Things that Should Be More Difficult to Do
- misplace the smartphone upon which we have become so dependent… in your own house
- have your soul sucked out (through every pore) with reality television marathons
- experience seemingly justifiable road rage
- find a glass of exceedingly average and spectacularly overpriced wine in an otherwise decent place to drink it
- making movies or television shows… if your name is Tyler Perry
- getting acting gigs… if your name is David Caruso
- writing books… if your name is Terry McMillian
- make an argument about the sanctity of marriage in the age of Brittany Spears
- getting parking tickets in DC
- conflate being famous with being infamous
- stop chasing dreams, believing in magic, hearing the bells
- move through an entire day without appreciating art
- allow the arbitrary, the random, or the capricious keep one away from something or someone we love
- listen to our lesser demons instead of our better angels
Things that should be easier
- defending DC from all of the haters
- getting a great education without mortgaging the first two decades of adulthood & your soul to an evil-corporate-overlord
- understanding the customs and morays of social media
- finding good and relatively inexpensive Italian food in DC (yes, that is one giant, gaping hole in the DC culinary landscape… if any of you mention Pasta Mia, you’re no longer welcome to my Scotch)
- finding good contemporary music
- aging gracefully
- reducing our carbon footprint
- getting more disciplined as we get older
- make a decent living as an artist
- fully appreciating the Thomas Payne quote: That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly”
Hat Tip to Sarah and the Goon Squad for the idea for this post
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I especially agree with these two:
- defending DC from all of the haters
- getting a great education without mortgaging the first two decades of adulthood & your soul to an evil-corporate-overlord
…can I add “forming a relationship based on respect and honesty” to your “things that should be easier” list?
Please make any additions you wish. And for the record, to the defending DC item we could have added Michelle Rhee, Mayor Fenty, Metro, and a few other things too. They keep making the avoidable mistake that makes defending this incredible city harder than it need be.
PREACH. especially the discipline part. this should be required reading.
Thank you, and the discipline part is more wishful than predictive – sadly.
Things that Should Be Easier:
- Discovering true passion in life
- Appreciating the “little things”
- Knowing a good thing when its in front of you
- Saying goodbye
Things that should be harder:
- To take friendships for granted
- To say mean and hurtful things
- To sleep in and avoid wasting a morning
Saying goodbye could have been on both lists. Sleeping in would definitely have been on the should be easier list for me… but then that is related to a few other things on your list too.
love this list, and love that you ended it with Thomas Paine.
Thomas Paine was a veritable quote machine… that particular quote has served me too well lately.
The only good Italian restaurant I ever found in DC was on Jefferson Street (or maybe Jefferson Place?) near Dupont Circle, off 18th St., if I remember correctly. Small, hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurant, with red-and-white checkered table cloths and waiters who were quiet and kind and left you alone. I only went there a few times, and granted, this was years ago, so who knows what it’s like now. But I remember thinking that it was damn good Italian food and what a find I’d made.
Also? I love this list idea. I may have to steal…
If you’re willing to trek to VA, the Italian Store is just…amazing. It’s not a restaurant, it’s more of a deli-type place that also sells wine and frozen homemade pasta, pizza and sandwiches. Their sandwiches alone are worth the trip. The capri on a hard roll is my personal favorite.
Especially the artist one.
But… but the lesser demons have great booze!
I really like this.
Letting pride get in the way and being unkind should both be more difficult to do.
There’s a really cute Italian restaurant on 19th just north of L St NW that I think has wonderful food at very reasonable prices called Famous Luigi’s. Their gnocchi alla bava makes me incredibly happy! Not only does it tastes fantastic when served but, because the portion sizes are so “generous” & you often wind up with a doggy bag, and the gnocchi reheats well!