I'd Pick More Daisies

" Of course, you can't unfry an egg, but there's no law against
thinking about it.

If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes. I
would relax.I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would be less
hygienic. I would go more places. I would climb more mountains and
swim more rivers. I would eat more ice-cream and less spinach. I
wouldhave more actual troubles and fewer imaginary troubles.

You see, I have been one of those fellows who live prudently, hour
after hour, day after day. Oh, I have had my moments. But if I had it
to do over again, I would have more of them - a lot more. I never go
anywhere without a thermometer, a map, a raincoat and a parachute. If
I had it to do over, I would travel lighter.

If I had my life to live over, I would start going barefoot a little
earlier in the spring and stay that way a little later in the fall. I
would have more dogs. I would keep later hours. I would have more
sweethearts. I would fish more. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I
would go to more circuses.

In a world in which practically everybody else seems to be
consecrated to the gravity of the situation, I would rise to glorify the levity
of the situation. For I agree with Will
Durant, who said, "Gaiety is wiser than wisdom." If I had my life to
live over, I'd pick more daisies."
--Don Herold