We Truly Possess Only What We Are

Norbert Blei Is A Writer The Way People Used To Be Troubadours And Minstrels, Celebrating What He Has Seen And Heart And Felt In A Deceptively Simple Style Reminiscent Of The Early Sherwood Anderson. . . . Like Anderson, He Is A Lover, And His Affection Invests His Writing With A Singular Charm.

Much As A Teacher May Wince At The Thought, He Is Also An Entertainer—for Unless He Can Hold His Audience, He Cannot Really Instruct Or Edify Them.

As We Grow Older, We Should Learn That These Are Two Quite Different Things. Character Is Something You Forge For Yourself; Temperament Is Something You Are Born With And Can Only Slightly Modify. Some People Have Easy Temperaments And Weak Characters; Others Have Difficult Temperaments And Strong Characters. We Are All Prone To Confuse The Two In Assessing People We Associate With. Those With Easy Temperaments And Weak Characters Are More Likable Than Admirable; Those With Difficult Temperaments And Strong Characters Are More Admirable Than Likable.

Those Obsessed With Health Are Not Healthy; The First Requisite Of Good Health Is A Certain Calculated Carelessness About Oneself.

No One Should Pay Attention To A Man Delivering A Lecture Or A Sermon On His "philosophy Of Life" Until We Know Exactly How He Treats His Wife, His Children, His Neighbors, His Friends, His Subordinates And His Enemies.