tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post5830993874081022891..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: You Can Bank On ItThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-51908104029866295432009-01-31T14:34:00.000+00:002009-01-31T14:34:00.000+00:00Yes, it's true, I must say he was not a barrel of ...Yes, it's true, I must say he was not a barrel of laughs. At times he was frighteningly severe and stubbornly dogmatic. I had a complex and difficult relationship with him. It was not easy.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-6119569927399697412009-01-30T21:39:00.000+00:002009-01-30T21:39:00.000+00:00Your Dad sounds/sounded like a barrel of laughs.xYour Dad sounds/sounded like a barrel of laughs.<BR/>xRachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-46676622223618013932009-01-30T00:34:00.000+00:002009-01-30T00:34:00.000+00:00On the contrary, Val, I am very impressed! It is I...On the contrary, Val, I am very impressed! It is I who may now be unworthy of blogfriends in high places! ;)<BR/><BR/>"Work to live, don't live to work" - that gets the emphasis right, Dominic.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-1759340171256870432009-01-29T19:17:00.000+00:002009-01-29T19:17:00.000+00:00I too had a rather idealistic university career. I...I too had a rather idealistic university career. I ended up doing whatever I could find: social work. I think teaching has a lot to be said for it, but I think it can be a mistake to do it straight after full time education. The best career advice I ever had was "work to live, don't live to work". A recipe for happiness as opposed to wealth.Dominic Rivronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618013365521035400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-27960682569168392902009-01-29T17:12:00.000+00:002009-01-29T17:12:00.000+00:00Will I still be allowed to read/comment if I tell ...Will I still be allowed to read/comment if I tell you I'm trying to get into law school and (this is the kicker) I'll be running for City Council next term?<BR/><BR/>After reading this I'm afraid I may have just lost all my blogosphere friends. <BR/><BR/>; )Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01566477778406400875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-33909549706001764962009-01-29T13:03:00.000+00:002009-01-29T13:03:00.000+00:00:) Walking is a lifeline, a joy, an escape, a nece...:) Walking is a lifeline, a joy, an escape, a necessity, an adventure, a physical pleasure (though damn those aching feet), a simple, free but enormously rewarding act, a philosophy, a defiance, an art, an existential affirmation, a spiritual odyssey... and at times a trial and a tribulation (damn those aching feet again!).<BR/><BR/>May the Botanical Gardens ever feel the soft imprint of your feet, and may your compass ever be a moral one - or at least point in the right direction!The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-65124174003702146142009-01-29T11:14:00.000+00:002009-01-29T11:14:00.000+00:00:)aha, you are guilty of false pretences but you d...:)<BR/><BR/>aha, you are guilty of false pretences but you do have good intentions!<BR/><BR/>Only supposition, but you will be compelled to return to walking and nature after reading the nefarious doings of a society that has lost its moral compass!! :)<BR/><BR/>Your blog encourages me to keep walking, even if only in the Botanical Gardens. I hope you go for a walk soon, even a small walk!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-57331006923524795862009-01-29T04:40:00.000+00:002009-01-29T04:40:00.000+00:00You are right, Grizzled. I must take a walk very s...You are right, Grizzled. I must take a walk very soon - and blog about it. Dammit, I'm almost in danger of "false pretences" (to quote a lawyer's term, Bella!) - weeks of introspective, philosophical, bookish musings and nary a "solitary walk" anywhere. What kind of fraud is this - a blog that's called "The Solitary Walker" and the furthest he's walked this year is to the village newsagent to buy the "Sunday Times" so that he can read about the latest nefarious doings of bankers, politicians, the military and suchlike, and also peruse the jobs' section...<BR/><BR/>"Who you are, not what you do" sounds good to me - though not highly bankable dosh-wise, 'tis true.<BR/><BR/>Jay - so did you end up as a Latin teacher?The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-61639691470239578092009-01-29T01:48:00.000+00:002009-01-29T01:48:00.000+00:00My Lord, man…they're ruined for politics. Real job...My Lord, man…they're ruined for politics. Real jobs. Geeze, too bad. <BR/><BR/>You can still take your walk, though.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-30723091776375575812009-01-29T00:58:00.000+00:002009-01-29T00:58:00.000+00:00Yes, I believe it was our Latin teacher who did th...Yes, I believe it was our Latin teacher who did the careers advice ... she didn't have a clue. It was either the military, or 'be a secretary, my girl'. <BR/><BR/>Still, speaking personally, I don't want to be a banker, either!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-8308253955594646942009-01-28T22:55:00.000+00:002009-01-28T22:55:00.000+00:00This hits a nerve with me too...I have often ponde...This hits a nerve with me too...I have often pondered the lack of direction or discussion of career as a child or even any of the usual expectations of getting married etc...the total freedom to define my life and choose a path has left me "waiting for Godot", so to speak. In my late 20s my older brother gave me his copy of Thoreau, saying "be very careful of this book, it is dangerous". After reading it my pathless journey went deeper. I grabbed onto his belief that you should be defined by who you are, not what you do....all these philosophical musings didn't help me with my confusion of "what I should do".<BR/><BR/>I agree with Grizzled...politicians have it good and I would add lawyers too.<BR/><BR/>LOL - love the comment from Mr Roy.<BR/><BR/>BellaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-51960809351397487692009-01-28T22:51:00.000+00:002009-01-28T22:51:00.000+00:00Thanks everyone for such terrific comments!Grizzle...Thanks everyone for such terrific comments!<BR/><BR/>Grizzled, that was more a convincing polemical essay than a comment! Fantastic. I'm now just about convinced the kids should take the political path. Trouble is, I'm afraid I took some poetic licence for the purposes of my own polemic - the "kids" are actually 26 and 29 years old. So it's too late now - one will be soon be training to be a social worker, and the other is an EFL teacher. So it's goodbye to the big bucks! (how do you do an ironic emoticon?)<BR/><BR/>Roy, how wise you didn't embrace the banking life and lose the heart and soul you bare with such wit, wisdom and intelligence in your blog.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-51267201776530016192009-01-28T22:11:00.000+00:002009-01-28T22:11:00.000+00:00My Dr-Spock-inspired parents encouraged me to do m...My Dr-Spock-inspired parents encouraged me to do my own thing while I could - ie until free higher education ran out - then suddenly expected me to get a job. It was too late by then - as I thought - 4 years at art school had programmed me to be a bohemian waster and 'sponger on society'. 'Work is the salt that preserves mummified souls!' I would quote gleefully on my way to the dole office (Baudelaire I believe.) Then I accidentally got a job and like any fiendish addiction it took hold almost immediately. Now here I am slumped behind a desk in a grey suit wondering where it all went wrong. A series of foolish decisions mean it isn't in a bank so I don't enjoy the advantages you mention. Long walks all round might be needed.Mister Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11267155438873955450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-17075826319865235252009-01-28T21:27:00.000+00:002009-01-28T21:27:00.000+00:00Suck it up, Solitary. You're just in the throes of...Suck it up, Solitary. You're just in the throes of cabin fever. <BR/><BR/>Bankers, bakers, bullfighters…these are only jobs. Yes, the banker can fiddle with other people's money; the baker can toil and enjoy a high-carb diet for free; and the bullfighter, well he can wear fancy tights, prance around in front of a crowd, and get a horn up his…okay, never mind. <BR/><BR/>As I was saying, what you need to instruct you offspring to aim for—which obviously you and I were not smart enough to consider (blame it on bad advice and counsel)—was the giddy world of politics. <BR/><BR/>Think about it! Politicians can work or not (yes, they refer to what they do as work) as the mood strikes. They eat on the cuff, and eat well. Every expense known to mankind and their tax preparer can be written off. If not, they simply have their office reimburse them. They travel for free (free to them, not to us) to the best places. And for eleven and a half months per year. They have access to piles and piles of cash, public, private, the government's, ours, possibly that of foreign nations. Opportunities, in a word, abound. <BR/><BR/>Should they decide to behave badly with drugs, strong drink, or members of whichever sex they prefer (not necessarily being limited to humans only) they will be given media time for free in order to cry, beg, and otherwise beseech us for forgiveness. And here's the kicker—we'll likely allow them to return to their office.<BR/><BR/>After decades of graft, err, work, they can haul their pile of cash off to that horse farm or beach resort or penthouse they bought with the sweat of their brows and a few kickbacks, and live out their remaining days like Arab oil princes. We'll get them a great send-off and probably name a bridge or aircraft carrier after them. <BR/><BR/>How, my friend, can you beat this? As a caring and considerate father, you simply cannot fail to guide your precious offspring down this shining path.<BR/><BR/>Now, go take a walk. :—)Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-36604219216428587942009-01-28T19:30:00.000+00:002009-01-28T19:30:00.000+00:00Are you saying "Hear! Hear!" to the whole ironic p...Are you saying "Hear! Hear!" to the whole ironic post, Weaver, or "Hear! Hear!" to "Time for another long walk!"<BR/><BR/>Another long walk... Mmmm... Now that's an intriguing idea...The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-16194131739129409872009-01-28T18:46:00.000+00:002009-01-28T18:46:00.000+00:00Hear!Hear!Hear!Hear!The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-84780618576880712672009-01-28T16:39:00.000+00:002009-01-28T16:39:00.000+00:00I think your pilgrim's calm and peace of mind is f...I think your pilgrim's calm and peace of mind is fading. Time for another long walk!Timecheckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03655966328174898998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-45034176617568562232009-01-28T15:18:00.000+00:002009-01-28T15:18:00.000+00:00: ): )Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01566477778406400875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-22908467468065281372009-01-28T12:58:00.000+00:002009-01-28T12:58:00.000+00:00Brilliant! You are in great form on this one SW! ...Brilliant! You are in great form on this one SW! :)Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652718092147177168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-85630635229718088992009-01-28T11:47:00.000+00:002009-01-28T11:47:00.000+00:00SW, the one bit of career advice my father gave me...SW, the one bit of career advice my father gave me, (negative) was - "Whatever you do don't work in the ****** bank!"<BR/><BR/>He had. It didn't make him happy ...Raph G. Neckmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02468502742144495020noreply@blogger.com