweet. Thanks for sharing, my friend.