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    The Great Gordino Newsletter - Issue 319 - Mon 13th Jun 2005
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    Archive Issues online at - gordonbryan.com/archive

    Hi There,

    I hope all is well wherever you are.

    I seem to be in the middle of a series of rushed issues at the
    moment.

    My brother, who lives in Florida, is over for a visit, with his 8 yr
    old son.
    Even the words '8 yr old' make me feel tired, and this 8 yr old in
    particular is blessed with unlimited energy.

    As a result, my brain has frazzled a little bit, so you'll have to
    forgive me if I seem even weirder than usual.

    I got an email after last week's issue saying that I can sound a
    bit glib talking about death, when I mentioned Corey Rudl's
    passing.

    I don't think glib is the word.
    I just choose to view an early death like his at 34, as life
    affirming, because he sure crammed a lot in.

    We can't always control events, far from it, but we can control
    how we react, and it's here that our attitudes can be changed.

    My nephew and I and my 2 brothers went up to see the Trooping
    The Colour on Saturday.
    Up in London, it features members of the British forces,
    parading in all their finery in front of The Queen.

    It's the celebration of her official birthday.
    I think the old dear's real birthday is in April, but this official
    tradition was started way back, and Saturday was the 200th
    Trooping The Colour.

    Very impressive when you see it on TV, but even more
    impressive when you see it in person.
    True you often get your view filled with the back of a horse, and
    how horses manage to do that and walk at the same time is
    beyond me, but you get a different perspective.

    Watching on TV, you get the sense of the general picture, the
    tradition, the event as a whole, but watching it in person, you
    see the individual servicemen and women, and you realise that
    marching thousands and thousands of troops in absolute
    precision, with uniforms polished to within an inch of their life, it
    doesn't happen by accident.
    (Phew, that was a long sentence!)

    It doesn't happen by accident, it happens by endless practice by
    the soldiers, and endless efforts to get the uniforms looking just
    right.

    The fact that they all look the same, and all walk the same,
    shows what can be done when you follow the lead of others.

    Another thing happend on Saturday which made me giggle.
    My nephew Adam asked me if I had a girlfriend.

    Through gritted teeth, I told him I sadly didn't.

    Can you guess what he said next?

    I bet you can...

    'Why not?'

    I had to smile, (teeth still gritted).
    A boy of 8, already has the idea, that if you don't have a
    girlfriend, there must be something wrong with you, maybe you
    might be one of those gay types!

    Funny isn't it, how society conditions us to believe certain things,
    and it sometimes take bravery to break away, to do your own
    thing, and hang what anyone else thinks!

    So that's it for today, not bad since I'm all '8 yr olded out', and
    I'm going to end by summing up the points I made today.

     - We can't control events but we can control our reactions.
     - Effort, practice, and following instruction can accomplish great
    things.
     - Don't be afraid to be individual, you don't have to follow what
    everyone else thinks.

     - Oh yes, and horses have impressive bowel technique.

    Right I'm off to lie down in a dark room with a wet cloth over my
    head.

    'Til Next Time,
    Health and Happiness,
    Gordon
    email me at gordon@gordonbryan.com - you'll have to copy and paste
    thanks to the idiot online spammers!



    
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