Louis Roney: As I was saying…

• I’ve done quite a bit of published writing in both the U.S. and Europe during my singing career. Such writing, if nothing else, forms a literary link that is biographical and arranges one’s life in a kind of orderly chronological flow. I must say that I wish I had done such writing more often and kept better track of my travels, interesting people and places I came to know in both the U.S. and Europe, singing dates, professional colleagues, and life in general.

• I recently referred to Aristotle’s “man is a political animal.” I hasten to add that the “animal” reference is not without meaning today but is, in fact, borne out everyday of our lives in the simple brutally of people around this world. Alas, an “animal” still resides in too many human beings.

• “Showing up is 80 percent of life,” said the profound philosopher Woody Allen.

• Put two people together and soon you’ll have a conversation. Put three people together and maybe you’ll have a discussion — even an argument! What inspires intercourse between people is the presence of others. People are both speakers and listeners, and each role is rewarding in its own way. Silence may be “golden,” but is it really interesting?

• Is a geologist required to be “good to a fault?”

• It is so easy to confuse profundity with loquaciousness. Sometimes our sparsest quips pack more of a wallop than our lengthy essays. American writer O. Henry proved that to us many times in his popular short stories.

Shakespeare’s phrase “To be or not to be,” for example, is a brief query which invites perhaps infinite follow-up. I don’t know who said it originally, but I was thinking about this statement: “Enjoy the little things; for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Oh so true! Two of the most important words one may dare to utter are, “I do.” Simple but profound — and even dangerous!

• The first joke I remember hearing as a kid in the 1920s was: “Who was that lady I saw you with last night?” Answer: “That was no lady, that was my wife.”

• Woman to her butcher in the store: “Give me a pound of sole.” Butcher: “I’m out of sole.” Woman: “Then give me a pound of flounder.” Butcher: “Lady, if I had had the flounder I would have given you the sole.”

• As an old Winter Parker dating from my childhood in the 1930s, I am always concerned with the frequent wishes of developers that we build more buildings, more stores, etc. in Winter Park. Everyone seems to be saying, “Keep Winter Park as it is, don’t ruin it.” By the same token, numbers of people find that building in our town would serve their own best interests, and they speak from the other side of their mouths to say they feel that they should be considered as welcome exceptions.

How do our local politicians try to preserve our unique city and at the same time satisfy developers to whom the status quo is anathema?

• Hillary’s FBI investigation goes on and on. But what, if anything, will happen to Queen Hillary? This talk is ever so tiresome — any other person would have either been cleared, or long in the slammer by now.

As long as Hillary can play ping-pong with the law, she will continue to remain visible indefinitely — she’s good at it. Most other politicians with her dubious record would be home baking cookies for their grandchildren. Simultaneously, she has old Bill out on the stump but the gild seems off his lily. As a disgruntled Republican, I admit our guys are not too good at the game, but where else can we turn? Is there any doubt in the public mind that Hillary Clinton is a most untrustworthy public servant? The more the people see of her, the less power she has. And, poor old opponent Bernie Sanders is risible! Smile through your tears.

Did you vote?