A Life Well-Lived
Author Philip Roth quotes Joe Louis in an interview he gave to Daniel Sandstrom, culture editor for Svenska Dagbladet. It was reprinted in the Sunday New York Times Book Review:
When I decided to stop writing about five years ago I did, as you say, sit down to reread the 31 books I'd published between 1959 and 2010. I wanted to see whether I'd wasted my time. You never can be sure, you know.My conclusion, after I'd finished, echoes the words spoken by an American boxing hero of mine, Joe Louis. He was world heavyweight champion from the time I was 4 until I was 16. He had been born in the Deep South, an impoverished black kid with no education to speak of, and even during the glory of the undefeated 12 years, when he defended his championship an astonishing 26 times, he stood aloof from language. So when he was asked upon his retirement about his long career, Joe sweetly summed it up in just 10 words. "I did the best I could with what I had."
"I did the best I could with what I had."
If you're not already living that way, it seems the way to start living.
My dog lives that way, seizing every moment, being excited to be alive.
It's amazing that a dog can show you how to live smarter, but this one reminds me of it all the time.
Joe loved educated women and they loved him. His last wife was a lawyer.
And fuck Ali for calling him an Uncle Tom. Ali couldn't handle them real bitches like Joe could. Lana Turner was in no way going to accept that religious fuckery of his.
Back on topic....I often think on things I could have done and then meet someone with the same background as me and realize "holy shit damn I'm doing pretty good"
Ppen at March 3, 2014 1:53 AM
Dogs are put here to remind us how to be human.
mer at March 3, 2014 4:06 AM
I don't think it was so much that we domesticated wolves into dogs, as much as wolves domesticated us.
I R A Darth Aggie at March 3, 2014 8:41 AM
Back on topic....I often think on things I could have done and then meet someone with the same background as me and realize "holy shit damn I'm doing pretty good"
Posted by: Ppen at March 3, 2014 1:53 AM
I meet people with similar or better backgrounds and education, and I think, "and we're both working here, together." Moving to DC for work has been eye opening that way. Sitting at a restaurant next to a guy who was fluent in five languages and had just gotten fired helped me let go of a lot of "what ifs."
I'm moving out and moving on with a level of peace I would not have had if I had stayed where I was personally, professionally, and geographically.
When I find myself spinning my wheels and not knowing what to do, I think of my great grandmother dying of whooping cough, of my grandmother dropping out of the eighth grade to raise her siblings... and I double down to plan my next move.
Michelle at March 3, 2014 5:20 PM
Yeah, whenever I get down, I think about my paternal grandfather. He spent his entire adult life ("adult" starting at about 12 in this case) working in a cotton mill. My father's generation were the first ones to go to college, and that only happened because of WWII and the GI bill.
Cousin Dave at March 4, 2014 7:50 AM
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