An adage to chase away the blues

As a writer one of my most important possessions is my New World College Dictionary along with it’s companion Roget’s Thesaurus Book of Synonyms and Antonyms. Attending Youngstown College (Youngstown State University), books played a big part in my life. The word “adage” has been a key word during my nonagenarian lifetime. Looking it up in the dictionary, quote, “an old saying that has been popularly accepted as a truth.”

The following powerful quotation has been attributed to Theodore Roosevelt and has positively affected my life for the past half century: “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered with failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory not defeat.” This quotation has served as my energizer Dr Pepper upper, when I am feeling blue.

I have a daily dose of our Valley’s elite caregivers who goad me on to keep on going. They are Kelly, Marcia and Mary (independent caregivers) and Brenda, Brittany and Sandy (Shepherd of the Valley). When I complain about not being wealthy, caregiver Mary reminds me, “Your fame is your fortune.” Eldest grandson Michael Krieger, reminds me that I will be leaving my four grandchildren, “a legacy of wisdom, not money.”

Other sayings that have influenced my life are “Action speaks louder than words,” “Don’t let your emotions overrule your good judgment,” and finally, I want to add my own saying, “Shake hands like you mean it with a firm grip not with a dead fish grip.”

As a survivor of the Great Depression and combat in World War II, I should be thankful to be alive. I have had many moments of victory, but also my share of defeats.

Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree and member of the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.