Prenostalgic Warning

Warnings are pointless when it comes to experiential learning. It is true that the burnt child dreads the fire; but it is the burnt child with the clever support group that learns to tame the flame. And that is why I have come to believe that while I cannot always deliver warnings effectively, I can help by acting as support and shelter for anyone who needs it.

It took me by surprise, though, that I do feel a few regrets about the way I spent my earlier youth. But Simon and Garfunkel say it better here, and just for convenience, I reproduce their bittersweet and yet jaunty lyrics below.

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A Hazy Shade Of Winter

Time, time, time, see what's become of me
While I looked around
For my possibilities;
I was so hard to please.
But look around, leaves are brown,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.

Hear the Salvation Army band
Down by the riverside;
It's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned.
Carry your cup in your hand
And look around, leaves are brown now,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.

Hang on to your hopes, my friend:
That's an easy thing to say,
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend
That you can build them again...
Look around, the grass is high,
The fields are ripe, its the springtime of my life...

Ahhh, seasons change with the scenery,
Weaving time in a tapestry.
Won't you stop and remember me
At any convenient time?
Funny how my memory slips
While looking over manuscripts
Of unpublished rhyme,
Drinking my vodka and lime...

But look around, leaves are brown now,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Look around, leaves are brown...
There's a patch of snow on the ground...