"The bow is bent, the arrow flies, The winged shaft of fate." (Aldridge)

...I wonder how many of you out there remembered that yesterday, March 15th was the "Ides of March"--the ides that you were supposed to beware of. Reason for that is that on March 15, 44BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated. (The meaning of "Ides" is the 15th day of March, May, July, or October or the 13th day of the other months in the ancient Roman calendar.) It was foolish of Caesar to go to the Capitol on that day because he was warned about it by some old guy who professed to be able to see into the future. Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, also pleaded with him not to go. You should listen to your wife, Rhoda tells me. It's about the same with Lincoln; he ought not to have gone to the Ford's Theatre to see... what play? Was it worth it? Did his killer even have a ticket? And Kennedy should not have gone to Texas on that fateful day. HIs assassination brought tears to a whole nation. His brother Bobby should have stayed home and not gone into that kitchen; and the Reverend King should have avoided that balcony. What was he doing in that Motel 6 anyway? A sad thing is that Caesar's best pal, Brutus was in on the dastardly plot, and when he stabbed Julius, it was reported that he spoke in Latin saying "Et tu, Brute?" There should be a cedilla over the "e" in Brute so it's pronounced, "Brutay". But as it is, it was a brutish act. That's five great men who have had their lives and careers shortened too suddenly. There was some other United State's president who was assassinated, but I haven't the time too go googling for his name. (I'm sure my son, Joel will come up with it--he loves pulling my chain.)

I suppose it's a good idea to at least try to avoid your fate...you know "...the moving finger writes, etcetera, etcetera..." So in case that lightning will not strike twice, I would if I were you, stay out of Rome, Dallas, theatres, kitchens, and motels. This warning, like Caesar's comes from an old man--namely me. I admit it. But I'm not necessarily an advocate of determinism, that is the philosophical concept that your future is "determined" by a long chain of events in your past and your present. This concept is dealt with by a list of philosophers, each of whom defined determinism in their own way--particularly Baruch Spinoza, David Hume, Omar Khayyam, and Arthur Schopenhauer. So then, it seems that an individual does have some control over what his future will be. Our actions are determined by how our past has been deeply embedded in our minds. And then there is "fatalism"--meaning that our future has already been decided, we have no control over it, and it cannot be changed. Oh, well, Que sera, sera.