We’re inundated with information that ranges from useful to dangerous or inspiring to deflating. It’s a lot to take in and similar in many respects to a lawn in a rainy summer – it just keeps coming. One not only needs to keep up with it but also recognize that there are weeds in that big, beautiful lawn. Here is some information I came across lately.

Useful. I thought I misheard when “a loss of lower limbs” was stated as a side effect in a drug commercial. So I looked it up and confirmed that I heard correctly. The following are the pesky side effects of the drug in question. It suggests you may want to read the fine print on whatever drugs you may be taking: Nausea, dizziness, rash, stomach pain, hunger, urinary infection, sweating, confusion, trouble breathing, tiredness, low blood pressure, high cholesterol, allergic reaction, upper respiratory infection, hypoglycemia, necrotizing fasciitis, and yes, amputation of lower limbs. That’s not good but it’s good to know if the drug happens to be in your medicine chest.

Insightful. A dated interview I came across, Late Night show host, Stephen Colbert, made comments on dealing with loss and suffering. Stephen lost his father and two brothers to a plane crash when he was only ten years old, and naturally, it affected him immensely. Still, he said, “If we are grateful for life, we need to be grateful for all of it. Having suffered helps one develop empathy for others who have suffered the same. It allows you to love more deeply. It is a gift of living out your full humanity.”

Enlightening. Proof that social media isn’t all about people with an axe to grind, here is a little something that makes much sense in just a few lines. Your approach to life is a choice.

Laziness kills ambition

Anger kills wisdom

Fear kills dreams

Jealousy kills peace

(Now read it right to left.)

Informative. A book review of “Frames of Mind” by author Howard Gardner asserts that intelligence has been wrongly defined in a narrow “book smart” profile. Instead, the book contends that we need not compete with Einstein, as there are multiple forms of intelligence. I’ve seen the phenomenon.

My friend Mac, a former Marine and deputy sheriff, had an amazing ability to bring calm to tense, uncomfortable, or even dangerous situations. He knew what to say and how to say it, and might even incite some levity in doing so. A former co-worker, Patsy, was an untrained yet world-class child psychologist who understood every complexity a teenager (my teenagers) could come up with. My high school classmate Delwin has the mathematical genius necessary to get a spaceship to Mars, yet he might struggle with an English test. Artistic ability, mechanical sense, social awareness – perhaps we all have a hint of genius. We’ll see what the book has to say about that.

Disappointing. On the topic of books, I’ve invested a good part of the summer reading the classic, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. The reason it’s taking so long is I find one of the “greatest American writers” to be as dull as a three-day rain, with pages of repetitive banter that make little sense – to me anyway. I suppose it’s possible that I don’t have the genius to understand Hemingway, but at least the book helps me fall asleep at night. Thinking about that, it’s quite possible my books put people to sleep as well. Hmmm. Perhaps a moral to be reexamined is – judge not lest ye be judged. My apologies to Ernest.

Leo is retired and lives in rural Cook with his wife, Lindy. He is the author of three books, She Won’t Mow the Daisies, The Cabin Experience, and Life Over Easy. Leo can be contacted by email at llwilenius@gmail.com.