We expect rewards for goodness, and punishment for the bad things which we do. Often, they are not immediately forthcoming. Both evil and good exist in the life of the spirit, though, which is outside time, and though we may not see clear indications of reward or punishment, nevertheless, we feel reward or punishment with our conscience. (Anon. in A Calendar of Wisdom, by Leo Tolstoy, 3 August)
You should be in a hurry to do good works, even small ones, and to avoid sin. One good thing leads to another, and one sin causes another. The reward for virtue is virture, and the punishment for vice is more vice. (The Talmud, in A Calendar of Wisdom, by Leo Tolstoy, 3 August)
Do not expect some tangible reward for your goodness; your actions are their own reward. In the same way, do not think that you can hope to avoid punishment of your evil acts, for your punishment already lies in your soul. You are mistaken if you think that the pain in you soul was caused by anything else. (Anon. in A Calendar of Wisdom, by Leo Tolstoy, 3 August)
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Last night while in "the other genealogy chatroom" I listened to an NPR broadcast of The Del McCoury Band (Bluegrass) playing a long set at the Newport Folk Festival. I think they performed earlier in the day (2 Aug 2009) I wish I had a program on my computer to record streaming audio. They exist, I just don't have one.
I made Facebook friends with three more of my Wichita class of "57 classmates. I'm not certain that all of them have joined the group. I wrote on my own Wall about how to use the Search box to find the Class of '57 group.
I tried to make some Bebo friends. Two accepted the invitation. Another friend told me "I'm not into that." It's kind of funny because he has a Bebo profile and it is marked "private" so no one can see it unless he accepts them as a friend. I wonder what it would take to delete the profile entirely. That's what I would do if I "wasn't into it." Oh well, I really don't care one way or the other how other people use, or don't use, the Internet.
Mr. Dickie
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