Quotable Quotidian

What is The “Quotable Quotidian”

The “Quotable Quotidian” can be words of wisdom, famous quotes, not-so-famous quotes, lines of poetry, a line from a favorite song, etc. It can be your own insight and creativity or that of another; give credit where credit is due. If you read something or
hear something and feel inspired, share it here.
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can see your words of wisdom, have a laugh or be inspired.
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I bought a book a couple of weeks ago without much research. I read the description and thought it sounded good. It turned out to be one of the best books I have read in a long time.
‘The Middle Place” by Kelly Corrigan is a memoir with many levels and covers every range of emotion in there is. There were moments when I was laughing so hard while reading my husband asked how he was supposed to read with all the noise. “The Middle Place” is about a woman in her thirties who gets breast cancer. She inserts chapters about her childhood in Pennsylvania and the wonderful endearing relationship she has with her dad. While Kelly is going through chemo she finds out that her father, George has bladder cancer. This adds another level to the story as she struggles with potentially losing her father.
I will most likely mention this book again as there are so many wonderful parts I would like to share. Today I chose to share some of the quotes that had me in stitches- something light hearted. You probably will not be able to appreciate the personality of Kelly’s father without reading the entire book, but here are some snippets that show why I can’t stop thinking about this wonderful man.

“He often referred to himself as Greenie or the Green Man, which is a nickname his brothers gave to him way back after a long, crammed car ride when a case of bad gas reputedly turned the air around him green.”

Greenie is a real laid back guy who makes a friend in an instant. Kelly reminisces about her father’s nonrestrictive parenting methods which clashed with her mother’s stern opinions about keeping her 3 children out of teenage “trouble.” Like staying out to late and going to parties. I think we can all relate to that. Kelly writes that her father would allow them to go, and if they were a little late he would “handle” the situation with their mother.

She writes,”But, that never worked. You’d be ha-ha-ing and act like you were a regular kid like all the others. And, then you’d hear his voice. “Wrap it up kid. Your mother can’t sleep,” he’d say standing in the door in his Indiana Jones hat and his overcoat, with his oxford cloth pajama pants peaking out the bottom… he’d glad-hand some of the guys (he was a coach) and maybe even take a sip of somebody’s beer. “See ya gang,” he’d say escorting you out.

Can you imagine this happening to you at a party as a teen-ager? It reminds me of the scene in “Uncle Buck” (one of my favorite movies) when John Candy goes into a house party with his frumpy hat and cigar, grabbing a beer and asking around for his niece. Ouch.

This is just one blip of the hilarity of Greenie. He ends up being a person you admire and want to be. His philosophy on life and winning personality are too much for words.

7 thoughts on “Quotable Quotidian”

  4. that’s sweet. and sad. What an irony…?
    Here she is battling cancer with the worry of losing her father and dealing with his pain as her father probably struggles with the same mind blowing concepts. It is difficult to watch someone you love go through cancer and hope so hard, yet it all goes the other way.

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