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Dec. 23rd, 2001 12:47 am"I believe I have omitted mentioning that in my first Voyage from Boston, being becalm'd off Block Island, our People set about catching Cod and haul'd up a great many. Hitherto I had stuck to my Resolution of not eating animal Food; and on this Occasion , I consider'd with my Master Tryon, the taking every Fish as a kind of unprovok'd Murder, since none of them had or ever could do us any Injury that might justify the Slaughter. All this seem'd very reasonable. But I had formerly been a great Lover of Fish, and when this came hot out of the Frying Pan, it smelt admirably well. I balanc'd some time between Principle and Inclination: till I recollected, that when the Fish were opened, I saw smaller Fish taken out of their Stomachs: Then, thought I, if you eat one another, I don't see why we mayn't eat you. So I din'd upon Cod very heartily and continu'd to eat with other People, returning only now and then occasionally to a vegetable Diet. So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do."
One of my favorite bits so far. I hadn't thought people were vegetarian on principle then, I thought it a more pragmatic time. The other thing I like about this guy is that he came up with his own 12 step program for his improvement. (A 13th step: Humility, was added after a friend suggested kindly that he tended to be a bit of an arrogant ass.) He lays it all out and then promptly concedes that he failed utterly in at least one of the steps and didn't get terribly far on the others either: "In Truth I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order; and now I am grown old, and my Memory bad, I feel very sensibly the want of it. But on the whole, tho' I never arrived at the Perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was by the Endeavour made a better and happier Man than I otherwise should have been, if I had not attempted it..." Perhaps people should not be allowed to publish self-help books until their golden years when they can provide a more accurate survey.
The hardest thing about parenting is that the little sucker changes just as soon as I've got him figured out. This is a challenge when trying to provide for someone who is utterly dependent and pre-verbal. Frustration makes him less then a joy, which decreases my empathy. This can spiral downwards fast. Since his needs are always simple, I feel pretty dumb when I finally figure it out. "Oh, he was hungry, duh." Until recently he ate when we did, with nursing filling in the snacks. Lately, I think his increasing appetite has finally overtaken what is probably my declining milk supply. Mix in some biting (eeee!), and we've had a rough week or two. I think we've about got it hammered out again, 'til next time.
One of my favorite bits so far. I hadn't thought people were vegetarian on principle then, I thought it a more pragmatic time. The other thing I like about this guy is that he came up with his own 12 step program for his improvement. (A 13th step: Humility, was added after a friend suggested kindly that he tended to be a bit of an arrogant ass.) He lays it all out and then promptly concedes that he failed utterly in at least one of the steps and didn't get terribly far on the others either: "In Truth I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order; and now I am grown old, and my Memory bad, I feel very sensibly the want of it. But on the whole, tho' I never arrived at the Perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was by the Endeavour made a better and happier Man than I otherwise should have been, if I had not attempted it..." Perhaps people should not be allowed to publish self-help books until their golden years when they can provide a more accurate survey.
The hardest thing about parenting is that the little sucker changes just as soon as I've got him figured out. This is a challenge when trying to provide for someone who is utterly dependent and pre-verbal. Frustration makes him less then a joy, which decreases my empathy. This can spiral downwards fast. Since his needs are always simple, I feel pretty dumb when I finally figure it out. "Oh, he was hungry, duh." Until recently he ate when we did, with nursing filling in the snacks. Lately, I think his increasing appetite has finally overtaken what is probably my declining milk supply. Mix in some biting (eeee!), and we've had a rough week or two. I think we've about got it hammered out again, 'til next time.
