Truth in Joking

“Off-comments are, often, painfully on.” - Chase March journal entry September 11, 2004

I wrote that line in a journal a few years back. I had gotten into a bit of a disagreement with my girlfriend. I was trying to be witty and funny and made what I thought was an off-comment. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was only a joke.

She told me that, “there is a lot of truth in joking.”

Maybe she was right. I think sometimes when people make jokes, they might be trying to be hurtful or speak their mind. I wasn’t trying to do that. I was trying to get her to laugh. I loved her laugh. But I ended up offending her and I never wanted to do that.

What she said has stuck with me. My quotation from my journal has stayed with me as well. That is why it has become an entry in my commonplace book.

Writing Remembers

“The palest ink is better than the best memory.” - Chinese proverb

I actually found this in a fortune cookie I received.

Another Chance

“Each day is another chance to do the things I could’ve
the day before but didn’t and known I should’ve.”

- Little Brother song “Beautiful Morning” off the Minstrel Show Album

Small Things Fit Sometimes

“Sometimes someone says something really small and it just fits into this empty place in your heart.” – Angela on My So-Called Life

This is quite frankly one of the best television shows ever. I will be sharing a lot of wisdom from this show here. If you like what you read, consider picking up the series on DVD. It was just released last fall and should be fairly easy to find in stores. It is an amazing show and you won’t be disappointed.

Check out http://mscl.com for more information

Be Right

“Be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.”

I made a banner of this phrase and put it up at the front of the classroom. It has become the motto of my class. I think it is a great quotation that applies not only to people but also to things.

I got this quote from the excellent book Growing Character by Deb Austen Brown. I highly recommend this book to any teacher of any grade.

Happy Marriage

Commonplace books used to be a lot more “common,” for lack of a better term. It seems that they have fallen out of popularity. However, many of the famous quotation sites on the Internet are really just digital commonplace books.

In the dictionary a commonplace book is defined as “a book of memorabilia.” Commonplace is defined as “an obvious or trite observation.”

My commonplace book is a collection of thoughts and ideas that I have taken from anywhere I find something meaningful. I will attribute the quote to whoever said it, or the source I took it from whenever possible.

I will try to post an interesting quote or passage that I have collected in my commonplace book here every weekday. My collection is continuing to grow. If you would like to add a quotation that is meaningful to you or one that you would like to share, please post a comment or send me an email. Thanks.

Here is entry # 2

“If you want to have a happy marriage, be the kind of person who generates positive energy and sidesteps negative energy rather than empowering it.” - Barton, Bruce. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Calendar. Sept 2004

The entry that started it all!

I started a commonplace book a few years ago. In it, I collect quotations from things I have read or heard. I enjoy collecting these little tidbits of wisdom and information.

I have actually put DVDs on pause so that I could write down some of the dialogue. When I read a work of fiction, I use a piece of paper as a bookmark. When I come across a phrase or passage that I like, I write the page number down and the first few words of the sentence. This way it doesn’t really impede my reading. I read the entire book before I comb through it and type out the passages or tidbits of wisdom that I want to add to my commonplace book. If I own the book, I make underlines with a pencil.

Here is the entry that started it all. I caught it on one of those page-a-day calendars. This phrase just resonated with me and started my collection. So here it is entry number 1 of my commonplace book.

“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things . . . I am tempted to think . . . there are no little things.” - Barton, Bruce. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Calendar. Aug 28/29,2004