"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."
Welcome, Apterites, Forumites, Apteforumites, Guests, Apteforumuests, one and all, to yet another installment of the holy blessing from our lord and grace, it is, another episode of Countdown.
Friday saw us take a bewildering adventure with Laurence once more, with an amazingly tense showdown between him and Caro. I think it's Jimmy Dean's saying "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination", that got Laurence through that game.
Today a hurdle as large as the Eiffel Tower could knock Laurence right out of the competition, or a small foetus-dwelling limpet could sit there. Vulnerable. Unable to function. Waiting for the tide, personifying Laurence, to come and sweep them away.
Who knows.
Not us.
The element of surprise has always been a guiding force in this adventure we call life, as Eminem one said, "I say what I want to say and do what I want to do. There's no in between. People will either love you for it or hate you for it."
I suppose, trust is a major factor in deciding the outcome of life.
But in the end, we all end up in the same place.
The sorrowing, raging, eternally burning, pits of the smoky underdwelling we know as hell.
Of course, as Bob Marley once said, "Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold."
I suppose this emphasises the fact that Countdown isn't a game of greed.
We do not fight eachother for the hope of a new mortgage or a new car.
We fight together, in one big world of warcraft quest for wisdom.
And courage.
And redemption.
As Abraham Lincoln famously put it, "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
This is especially true for Countdown, which in fact airs only once a day.
I will leave you now, to do your own bidding.
But just remember.
No matter who wins this game today on this, the 10th November.
We all stand strong, together.
In unison.
I have chosen a final hymn for you to enjoy.
As Bruce Lee sang his hymn, "If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
I chose this quote because plateaus is a pretty good word for Countdown.
Join Andy McGurn later for the recap.
As I believe he does them on Mondays.
Enjoy.
