You may wonder why a New Yorker like Billy Joel felt a need to opine about Allentown, Penna, or why a New Jersey boy like Bruce Springsteen would title an album Nebraska. You may indeed wonder these things in an offhand way and yet feel that the answer (insofar as there may be an answer) is really worth knowing.
Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)
Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is...life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.
— Pope Francis
My sister told me a funny story just this morning. Her Girl Scout troop went on a field trip to New York, the taping of one of the game shows. One of the celebrity hosts was Wm Shatner, of whom she was at the time completely starstruck. In her naiveté, she asked him for an autograph. Shatner was a perfectly rude boor to her. And at that fresh age, my sister “gave as good as [she] got.” As a result of this mini-scene, the management asked her to leave. Which meant that the entire troop had to leave. So there was the embarrassment, the money wasted by all on the trip, and then the characteristic non-understanding from our late father. So that was the end of my sister’s starstruck days. I think all the better of her for pushing back at a prima donna. Truly, she boldly went where no Girl Scout had gone before.
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