Whit and wisdom from the Sage of San Quentin

If you have followed the last two blogs you will understand that William A. Hightower is an amazing character; fascinating and intriguing.  What he did to keep himself going in those many years in prison is a story within a story and so much more.  For today's entry I would like to share some of his whit and wisdom from the A section of his collections.  His double meanings and colorful metaphors are entertaining and enlightening.  For those who knew him, they will sound familiar and bring a smile to ones face. So here goes. Think of a man typing on an old Smith Corona, with letter tabs so worn he has made new ones out of paper being stuck to the key with chewed gum. He is sitting in his cell that has a width from about the fingertips on his left hand to the fingertips on his right hand. And his mind is going at warp speed.


A
Actions - If you're shocked by the charge that your ancestors were apes,
               Why not try to act like they must have been angels?

Activity - Life is a loan and the Lord expects interest.

Advancement - Men should cease to copy all the things they can surpass.

Adversity - Adversity is the enemy that separates our friends from our acquaintances.

Advertisements - Advertisements cause fools to rush in where Angels fear to trade.

Age - After we become old enough to look after ourselves,
          It isn't long until we become to old to look after ourselves.

Ambition - If we should shorten our longings, would we lengthen our lives?

                 Ambition is the eternal try angle.

Amnesia - Amnesia is a blow to the knows.

Ancestors - Are we the  proper answer to the hopes of our ancestors?

Anger - Anger afflicts the head, but affects the feat

             Anger is an indication that passion has compelled the abdication of reason.

Antique - Antique is an old made.

Apathy - Apathy is a block of would

Appreciation - A "thank you" is one of the small coins of courtesy that a gentleman can always find in his purse of appreciation.

                       Even worse than not getting anything we want, is getting everything we want only to find we don't want it.

Art - The prettiest part of a painting does not lie in lines, colors, contours, faces or figures that are visibly portrayed - but lie in the mental or spiritual reflections invited from those who view it.

         Not only do the ladies know how to paint themselves, they also know how to draw men.


And certainly last but not least for this round of Hightowerism's from the Sage. . .

Atheism - Atheism is a kind of intellectual eddy where an unprogressive few are clinging to the denominational driftwood of long ago.

                Destroying the feeble light of faith does nothing better than increase the darkness!


  This from a man locked in a prison on circumstantial evidence for 42 years.   He entered when cars were still young, the 20's were just at the meow stage instead of roaring, and the belief that man could some day go into outer space was nonsense and scientifically impossible.
   In the coming days we will share more of the story and times of the Sage of San Quentin.

Genelle