Gabriel's Goodbye

MrMaelstrom · 03-17-2005, 03:26 AM

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the man who wrote "100 Years Of Solitude" amongst many other novels, is dying of cancer.

This is alledgedly his last message mailed to his friends.
It's being passed through the whole of the latin speaking world.
I believe anglophones should benefit from these words as well, so here goes:

"If for an instant God forgot that I'm but a ragdoll and offered me a little more life, I wouldn't say everything I think, but I'd think everything I say.
I'd value things, not for what they're worth, but for what they mean.
I'd sleep little, I'd dream more.
I think that every minute we close our eyes, we miss on 60 seconds of light.
I'd walk when others stop, I'd wake when others sleep.
I'd listen when people speak, and I'd enjoy a good chocolate ice-cream!
If God offered me a little more life, I'd dress in a simple fashion, exposing not only my body, but baring my soul for all to see.
Dear God, if I had a heart, I'd write my hatred on ice and wait for the sunrise.
I'd paint a dream of Van Gogh's about the stars of a Benedetti poem and a song by Serrat would be my serenade to the Moon.
I'd water the roses with my tears to feel the pain of its thorns and the red kiss of its petals...
Dear God, If I had a little more life...I wouldn't let a day go by without telling the people I love how much I love them.
I'd tell every man and every woman that they're my favourite and I'd live in love with love.
To men, I'd show them they're wrong to think they stop falling in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love!
To a child, I'd give wings, but she'd have to learn to fly alone. To old men, I'd teach that death doesn't come with time, but with forgetfulness.
So many things I've learnt from you men...
I learnt that the whole world wants to live on top of the mountain, not knowing that true happiness resides in the climb.
I learnt that when a newborn baby holds his/her fathers finger with his/her tiny hand, It holds it for eternity.
I learnt that a man is only entitled to look down on another when he is helping him up.
Many are the things I've learnt from you, but they won't be much use, for when you put me away in a briefcase somewhere, I'll unfortunately be dying..."

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

Nike · 03-17-2005, 03:29 AM

thanks for posting that!

MrMaelstrom · 03-17-2005, 03:41 AM

Anytime baby, anytime...

The translation sucks somewhat, but the significance of the words can be rendered and textured by imaginitive minds, in spite of the elitist vocabulary used

Suiside_Kitty · 03-17-2005, 04:36 AM

that is quite beautiful. i thank you for posting that, aswell, Mael.

MrMaelstrom · 03-17-2005, 12:52 PM

You're welcome, my dear.

Disfunction · 03-17-2005, 08:36 PM

I'll do anything to get away from the politics forum... Including leave Gothic.net for periods of time, only looking for good posts to read... This one drew me in... I read Chronicle of a Death Foretold no more than a month ago, as well as the Handsomest Drowned Man in the World... The man is an amazing writer... It is sad to hear of his plight, but yet his words are welcome. I don't know, nearly anything I could say right now could sound pretentious or forced, but I'm glad you posted it. It's something I think everyone should consider even if they will just end up forgetting.

TeapotScar · 03-17-2005, 09:46 PM

Thank you, Mael. I needed that reminder, as I'm sure many of us did.

drgnlvr · 03-17-2005, 11:55 PM

That was beautiful, Mael. I appreciate the reminder, too!

AlKilyu · 03-18-2005, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disfunction

I'll do anything to get away from the politics forum... Including leave Gothic.net for periods of time.

Where does it say you have to visit the Politics forum? That's like getting mad at Fox News so you shut off your TV and avoid the room it's in. :roll:

Solumina · 03-18-2005, 04:45 PM

Mael thank you so much for posting such a beautiful message, it really serves to put life in perspective

Disfunction · 03-18-2005, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlKilyu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disfunction

I'll do anything to get away from the politics forum... Including leave Gothic.net for periods of time.

Where does it say you have to visit the Politics forum? That's like getting mad at Fox News so you shut off your TV and avoid the room it's in. :roll:

It's mostly a matter of the fact that it's the fastest growing forum on Gothic.net.... and every bit of it seeming trivial. If I see a good post, I'll log on; I just won't be logging in very often. Tis all.

AlKilyu · 03-19-2005, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disfunction

It's mostly a matter of the fact that it's the fastest growing forum on Gothic.net.... and every bit of it seeming trivial. If I see a good post, I'll log on; I just won't be logging in very often. Tis all.

...?

Again, there are many sections, Politics, Music, TV, etc, and you don't have to look at every single one. That still makes no sense.

Neither does using a thread dedicated to a man's passing to tell people that.

Disfunction · 03-19-2005, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlKilyu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disfunction

It's mostly a matter of the fact that it's the fastest growing forum on Gothic.net.... and every bit of it seeming trivial. If I see a good post, I'll log on; I just won't be logging in very often. Tis all.

...?

Again, there are many sections, Politics, Music, TV, etc, and you don't have to look at every single one. That still makes no sense.

Neither does using a thread dedicated to a man's passing to tell people that.

I was getting tired of signing on each day and seeing a petty squabble about irrelevant matters, so I left for a bit. Then I saw this thread and decided to read it, and it made me feel like commenting. I wasn't using this thread to talk about how the politics forum was making me want to leave, I was using this thread to talk about how this man's words made me wish to stay. If that doesn't make sense to you, I, quite frankly, don't give a shit, because it sure as hell makes sense to me.

AlKilyu · 03-20-2005, 01:22 AM

Again, the Politics forum is but one of many different choices on this board. No one and nothing forces you to go there.

I mean if you want to leave do so, just don't pull a Gypsy and use the opportunity to take a shot at the Politics, or any other part of this board.

Disfunction · 03-20-2005, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlKilyu

Again, the Politics forum is but one of many different choices on this board. No one and nothing forces you to go there.

I mean if you want to leave do so, just don't pull a Gypsy and use the opportunity to take a shot at the Politics, or any other part of this board.

No, no one/nothing is forcing me to go there, but it does get tedious when all the topics at left are politics centred. However, this is not the place to discuss that matter. If I were to be leaving, I would say nothing on the matter. I'm saying this post made me want to stay. Now let's stop discussing this matter, at least on this thread.

WolfMoon · 03-23-2005, 12:06 PM

Ah Mael, what can I say?

The sentiment is as beautiful as a first kiss.As tender as holding a newborn.Thank you for bringing tears to an emotional preggos eyes!

:wink:

It is surely a creed to live by if any of you kids don't already.

tekajo · 03-25-2005, 11:09 AM

Thank You Mael for bringing this man's words to my attention.

It's interesting...Monday i was in a small town in the Hill Country of Texas called Marquez, and my life seemed pretty balanced and coming along fairly well...today, i don't have a place to stay anymore (kicked out yesterday) and possibly going to have to drop out of school, again (my only living arrangement is over an hour away)...up until i read this thread i was continually spiralling down into self pity and degradation.

This helped.

Thanks.

-ViN

AlKilyu · 03-25-2005, 11:17 AM

Aw man...tekajo what happened? where are you staying now?

tekajo · 03-25-2005, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlKilyu

Aw man...tekajo what happened? where are you staying now?

aah, just alot of BS. All i can say is "oh well"...i'm at a friend's house right now, she's away for the weekend. i have a cousin in the "city" i might be able to stay with. fuck it, i needed a change of scenery.

MrMaelstrom · 03-25-2005, 01:36 PM

Hang in there, man.

And now for the lame advice: keep swimming... keep swimming....

WolfMoon · 03-25-2005, 02:36 PM

I bet you haven't had to watch that movie as many times as I have!

:roll:

Tek, it can only get better.Just take one day at a time, don't let things overwhelm you or you'll become a blubbering idiot like I am sometimes.

The Truth Is Out There · 09-01-2005, 12:38 PM

Tek I no it sounds contrived and rather cliched but 'things will get betta soon' mark my words they always do.......

MrMaelstrom · 09-01-2005, 12:52 PM

Once again TRUTH, read the FOR THE NEWBIES THREAD in the GENERAL forum and comply. Otherwise, I'll just start deleting your posts, no matter how relevant they might be to the threads.

Ain't that hard, just go ahead and do it...