Three things from DAH.

DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. That's because inside a dog it's too dark to read." (Groucho Marx on friendship)

First up this week, Regret …  
"Regrets, I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention" (from My Way, made famous by Frank Sinatra … but it's a French tune with lyrics by Paul Anka). I'm remarkably regret free, actually. Some years ago I apologized to several people I felt I'd mistreated in my callow youth. Most claimed not to remember things as I did. So, yes, too few regrets to mention. I like that. I want to live now and forward, not regretting past choices. Nothing I can do about them anyway. Keep the load light and act with kindness and care. When we face the final curtain, who among us wants to carry an old burden?
Regret can seriously damage your mental health – here's how to leave it behind

Second up this week, Reading …  
I do have this regret: I don't read enough (so, apparently, not too few regrets to mention). And I read quite a lot compared with many people I know. I have plenty of books (ask anyone who's been in my home), many of which I've read, and many more that await my eyes. It's silly, but every day I feel regret (and a little guilt) that I've let so many words set down with hope by their authors rest unfulfilled and disrespected on my shelves. I want to demonstrate to the books and their authors that they matter. I want to show them by reading, and, by reading, to positively affect my own life. An early New Year's resolution: Read More.
Benefits of Reading Books: How It Can Positively Affect Your Life

Third up this week, Runcibility …  
Ridiculousness and flights of fancy inspire me. There's another early resolution: To fully embrace runcibility. Or runciosity, as some have dubbed it. Shall I then fully embrace a spork? Some define Edward Lear's "runcible spoon" as a spork (combination spoon and fork … I actually find them useful and we have a couple in our picnic kit). But Lear used that word he coined, runcible, in other ways in other writings. It isn't always an eating utensil. Fully embracing a spork -- that seems an act of runcibility to me. Indeed, all the ridiculous things I imagine seem pretty darn runcible, and I embrace them. And that's just fine by me.  
What is a runcible spoon?

And a bit more:

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, by Edward Lear

I
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
   In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
   And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
    What a beautiful Pussy you are,
         You are,
         You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

II
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
   How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
   But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
   To the land where the Bong-Tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
   With a ring at the end of his nose,
             His nose,
             His nose,
   With a ring at the end of his nose.

III
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
   Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
   By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
   Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
   They danced by the light of the moon,
             The moon,
             The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes …  

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it. 

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