This reminds me of a conversation I could not help but overhear, three decades or so ago, on the tram rumbling through Old Town; On the seats behind me sat a pair of old biddies exchanging gripes and grumbles, perfectly summarised thus:
- ... and so many terrible things there are these days!
- Yes, and so expensive!
Paul Auster has it spot on. I feel myself growing increasingly curmudgeonly and grizzly, because they're all wrong! And I'm only 54. Absurdly, my sense of humour seems to grow apace with my cantankerousness, resulting in a disconcerting mix of disgusted amusement, like a scowling rictus grin that tends to frighten smaller children. It's a good thing I work alone.
Disgusted Amusement is the perhaps the best possible outcome for 2025! And perhaps those biddies were riffing on the opening lines of Annie Hall:
“There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.”
This reminds me of a conversation I could not help but overhear, three decades or so ago, on the tram rumbling through Old Town; On the seats behind me sat a pair of old biddies exchanging gripes and grumbles, perfectly summarised thus:
- ... and so many terrible things there are these days!
- Yes, and so expensive!
Paul Auster has it spot on. I feel myself growing increasingly curmudgeonly and grizzly, because they're all wrong! And I'm only 54. Absurdly, my sense of humour seems to grow apace with my cantankerousness, resulting in a disconcerting mix of disgusted amusement, like a scowling rictus grin that tends to frighten smaller children. It's a good thing I work alone.
Disgusted Amusement is the perhaps the best possible outcome for 2025! And perhaps those biddies were riffing on the opening lines of Annie Hall:
“There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.”
"As a Jew, I don't feel quite right unless I'm complaining a little." - Peter Sagal
(I cannot remember the provenance of this, but I imagine it must have been an off-hand comment in an episode of Wait Wait.)
A spiritual cousin of one of my faves:
“If you are foolish enough to be contented, don't show it, but grumble with the rest.” — Jerome K. Jerome.
As illustrated here!
https://wit.substack.com/p/riposte-card-no-6-hidden-happiness
dear benjamin,
thank you for sharing as always!
love this one in particular:
“I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain.”
— Lily Tomlin
love
myq
And yet I’ve never heard a Myq grype! Kudos, sir!