Young and Foolish

I just sent this to two of the most important people in my life: Raoul and Althea Jerome. Raoul is one of my first and most impactful mentors and his lovely wife Althea has now also become a wise and important guide to me on my magical mystery tour. All along the way, they BOTH were there for me anytime that I needed someone (which was quite often) and I am beyond blessed in the knowledge that they are both STILL here for me…every step of the way. Indeed, I am an unofficial honorary member of the Jerome family as they both were like parents to me. Still are. Both of them have helped to make me who I am today.

That’s right world! You now have someone to blame!🤠

All of us are given wise Yodas, Merlins, and Gurus throughout our journey on this planet. If we are REALLY smart and aware, we LISTEN to what these mentors have to tell us all and LEARN from their wisdom, gifts, and experiential knowledge. It turns out that listening is one of my superpowers. Also, I take great stock in what I once heard Dizzy Gilespie say: “The more I learn, the more I learn there is to learn.”

And all the people said…

YOU DIG!!!!!???

My wonderful mother had a funny saying created via cross stitching that used to hang in our home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It was written in a hilariously phonetic German accent and went like this: “We grow too soon old, und too late SCHMART.”

That has been a fear of mine for my entire life.😱

“HEY! I am young and foolish…I don’t want to grow up to be old and stupid!” (Amazingly “Old and Stupid” was the first working title for Hague and Horwitt’s classic “Young and Foolish.” but I digress… )

Time for a fact check🤠

Therefore, I want to grow SCHMARTER (smarter) every single day. “What will I learn today, and who will I learn it from?” THAT is something I learned from another one of my mentors: Slide Hampton. And it is TRUE! Learning something new every day keeps you YOUNG. It is the OPPOSITE of growing old, it causes you to GROW.

Using a word that I learned from Raoul Jerome: “It BEHOOVES all of us to learn something new every single day.
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The image at the top of this article is a little ditty that I asked A.I. to create at the speed of light so that I could write this post before taking out our golden retriever Miss Phoebe for a walk. I am learning how to LEVERAGE technology, rather than FEAR it. I’ll draw a cartoon later when I have the time to enjoy it.

This AI-enhanced cartoon that begins this article is a tribute to Althea and Raoul Jerome. In the scene, I am the golden retriever: young, full of life, zeal, and vigor, blessed with a super creative mind, but not quite sure how to live life. The chow-chow dogs are Raoul and Althea who have been blessed with super-high emotional intelligence, an amazing capacity for love and empathy, brilliance and talent aplenty, and the precious gift of knowing how to truly teach as exemplary educators. Raoul is the chow who turns to me and offers advice while Althea is the chow who is wisely living in the “now.”

May it be so for all of us.😍