All the world's a stage

From Shakespeare’s As You Like It, I had an English teacher in 11th grade who was particularly fond of it. I called it crap back then, but slowly, I began to appreciate literature. The class had to memorize the entire passage! She insisted it was the most excellent comparative analysis of a stage and life, comparing it to the seven stages of a man’s life: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood.

I recall missing only four words. What does this have to do with anything? I last heard or desired to hear those words in 1978. Lately, especially when I’m alone lifting weights, doing yoga, or drifting off, they repeatedly spin in my head. I’ve recently reviewed many lines and decided to write them down to verify my accuracy. Then, I wanted to look them up to see if I was on the right track. Here’s what I recalled, with the missed words in bold/italics and the incorrectly added words in quotes:

All the world's a stage,

And all the men "are" and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like "as hot as a" furnace

That’s all I recalled accurately. I didn’t remember much, as I only reached the lover! It’s unrelated to this blog or running. But it makes me wonder why I have recollections of decades ago—recollections I didn’t care about or want to relive. I repeat this often during the day. It might be due to a midlife crisis, a mental exercise that the close-to-50-year-old mind plays on itself. It made me recall the best mid-life crisis story I’ve ever heard.

A man who was married for over 25 years looks to his wife and says, "Honey, 25 years ago, I lived in a cheap apartment, had a car that barely ran, slept on a sofa bed or a floor, watched a black and white 12 inch TV but every night I slept with a hot 25-year-old blond! I have a great house, two great cars, several bedrooms with many nice beds, and a 50-inch Plasma TV, but I sleep with an average 50-year-old woman. So, Honey, I think you are not keeping up with the rest of the things in my life."

The wife turned to exclaim, "Go find the hot 25-year-old blond, and I will make sure you are living in a cheap apartment. I may not even let you have the car, and the sofa bed would be the best you could wish for!"

Reminiscing is not a good thing after all. But then, "All the world's a stage."

Carry on my friends - Carry on!

Comments from my original blog - I merged the blogs.

Steve

Londell, you bring up an interesting observation about how, when you get older, you recall obscure events and things for no apparent reason. I've noticed the same thing. I particularly recall people and events from days long past when I'm running and my mind is very relaxed. It's almost as though your brain is performing some kind of memory dump. I tell ya, the human mind is a strange thing. BTW, thanks so much for taking care of my feet at Sugarloaf. It was great to see you out there. Take care, my friend and carry on!  Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 10:24:12 PM CDT