Reflections on Bill Gates

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.


Rule #1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule #2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule #3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule #4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule #5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule #6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule #7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule #8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule #9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule #10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule #11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you will end up working for one.


BILL ROCKS!!

Reflections on Shirley Valentin

Few times in one's life does a book, play, story etc., leave such as lasting impression as

Shirley Valentine left on me so many years ago.

For those not familiar with this play by Willie Russell, (more about him later), it follows a middle-aged housewife from her monotonous and often unappreciated day in Liverpool, through her life-changing trip to Greece.

Many say this play is for women only. I must admit that it does say out loud what I'm sure so many women feel when the children have grown and gone. They feel they are no longer needed and that is THEIR TURN to fly....but it is also very fitting for men as well. (Shirley, herself mentions this.)

It is indeed a comedy that is full of thought-provoking anecdotes and words of wisdom.

Her profound conclusion is that "we don't do what we want to do....we do what we have to do, and pretend it is what we want to do".

When I first became acquainted with this play....I could NOT believe that a man wrote it....NO WAY!!! On researching more about it...I found out that Willie Russell was actually a hairdresser in Liverpool....and wrote this play about the feelings/complaints of his women customers....AHHHHH!!! In any case....if you are not familiar with it...it is certainly worth seeing, whether it be the play, or the wonderful movie that was made of this unforgettable woman.

Last night I was blessed to see it in Toronto, accompanied by my oldest daughter, Julia...so it was especially memorable. She actually challenged me to legally change my name to Linda Valentine. Hmmmmmm