<p>In this week’s essay, John discusses Mothers’s Day, playing tennis with the Attorney General, medical scares, and more.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notebook Entries:</strong></p><p>Notebook 19, page 16. April 2011</p><p><em>Is it possible, through applied thought, to become systematic in an approach to life? If you were to do that how would you proceed? </em></p><br><p>Notebook 16, page 6. July 26, 2005</p><p><em>“I’m here with a bunch of midshipmen and wondering what there is to do around here.” - Boy trying to hit on a girl working @ The Reef in Castine, ME.</em></p><br><p>Notebook 15, page 30. September 2004</p><p><em>Head problems:</em></p><p><em>Sunday 9/5 morning</em></p><p><em>Tuesday 9/7 evening</em></p><p><em>Wednesday 9/8 before lunch</em></p><br><p>Notebook 22, page 22. April 24, 2014</p><p><em>Question: </em></p><p><em>What did you want to be when you were a kid? </em></p><ul><li><em>What do you want to be now?</em></li><li><em>Why the difference?</em></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Notebook 9. 1995</p><p><em>“That’s just the ticket the doctor ordered”</em></p><br><p>Notebook 13. 2001</p><p><em>“Free as a clam”</em></p><br><p>Notebook 17, page 67. December 2006</p><p><em>The man sitting next to me has a face on the boil and garlic and old booze on his breath. When he sleeps, he sighs. For this leg of the flight I am wrapped in his breathy gumbo.</em></p><br><p>Notebook 15, page 7. April 2004</p><p><em>“In all these there are messages for those who use their reason.” - Quran quotation</em></p><br><p>Notebook 15, page 80. 2005</p><p><em>Would like to meet her.</em></p><br><p>Notebook 54. July 26, 2020</p><p><em>“Writing requires a reader. You can’t do it alone.” - John Cheever</em></p><br><p>Notebook 15, page 71. 2005</p><p><em>In the light of sobriety not sure what this means</em></p><br><p>Notebook 13. March 2001</p><p><em>Yesterday I played tennis with John Ashcroft the atty. general of the U.S.</em></p><br><p>Notebook 13, page 108. December 11, 2001</p><p><em>Anne just called. There is one little heartbeat beating in her today. Everything is okay for this hurdle. I must say, I was really worried.</em></p><br><p>Notebook 20, page 10. December 24, 2013</p><p><em>“Sometimes Dad says weird stuff, just ignore him” - Anne to kids about me</em></p><br><p>Notebook 15, page 84.</p><p><em>“Life goes on,” Hayawi says. “We are in the middle of a war [in Iraq] and we still smoke the water pipe.”</em></p><br><p>Notebook 45, page 24. April 16, 2019</p><p><em>Our savior lives by the manner in which we live.</em></p><br><p>Notebook 19, page 23. 2011</p><p><em>People on their mobile phones in England say goodbye a lot: “Cheers, alright then, speak to you soon, ta.” (That’s four ways of saying goodbye). Amelia tells the story of a man who thanked a ticket-taker by saying “Ta, magical, cheers.”</em></p><br><p><strong>References:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2000/december/disaster-penobscot">Disaster on the Penobscot</a> - John Henry Fay for <em>Naval History Magazine</em></p><p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10813.One_Man_s_Meat"><em>One Man’s Meat</em></a> by E.B. White</p><p><a href="https://newengland.com/living/homes/eb-white-house-allen-cove/">The House at Allen Cove I E.B. White House Tou</a>r - <em>New England Magazine</em></p><p><a href="https://www.righteousbabe.com/products/little-plastic-castle-25th-anniversary-edition">Little Plastic Castle</a> - Ani Defranco</p><p>“<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2005/03/20/two-years-of-war-taking-stock/4732da82-6a9e-49ad-8c65-17d037ca03fa/">Two Years of War: Taking Stock</a>” - Anthony Shadid for the <em>Washington Post</em></p><br><p>Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit<a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=audio&amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;utm_content=Navel_Gazing&amp;utm_source=podcast"> slate.com/navelgazingplus</a> to get access wherever you listen.</p><p> </p><p>Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.</p><p>Email us at [email protected]</p><p> </p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>