By Richard K Munro

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship

That’s certainly is my motto FOR THE GOOD LIFE.

And this shall be for music when no one else is near
The fine song for singing, the rare song to hear!
That only I remember, that only you admire
Of the broad road that stretches and the roadside fire!

(R L STEVENSON)

***

O I had ance a true love, now I hae nane ava;
And I had three braw brithers, but I hae tint them a’.
My father and my mither sleep i’ the mools this day –
I sit my lane amang the rigs, aboon sweet Rothesay Bay.

It’s a bonnie bay at morning, and bonnier at noon,
But bonniest when the sun draps and red comes up the moon.
When the mist creeps o’er the Cumbraes and Arran peaks are gray,
And the great black hills, like sleeping kings, sit grand roun’ Rothesay Bay.

Then a bit sigh stirs my bosom, and wee tear blin’s my e’e,
And I think of that far countrie wha I wad like to be.
But I rise content i’ the morning to wark while I may –
I’ the yellow har’st field of Ardbeg, aboon sweet Rothesay Bay.

This old Scottish song, which I have known for most of my life, reminds us there is beauty in this world but also sadness, loneliness, loss, and separation.  But we should rise content each morning to work and study while we may and if we have lost loves and homelands we should be grateful that we have known friendship and love.

 I have a chance for a long life. 

Already I am grateful for the years I have lived (mostly in good health). I am 68 years old and older than many people I worked with, studied with or loved. I have known people who died in their teens, in their twenties, in their thirties in their forties, in their fifties, and in their early sixties.  I once saw a Sea Knight Helicopter fly away and cursed the fact I was not on it. It hit bad weather and crashed about 15 minutes later 23 Marines were killed including some people I knew. Our company commander canceled our trip and we had to march more than 20 miles back to camp in bad weather. Sometimes as Auld Pop used to say your number is up.

One lesson I have learned in life is that the body is a fragile vessel and that we are all mortal. Every day of good health is a gift.  I think being married has kept me reasonably happy and healthy. Choosing a good spouse is one of the most important decisions one can make for one’s happiness and health. I have been married for almost forty-two years to my best friend of the last fifty years. John Joseph Powell in The SECRET OF STAYING IN LOVE wrote: “It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” 

Yes, no one can know true happiness unless they know the love of a husband and wife or of a child. I know when I first saw my grandchildren it was love at first sight! I do believe in enthusiasms and love at first sight.

Yes, no one can know true happiness unless they know the love of a husband and wife or of a child. I know when I first saw my grandchildren it was love at first sight!  I was happy the day I was married -but not as happy as my parents I think and I was happy when our children were born -a very special gift for which I am eternally grateful- but there is no joy like the surprise or extra-inning gift of grandchildren.    Children mean sacrifice and a lot of hard work but they pay dividends a hundred times over.  Hugh Heffner with his multitudinous and mostly sterile dud in the mud sex was really a chump, not a champion.   He thought he knew what life was but wasted most of his life in hedonistic trivialities. He thought he knew what love was but he knew only a fraction of the Four Loves.

To be happy one has to be in reasonable health. One has to have something to do with your time. So it is important to have hobbies and intellectual interests and a few good friends.  One should be loved and have someone to love, have a roof over your head, some soup at the boil, some tasty food to eat,  One needs plenty of water to drink and wash, One thing l learned is that one can go days even weeks of light eating but one cannot go very long without water. So water is my favorite beverage!

To be happy one has to have some dreams and something to hope for. Many of my personal dreams are unrealized but I had fun trying to achieve those dreams. I hiked many mountains I climbed many ruins in Sicily, Crete, Madeira, in Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Greece and Italy. I kissed a few pretty girls and they kissed me back. I have gone deep sea fishing in the Atlantic and Pacific.  I played a lot of baseball and became in the words of a local athlete “decent”. I served honorably in the Marine Corps. I have published a few articles and one-act plays but never have written (a published book). I have written (privately) three volumes of essays and personal recollections that my daughter published. They are primarily for my grandchildren. I have taught many classes in history, literature, and languages and helped many students. I have coached sports teams and seen great athletes at play. All of our children and grandchildren are bilingual and were or are being raised as native speakers of Spanish and English. 

I love monumental public memorials and sculptures though  Shakespeare sang in the Sonnets of the immortality of literature:

“Not marble nor the gilded monuments

Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme,

But you shall shine more bright in these contents

Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time.”

When I visit the cemetery or war memorials, I walk past hundreds or even thousands of names that represent life stories now silenced forever.  

Oh, they are the Silent Ones. May the many monuments that abound around the globe to those who have fought to protect our freedom and national independence remind us of duty,  the cardinal virtue of courage,  the inestimable value of valor, the honor evoked by such sacrifice!

Look at and contemplate {those}

” names …inscribed on the parchment of fame;

Heroes whose seeds were a noble example

That others might follow and honour thy name.”

I know that recorded history holds the adventures of a few who managed to be inscribed in the parchment of fame.   

I have never thought I needed to live a life worthy of being recorded. 

I never really sought fame or wealth but contentment and the quiet and security of a nice house and library. ] I enjoy quiet cafes, quiet rivers, quiet museums, and quiet walks in the park or in a forest.   I have always wanted to live an honorable life of service to my school, my country,  my family, and my God. “non mihi non tibi sed nobis as the Romans said, “not for me alone nor for thee all but for the common good of all.” 

I knew all about the world of books.  For most of my life, they were my biggest adventure.  Books could take you into a better world.  A world where there were fine songs for singing, moving laments, sports heroes, romance, adventures, tragedies, military adventures, explorations, mysteries, prayers, legends, and yes, even magic.  Of course,  the articles, stories, songs, and books ended eventually. Then you had to go back to being yourself. 

So in the final analysis bookish adventures are not enough.    A man craves the freedom to see places and do things. And when you are old you can look back and remember.   This is one of the reasons I enlisted in the Marine Corps , worked in construction as a laborer (I helped build Bill Gate’s home in Bothwell, Washington), and why I lived and traveled in Latin America, Spain, and Europe as much as I could.  I knew my time, my health, my freedom, and my financial independence were limited.  My father always said, “You have to take chances in life.  The door of opportunity opens and then closes.  If you don’t move ahead when you have the chance you can lose out forever. You have to decide if it is worth taking the chance.”

I realize I am the biggest threat to my emotional, financial, and physical health.

So what do I do? 

Number one I have a wife, children, life insurance, some savings, and some property.  I am not a doomsday prepper by any means but I believe in having emergency food, water, and medicine just in case of some natural catastrophe. I have a solar crank radio, a solar charger, flashlights, batteries, candles. a first aid kit, an emergency stove, extra medicine, and spare glasses. That is not excessive. If one wants to have a long life one must be prepared to take care of oneself in case of an accident or an emergency.

One thing I hope is that I do not outlive my wife, my children, or my grandchildren. I hope I live long enough so that my grandchildren have memories of me and get to know and love me. That is an important goal in my life. I look forward with joy to every spring. I love the birds who come to visit and feed in our garden. I love the plants and flowers that bloom. 

I do a lot of serious reading (classics, non-fiction, biography) but I enjoy lighter fare such as adventure tales, mysteries and westerns. I enjoy reading jokes and joke books.

I love reading about baseball and listening to games (chiefly) via MLB at Bat. I listen to games in Spanish and English. I first listened to baseball games in Spanish in the 1970s and it helped develop my Spanish. 

Otherwise, I don’t spend a lot of time on spectator sports. I glance at the newspaper but that’s about it. Most of the time I am happy to read about the final score.

I try to set time aside for PHYSICAL EXERCISE and JOY ( I try to walk daily in the park and clean the pool and garden). When the weather is good I swim once or twice a day. I love reading and listening to classical music so I have CD’s and a nice BOSE player, plus SPOTIFY plus ITUNES for my phone. 

I love to read the papers -The Wall Street Journal and our local paper every morning or Commentary magazine. I listen to LONDON TIMES radio reports as well as the Daily Telegraph and some Israeli news as well.

I spend some time on PERSONAL GROWTH. I love studying languages and spend about 2-3 hours a day studying new languages and reading ones I know. I have taken up a new hobby! Drawing. I always have drawn a little bit in my language studies but I have decided I can improve the quality of my notebooks! I enjoy singing or humming songs. I enjoy reciting poetry by heart just for fun. I also set aside time for relaxation. If I am tired or have a headache I rest and have some tea with lemon, Splenda or honey. I make a thermos of it to sip all afternoon. 

I love doing FACETIME with our grandchildren it is so wonderful to talk to them and see them so full of joy and happiness. It feels good to hear them say “YAYO, WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO VISIT?” 

I enjoy phone conversations with a few friends but am not really a phone person. I have to plan to call someone. Basically, I think calling can be an intrusion. And I know some people don’t like long or serious conversations. So my conversations with books are more satisfying than most phone chit-chatting.  But I call people who call me. People who don’t call me or write to me I pray for but don’t worry about. It’s sad when old friends drift away but the truth that’s life.

So I prefer to write on my blog,The Spirit of Cecilia or THE GILBERT HIGHET SOCIETY on FB or email people. I text some family and friends and share book titles via Audible.

I try to be moderate in what I eat and drink (I primarily drink water coffee and tea). I have a physical once or twice a year and take my medicines. 

I know that if one is to enjoy a LONG LIFE one has to do what one can to stay as healthy as possible. Then the chances for a happy long life are better. 

As a young man and in middle age I traveled a lot so I am happy that I had that experience. But now I really have lost my wanderlust. I only want to travel to visit our grandchildren. Most days I am at home, on the porch, in the garden, in my library, in the TV room , or listening to podcasts or books on tape in bed. My wife and I enjoy JEOPARDY and British mysteries and shows on Masterpiece Theater. I don’t drive very much anymore perhaps once a month or less!  I spend some time on Twitter (X) and Facebook and check my email at least every other day. I enjoy corresponding with people in Italy, Scotland, Israel , and throughout the English-speaking world.

I have always had the Munro motto in mind which is Dread God (and obey his commandments because that is the whole duty of man).  BIODH EAGAL DHE OIRRE in Gaelic or Reverence you unto God.      It is a very ancient motto and reminds us that Munro is a Christian name -it means the descendant of the Men of the Halo River the Roe (the Saint’s River) a place name in Ireland. That is probably the first Bible quote I ever knew and I heard it at least from 1959. I think It helps to have God and a little religion in your life. But that’s just my opinion. People should have freedom of conscience and choose their own paths. The only thing I go do is set a good example and invite people to consider the Good Life as I see it and seek it.

An ancient motto I have known since at least 1960 is NE OBLIVISCARIS  do not forget.  This was the Regimental motto of my grandfather’s old Regiment 1914-1919, the Thin Red Line of Heroes (The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)  At Balaklava in the Crimean War, the Argylls were called the Gaelic Rock.  If they had failed the entire British and Allied army may have been destroyed but they calmly spread out in a thin line of two, fixed bayonets and fired aimed volley after volley from their Enfield Rifles.  Their commander Sir Colin Campbell said, “Lads, we have to stop them or fall in the effort.”  The Argylls near him said to him laconically, “Aye,  we’ll stand until you give the order.”  The war correspondents who were present were astonished at their discipline and cool courage.    The Thin Red Line of Heroes became a symbol of the courage and professionalism of the British Army but especially the Scottish Highland Regiments. Many of my ancestors served in Highland Regiments.

And of course, I am a loyal man so SEMPER FIDELIS (always faithful) is a motto also. This is the motto of the US Marine Corps.

Another motto is CUIMHNICH AIR NA DAOINE BHON TAINIG TUSA  (REMEMBER THE PEOPLE YOU CAME FROM). 

I believe marriage is a sacrament and I have always been loyal to my wife and family putting their security and happiness above everything else.   

I face firmly towards the future but never forget the past.  I know in a long journey some things have to be left behind. 

I only wish for my granddaughters and future grandchildren that they will have strong faith, good values, a good education, and the warmth and security of a good family.

For that is the duty of a good man, a good father, and a good husband. If you live a good life you will want to live a long life and I think you have a better chance for achieving a long life.