I am in danger of turning 'Intuitive Editing' into my little Red Book.

[MattScho]

I think this is why you rarely see a Goth over a certain age.

Pasty faced, all in black, unkempt, who could tell after a certain point?

 

[MattScho]

I remember singing, ' I'm a Rambler' , in a Shinjuku Irish bar when the Irish rugby team played in Tokyo. Big lads, they kept time by beating on the rafters dislodging 100 year old dust. Yes, very apt. That's why my answer was "know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to haul ass." It's one reason I'm still alive. I made sure my sons could sing the lyrics from a young age. I think you know something about rambling and gambling yourself?

As the song notes, i will live til I die. BTW, this Gaelic band is really fun, thanks for the intro.

 

[MattScho]

I've been to my father's funeral (one week off his 90th birthday), one uncle, one aunt, a friend who was only 30 and died of cancer, a kid in my class who was only 15 and died of leukemia, a kid in my class who was only 13 and died of an asthma attack (never been to a funeral before or since where so many children genuinely wailed - brings tears to my eyes remembering it). Your time is your time. It will hit you when it hits you. Everyone (or so we believe) is mortal and I doubt anyone (except the immortal ones we don't know about) thinks time is unlimited. Everyone will die, but only fate knows when. Living life to the full should not be about what age you are and any age should be allowed to live young if they want to.

Every story has a beginning, middle and end. If it's a good story, we savour each part.

 

[Hannah F]

Since this has turned into a song fest. I have to share these young lads singing in Gaelic. The kids are alright.

I used to sing that with my dad. He sang the verses, I sang the chorus. Good band. I'll look them up.

 

[Brayati]

Stakes, there are many forms, and most do not require lumber of any description.
Physical stakes seem to be the most obvious to most people. We understand physical danger. It's primal, life and death, do or die.
Intellectual stakes are nuanced, from the work we do to define ourselves, to our dreams and the work we do to attain them. We gauge ourselves against the norm and compete to be the best we can be in the stakes of the mind.
Emotional. Ah, there's that feeling thing. The heart skips a beat - is it fear or love or lust? Does it matter? The emotional context of stakes is as defined as the physical stakes, but the consequences so much harsher because we have to live with them - and the mistakes made that cost us an emotional connection. And connection is what it's all about, from finding love and creating new DNA carriers, to knowing when to run (yes, use that song: hold 'em, fold 'em, walk or hide or run like 'ffff').
Spiritual is the big kahuna. It's the pinnacle of human endeavours. Have I done right by God, by the Gods, by all things holy? Defining what these mean and how they combine a human life with the goal of immersion that elevates a mind to a place some might call transcendent. Depends on the person, on the culture, and the beliefs.
There may be more ways to define stakes for story, but these aren't bad (I learned them from a Litopian). Using one is good enough for some stories, but two or more adds depth and breadth - and complexities.
They are all parts of the PIES we need (get it?).