past is prologue

so i was watching the vice presidential debate last month, thinking about how stupid sarah palin is, and i heard her tell biden to stop talking about bush because he wasn't running against bush. his quick answer was 'past is prologue.' he then continued to answer his question.

i really like this answer. this short sentence sums up the entirety of my outlook on life and relationships. it may seem incomplete but it is a very short and correct summation of almost everything you attribute it to.
my second cousin's dad died last monday. no one was really shocked, unfortunately, because this man was not the most responsible and was addicted to alcohol and drugs for a long time. but when he died, it reminded me of my own departed family members. so i changed my myspace default picture to a picture of my grandfather's headstone, with his last name in caps, SAENZ.
Then i realized that i had previously changed my myspace name to past is prologue.

this is when i realized that no matter where you look, as obvious as it sounds, there is a past that defined and shaped whatever it is you're looking at or contemplating. in my case, my grandfather and his death alone shaped me because he died while i was still in my mother's womb. i think back to the context and realize that she was in a huge state of mourning for the last 3 months that she was pregnant with me, not to mention having two children already.
poor woman went through a lot.

anyway, reading into things is always something i invite.
and the fact that this is such a snappy and alliterating phrase doesn't hurt either.