Ashleigh: Jewish Philosopher

Years ago my family discovered Ashleigh Brilliant's "Pot Shot cards" which he eventually published in book form. When son Jeff, Ted and I shared an office in Houston, we put those books on the waiting room table. From our offices we could hear people chuckling and guffawing while they waited their turn to come in for counseling, affording us with a slight hope that maybe the counselee would come through our office door with a smile on their face instead of a scowl.

Ashleigh was a professor at Stanford University for many years. One day he got sick of listening to his own droning voice and decided there had to be a way to make a living that was more fun.   ...so he moved to Santa Barbara, walked the beaches, smelled the ocean, and let his mind sift through conclusions he had drawn over the years about life.  Surely there could be a way to financially benefit from a lifetime of philosophizing, he thought.  His pragmatic, pithy Jewishness kicked in and he began to condense his thoughts into seventeen words or less, then sketched a picture that illustrated his point. Next he submitted a few cards to a publisher and to his delight,  he was on his way to enjoying the end of his life by walking along the beautiful coastal beaches ... and thinking. What a concept!

One time I called Ashleigh to obtain permission to use a couple of his sayings on a brochure Ted and I needed for something or other.  A woman's voice came on the line and stated, "Hello, this is Mrs. Ashleigh Brilliant!"  Surprised, I responded:  "I didn't know there is a Mrs. Ashleigh Brilliant" to which she replied: "Who do you think does all the work?" 

I have shot my wad, so to speak, and need a break this summer to fill up my think tank...but, as Ashleigh says: "I don't want to go hunting for more knowledge. I want it to come and grab me!"  So many of you have pressed on me to write a book. I don't wanna, and here's a "Brilliant" reason: "More books have resulted from somebody's need to write than anybody's need to read."  Corralling my thoughts for this blog on a Saturday morning stirs my creative juices quite enough. ...I think. Since "There is nothing new under the sun", what could I say that hasn't already been said in every language known to man? ...but I'm thinking. ...and praying. ...and writing if and when the Spirit moves me. Nobody needs another autobiography, it seems to me, but maybe, just maybe I can leave some tools for teaching about absolutes to a generation that doesn't know there are any!

Two years ago yesterday morning, second son Jeff whom I thought was in his office in Sacramento, walked into my bedroom announcing in a broken voice: "Mom, Doug died in the night." I will never, ever get over the shock of those terrible words. Jeff had sped the five plus hours down the highway to be with the family and together they decided to wait until morning to tell me that my son Doug was gone from this earth. We had known but two weeks that the cancer had probably been in Doug's body for several years. That night, it hit the only vital organ left to hit: his heart. ...and he was taken immediately to Heaven. He died on the floor of his own living room, curled up in the fetal position from the piercing pain. Eleven months before, he had been with his dad when Ted took his last breath and entered Heaven.  I will never recover from losing both of my men so close together. Thank you for your graciousness in letting me tell you, once more, about the agony that simply will not go away.

This Ashleigh'ism helps:   "What keeps me going is the thought that somewhere ahead is the next time I'll see you." 

Summer agenda: 1) some much needed exercise  (walking and water aerobics) to shed the poundage that glued itself to me while the snow was flying and my body was yelling at me:  "Don't make me go out there!" 2) a couple of Gospel sing-alongs on my front deck or under the family oak up on the hill; 3) boning up on escatology in Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation or wherever "things to come" show up in scripture; 4) enjoying not teaching three consecutive days in a row; 5) finding my kitchen again and actually cooking; 5) and I don't know what else.

Titles of some of Ashley's books: (Available through Woodbridge Press)

"All I Want is a Warm bed and a Kind Word and Unlimited Power"
"Appreciate Me Now and Avoid the Rush"
"We've Been Through So Much Together and Most of It Was Your Fault."
"I Have Abandoned My Search for Truth and Am Now Looking for a Good Fantasy"
"I Feel Much Better Now That I've Given Up Hope"
"I Want to Reach Your Mind. Where Is It Currently Located?"
"I Have Nothing Definite to Apologize For: I'm Just Sorry About Everything in General"
"I Try to Take One Day At a Time But Sometimes Several Days Attack Me At Once"
"Be a Good Neighbor, and Leave Me Alone."
...and this was Ted's favorite: "I May Not be Totally Perfect but Parts of Me Are Excellent!"
He sent to Ashleigh for a T shirt with that phrase printed on the front of it. He and Daughter Dee were in Disneyland together and some kid asked Ted: "O.K., what parts are 'excellent' ?" Ted put his arm around our daughter, and replied, "This part is 'excellent'! " ...and she is!

Verses for today:  Psalm 73:25, 26
Whom have I in Heaven but You?
I desire You more than anything on earth
My health will fail and my spirit will grow weak
but God remains the strength of my heart.
He is mine forever.

Love,

Jo