[lit-ideas] Re: Hereabouts
- From: epostboxx@xxxxxxxx
- To: Lit-Ideas <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2020 22:11:35 +0200
On 9. Aug 2020, at 19:29, david ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I should quote the Micawber reference at this point, “Annual income twenty
pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six,
result misery.” I used to quote that at work, but no one has the ears for
that kind of thing in these dire times.
Micawber is one of my favourite Dickensian characters - and it's nice to 'hear'
him on this list. Thank you, David.
I once had a colleague who quoted her father's economic advice as to the key to
happiness/misery, "Always have the financial resources at hand so that if your
income ceased today you could maintain your current lifestyle (i.e. level of
expenditures) without change for the next six months." It seemed like good
advice, and I have always followed it, together with taking guidance from
Micawber's 'observation' (which I believe was also offered as 'advice' to Pip).
I'm not sure that many have ears for that kind of thing either. I will only add
that following those two bits of advice gave me an enormous sense of freedom
(which often guided my actions) over the years, and played a not insignificant
role in enabling me to consider (and act out) relocation to Germany.
Chris Bruce,
struggling to avoid taking the quotation
"For those who have ears, let them hear"
totally out of context, in
Kiel, Germany
P.S. I found the Wikipedia entry on this Dickensian character both informative
(I hadn't recalled his first name: Wilkins) and entertaining. A
variety(indeed!) of 'real-life' characters, ranging from W.C. Fields through
Keith Richards (along with one of his guitars) to Justice Souter of the
American Supreme Court make an appearance.
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