Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Fools April and Otherwise

Wednesday's Carnival time!


The symbolism associated with the Fool card is an enthusiastic and passionate person, who is nonetheless a bit naive. The Fool card also carries a warning - not to go blindly into a situation without researching all the facts. The Fool card can show a need to exercise caution or it could indicate foolhardiness.


A Fool and Her Money are Soon Parted
Fools . . well I am one. I've had so many opportunities, so much luck, so much good fortune then shit came along and stole a lot of if away. I am a fool with my money. I've never had a lot of it but after Ray died, an insurance payout seemed like a lottery win. To me, it seemed like an endless cash cow but basically it paid for our debts, a new house, a short holiday, education for the younglings, supplemented a part time income so I could work until only 3pm each day until they were in high school . . and then . .well then . .it was gone. Not so much through carelessness but through lack of carefulness . . oh and the advent of provisional tax!

Even the wisest men make fools of themselves about women and even the most foolish women are wise about men.
I've made a total fool of myself with men. I was less than fabulous with the one fabulous man I had and didn't realise until I'd lost him. I have these incredible crushes that end badly . . the only one that looked like it might have gone somewhere since was with a man my young son hated and a rejected pass from the husband of an acquaintance - that was so completely off the cards!

Blind Old Fool
I have trusted the wrong people. Not many since I pride myself on having largely good judgement about the people I like . . but I have been suckered badly by some key people. I thought I was safe in my job when I was not and when an underling was promoted over me and I was made redundant I just didn't see it coming. I helped him, I coached him, I mentored him . .I taught him how to do my job. That happened in 1995 and was the most humiliating and shattering experience of my life because it was personal. My job was advertised, unknown to me and when I lobbed into work on Monday morning everyone wanted to know why I was leaving and why I'd said nothing . . .the HR manager had posted the 'redundant' position a week before I was told of my fate . .

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt!
I was a bolshy and aggressive 20-30 something. I was the fat controller. I wanted things 'my way' and was rude and spoke frankly rather than gilding the lily or taking the gentler approach. This to some degree cost me a relationship with one of my brothers - mind he wasn't entirely free of fault but I wish I hadn't been so aggressive and I wish he'd been a little more patient . .in that instance we were both fools.

Nature makes only dumb animals, we owe the fools to society!
I fell into the 'mummy can I have a pony' trap and whilst my daughter matched me dollar for dollar long before she was of working age I bought two horses who are still eating me out of house and home, requiring manicures every six weeks and veterinary treatments. Yes I was foolish in not so much 'spoiling' my children but underestimating their ability to reach a goal.

No one but a fool would measure their satisfaction by what the world thinks of it
I care far too much about other people's opinion of me. Sometimes I won't go out because it's a bad hair day or because I feel shy or because I have nothing to wear that everyone hasn't seen before or I feel intimidated by the wealth and lifestyle of friends who live in a different world to me. . .yes I measure myself by what the world thinks of me. Less so as I age but I'm still not comfortable in my own skin.

Better a witty fool than a foolish wit!
Then again, I have entertained, caused laughter, delighted friends and children alike, fallen over at weddings . . When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap!

Only a fool expects to be happy all the time
In this respect I am truly foolish . . why can't we be happy all the time? Ah Utopian me! I'm such an idealistic fool.

I guess the ultimate irony is, that despite being such a fool, I don't suffer fools lightly!

20 comments:

nick said...

I suppose we're all foolish time and again despite our best intentions. All we can do is compensate for the foolishness as best we can, and hope it doesn't cause too many disasters. As long as we don't expect other people to keep picking up the pieces and overlooking our foolishness as a lovable eccentricity.

Grannymar said...

A very interesting take on April Fools Day!

Brian Miller said...

great post @ many of the aspects of being a fool. I think we have all been foolish, though some care not to admit it. in our foolishness, we can find mush wisdom, but only if we are willing to face it. very telling post. enjoy.

tut-tut said...

BAINO! I can relate to many of the "foolish" things here. Maybe they are not so foolish, but only the result of being human.

April 1 is the start of a new month; March is gladly over . . . at least for me, it is a bad luck month.

Hope your dog is doing better!

i beati said...

On the first 3 it could be me - the rest well more your life- I try not to be too hard on my foolish errors however I feel at my age, i should be smarter..ha ha wonder what foolish thing I'll do today . I try to do at least one a day hahah

nick said...

Hey, I keep being asked if I want to sign in to Twitter. No thanks, I twitter enough as it is....

Candie said...

Great post Baino!
I can recognise myself in some of it too.And those cards design is great.What are they called please i'm interested?Thanks.
I'm very impulsive like The Fool.This is an interesting card.
Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous -- love your take on each, and right there with you on some, particularly oh yes the making-a-fool-of-myself over men. Happy April 1!

Mrsupole said...

I think we have all done those kind of things in our lives and so you are not alone. Great post about it and all.

Anyway I have a new post today to share with you and everyone and a gift from me to you all. I hope you like it and that it makes your day just a little better.

Peaceful day to you.
God bless.

laughingwolf said...

fool... some kinda dessert, no? :P lol

kj said...

what an AWESOME post, baino. this is so thoughtful and honest--come here please, i want to hug you and then tell you you are a special and totally deserving marshmellow crust of a sexy, sensitive and sensual woman! (baino, i know these things (smile)--reciprocation is immaterial.) i love how you phrased spoiling your children as underestimating their ability to reach a goal. and the person who screwed you at work: may the karma police have their way with him. betrayal is so hard, good that it was a coworker and not someone you not only trusted but also loved. that would have been worse.

i could go on and on. who knows, i just might. i've been revisiting with comments abit these days.

for now, here's my final two cents: only a wise person understands fools. the truth is we only know what is true right now. and baino, the fool tarot card is not always a warning to do one's research. sometimes it means believing in faith and taking a leap.

here's a warm hug, and then xo!

steph said...

You a fool?

Enthusiastic and passionate, yes! but a bit naive, NO WAY!

Sorry, Baino, but you don't match the persona of fool.

Much more a case of a big heart and an even bigger love of life.

You've so much enthusiasm, it leaves me breathless!

Unknown said...

Are these proverbs or your inventions? They sound good anyway. I am bad at knowing people as well.

Wendy said...

Very honest, insightful post.

I don't suffer fools lightly either. Does that make us foolishly hypocritical fools?

jay said...

Baino, my dear friend, you are not foolish, only human. And as to being less than fabulous with your fabulous man, we all have those feelings when we lose someone and they're usually not valid. Our loved ones understand that we're not perfect - they love us complete with all our faults. Oh, they'll complain about our faults as we do about theirs, but underneath it all, we know, don't we? We know we're all human and we feel the love.

Sounds like you spent the insurance in a very constructive way. Money never does last forever, and it's meant to be used! Pity you don't still have some left for those horses' manicures though!

Good post on April 1st! I hadn't even realised it was today. :P

Christopher said...

As has already been said, several times, this was a great way to celebrate April Fool's Day, and you're not a fool. Like all of us you've made mistakes. Don't expect yourself to be perfect. Lots of people will let you down, but you should try to never disappoint yourself.

And also, you may have been foolish with men, but remember: Behind every great man is a woman, and behind every great woman is some guy staring at her behind.

Ces Adorio said...

I am perfect. I have never made a mistake. It's others who don't get it right.

Ronda Laveen said...

I'll meet you in the Happy All the Time Department. I hear it is on the fifth floor. I don't consider your confessions foolish, just alive. My sister got blind sided with her job as did you. Not pleasant and I'm not sure she has every truly healed it.

River said...

I gave up caring what others think of me some time ago. It wasn't a conscious decision, more of an "I don't care, let them laugh/talk/whatever". So I wear the same clothes time and time again, I'm comfortable. So I listen to my i-pod while walking home from work, with my clip on sunnies and my ugly floppy sunhat while still wearing the Coles uniform. I see people looking at me, I see the giggle occasionally, I don't care. I'm on my way home, I'm sun protected, I'm listening to music I enjoy, I'm happy. If I'm invited to a social occasion (rarely) that I really want to attend (even more rare), I don't stress about what to wear. I pull out something comfortable, clean, weather appropriate and off I go. There's other instances, but the bottom line is I'm me and I'm happy. If others don't like me, well, so be it. I have plenty of friends, I don't need the whole world to like me.
April Fools Day? Don't like it. Haven't played a AF prank since I was 14.

Baino said...

Nick this is true but I have done some monumentally foolish things, many I dare not even mention here and one that particularly has got me into all this debt! I have learned!

Haha thanks GM

Brian I am nothing if not a pragmatist, I know exactly what I am and what I'm capable of. Heart on sleeve!

Toots, I think many can. I agree, March is a shit month for me as well. Nobody died which is a bonus!

Sandy I don't think age has anything to do with it. I know youngsters with more nouse on their little fingers than I'll ever acquire.

Oh Nick!

Candie it's a Tarot card. It's a method of fortune telling. The Tarot reader tells your fortune by virtue of which card they turn up from a deck of 22 different cards. The reader uses two decks.

Poor Fraught . .thankfully men make fools of themselves over women as well!

Thank you Mrs, it made me very happy, I've had a harrowing couple of days with a poorly dog.

Rhubarb Wuffa?

Thanks kj, it's true though I used to match their savings dollar for dollar. Clare saved for a horse and Adam for a Mountain bike simply by babysitting and washing cars! I'm actually a little scared of taking that leap!

Aww thanks Steph, I peak and I trough! When I'm high I'm very high, when I'm low, I'm very low. The blog doesn't actually reflect such inconsistency. Above all things though, I do seem to endure!

Ropi they're quotes from a page I Googled. They just fit the story well. Perhaps your just soft spoken and shy.

Wendy, I think you've hit the nail on the head. I mean I also say I'm not racist but I think there's a little racism in us all as well!

Jay . .at the time, I had a two year old and a four year old and was suffering from Yummy Mummy neglect whilst Ray worked his bum off. I was less than shall we say understanding? I do regret it now. I loved him very much and should have told him more often. I've never married because well (nobody asked me) and he has been a hard act to follow.

Thank you Christopher, wonderful imagery! Just don't tell her that it 'looks big in that!'

Ces that you are! You're a delight. Your only fault is being a Republican but I won't hold that against you - ever! Mwuahahahahah!

Yep, it sucked Ronda but I ended up with a fantastic job after that and guess what? The department folded and I took a voluntary redundancy rather than go to Canberra! Enjoyed a nice trip with my daughter and still regularly have lunch with my workmates from that position. Loved it.

River, that is truly wonderful. I don't have a lot of friends, I prefer the company of my kids and dog frankly but the ones I do have I treasure. I do however have a whole bunch of acquaintances who are much wealthier than I and am very intimidated because I can't afford to join them for a week on a Greek Island or send my kids to private school, or go out for dinner twice a week. They're not bad people, quite the contrary but they live in a different world to me.

Thank you everyone. I loved the comments on this and you were very generous with your praise. Trust me I am most ordinary with a few little extraordinary attributes. I appreciate your comments very much.