By MONTE DUTTON

Merry Christmas. After the sleepless childress have experienced the wonder of the glittering tree and the presents scattered around it, let us find time to contemplate the soul of our being, where we are and where we are going.
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” – Abraham Lincoln

“Every mile or so, a sign proclaimed that Christ was coming soon, and I thought, well, man, He’d sure be disappointed if He did.” – Tom T. Hall, “Trip to Hyden”
“My best teacher is my last mistake.” – Emmylou Harris
“If we can make it through December, everything’s gonna be all right, I know.” – Merle Haggard
“You have the right to your own opinion. You do not have the right to your own facts.” – Daniel Patrick Moynihan

“Pancho needs your prayers, it’s true, but save a few for Lefty, too. Only did what he had to do, and now he’s growing old.” – Townes Van Zandt
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” – Paul Harvey

“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.” – Bob Hope
“And the day grew heavy with thunder and the smell of the rain on the wind. Ain’t it just like a human? Here comes that rainbow again.” – Kris Kristofferson

“Writing is a form of herding. I herd words into little paragraph-like clusters.” – Larry McMurtry
“All war is an example of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” – John Steinbeck
“Blow up your TV. Throw away the papers. Go out to the country and build you a home. Plant a little garden. Eat a lot of peaches. Go out and find Jesus on your own.” – John Prine

“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” – Mark Twain

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
“We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers—but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change you’re the one who has got to change.” – Katharine Hepburn

“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” – Adlai Stevenson
“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” – Robert F. Kennedy
“A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others.” – Jimmy Carter
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

“Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.” – Kinky Friedman
“Once the inspiration comes, that directs where the perspiration goes.” – Carole King
“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.” – Bob Dylan

“No one had ever told me that whites were supposed to sing one kind of music and blacks another. I sang what I liked in the only voice I had.” – Charley Pride
“The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change.” – Bob Kerrey
“Often I pretended to a cameraman to know less than I did. That way I got more cooperation.” – Ida Lupino
“Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.” – William Jennings Bryan

“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant
“The best tunes are songs with a face. You recognize them. You know them. It’s like a person. They have a face that’s outstanding. Other songs don’t have a face. You just hear them, that’s all. The really good ones are few and far between.” – Cindy Walker
“My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.” – Cary Grant

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.” – Harriet Tubman
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“Life is hard no matter where you go. It’s a tortured path, tough row to hoe. When the wheels spin, got a heavy load, hoping I can get to the paved road.”

Wellpilgrim.com is adjusting to the winter chill.
Times are changing. I am aware of how irrelevant what I do for a living has become and thus how unimportant my efforts are. The readers appreciate them, but there aren’t enough of them. I doubt there ever will be again.
It’s what I do. It’s what I know.

Support the advertisers. They are all fine people who want their businesses associated with honest coverage of local sports.
In the off chance you’d like to read my novels and other books, they’re available on Amazon and many prominent bookseller sites.
You can read them on your phones and other devices for a modest cost. I make a bit more if you purchase the actual books, but what I mainly want is for folks to read them.
The Latter Days is a baseball novel about a former player and manager, Clyde Kinlaw, trying to prove the game hasn’t passed him by. His proof is a raw talent named Taiquan Wattson.
Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.
Thanks for putting up with me.