Jack London

When I was a kid, Mom & Dad used to read books to me before bedtime. The "Little House on the Prairie" series, the Danny Orlis series, and Jack London's "Call of the Wild", "White Fang", etc. are some that I remember. (On an interesting (to us) side note, I've learned that my Mom isn't the only one who can't read a book out loud without losing her voice. I can talk out loud as much as I need to, but when I start reading out loud, my throat starts hurting and I get all raspy and hoarse after awhile. Does that make any sense? NO. And yet it happens to both of us.) Anyway, Jack London is some pretty deep material for a little kid, but I remember sitting on the couch listening to stories of the frozen tundra and the wild wolves.

I like the below quote by Jack London even though personally I'm in no danger of "flaming out hard" early on. I wouldn't care to be dust or a sleepy planet either, of course, but there is a middle ground. Today was full of household chores, answering phone calls and emails and hand-writing thank you notes and running Kaylee around. That may not fit his definition of 'spark', but I'll bet he had days of chores and work as well. And then there are other days, where you get to try new things, have adventures, learn, grow, feel fierce, and come home exhausted. Those are the days that keep the spark burning, neither ash nor dust. :)

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"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time."
~Winston Churchill

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time ...."
~Jack London

p.s. Jack London got his wish, sort of. He was dead by age 40 of kidney failure of "unknown origins" after having pirated for oysters, serving on a fish patrol to catch poachers, sailing the Pacific on a sealing ship, joining an army of unemployed "working men", and hoboeing around the country, by age 19. The last half of his life he went to high school then the Yukon then became a successful novelist, married twice, once for "breeding" and the second time for love. Quite a path he lived.