Hola, Y'all.
What's Up?
Nothin' Much...You?
Same old, same old.... Lemme see, it's been awhile since the last time we were here... Hmmm. I guess there's a few things. Let me give it a whirl:
A good friend of mine, real good friend, had a bad motorcycle accident. Why was he still riding his Fatboy this late in the game? Same reason he shoots coyotes with a .357 from off of his front porch, is covered head-to-toe in tats, and still kicks a** and takes names, every single day. Took a big hit; he's recovering, but oh so slowly...
Another good friend, great friend actually, divorced his wife of 30+ years. When he told me, I was positive he was kidding. I actually guffawed. He wasn't kidding.
Another good friend lost both of his feet to adult onset diabetes. Both. Of. His. Feet. I visited him in hospital and he was as cheerful and chatty as a magpie. He's an inspiration, really. Always has been, guess he always will be.
Another kid I grew up with lost his business, a business he was weaned on; one that he lived, ate, drank and breathed-in since he was a wee lad. A long established, solid, recession-proof business. The loss of supposedly had something to do with the precious state (false universe in my opinion) of real estate. As Yogi opined, he "wuz robbed", essentially. I doubt he was the first, and I know he won't be the last, poor kid...
In another sign of the times, my young son-in-law recently got himself addicted to heroin, resulting in my young daughter being a newly minted divorcee. So that happened....
Couple of my good friends are fast approaching retirement; couple more are retired now for a few years; a few more (myself included) cannot even fathom the prospect.
Couple of my good friends have (or are about to) conquer their given fields of expertise/endeavor. I'm not surprised about it at all. We bred some good 'uns up there in Peekskill.
Couple of my friends, some of the best I used to know, are living on the street, or close to. (That did surprise me.)
Many of my friends have lost parents now; some have lost spouses; and some, their children. I have no appropriate solace to offer; there can be no words that heal that type of wounds. For myself, I find hope in a firm belief that the death of the physical body is a temporary separation from loved ones, NOT a permanent separation.
Apropos of the current state of affairs, personally, peripherally, politically and otherwise, I must paraphrase Charles D.: 'It (is) the best of times, and it (is) the worst of times...'
And (to borrow from another great author) 'there is no new thing under the sun.'
So take heart, me hearties, we'll all come out OK on the other side. We have no choice, really.
And if I don't see you again in this world, I'll see you in the next one--and don't be late. Don't be late! (thanks Jimi.) |
