Midnight approaches and I feel a bit like one of the guys sitting on the steel girder.
The government has shut down and I want to ask what would happen if I refused to work with a coworker because I couldn’t get along with them. It goes without saying I have taught my kids that you don’t have to like everyone but that sometimes you have to work with them.
I sit here at the computer one of the uninsured because my coverage was canceled. I don’t worry about getting coverage because the reason it was canceled will be overturned on appeal.
I haven’t got any real pre-existing conditions that will prevent me from being covered because I am one of those people who knows how to write a letter and understands how to work the system. But that is shameful, wrong and disappointing. It shouldn’t be like that and I won’t accept it.
The Ignorant Fighting With The Ill-informed
This post may have political elements but I am not interested in providing a forum for the ignorant to fight with the ill-informed. Not interested in listening to people who don’t understand the law argue against it while others whose understanding isn’t any greater argue for it.
What I know is that we are almost at the time I refer to as The Thankless Thanksgiving which means it is almost time for me to rant about why I hate the term Christmas Spirit and how giving should be done all year long.
But it is hard for me to understand why we fight about taking care of our own and then I look at our government and I just shake my head. When you don’t worry about healthcare the way ordinary people do it is easy to fight and dicker. When you don’t worry about dealing with the TSA and fighting through security issues flying isn’t as much of a pain-in-the-ass.
It just reminds me about how easy it is to ignore the pain of the other.
My Good Friend J.R.R. Tolkien
Got a lot of things going on in the world at large and many more in what you call the personal. I am excited about some new things, good opportunities that I can’t pass up and sad about some of the compromises that they require.
In the midst of it all I look to the books/stories I have always loved and reach for words because I have always found comfort there. Reached into the midst and wrestled with what quotes to share with you here.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.â€
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.â€
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
There are many more that I want to share, that I should share, lines about courage being found in unlikely places, kissing the girl in front of many and lines that remind us that not all who wander are lost.
But instead we’ll look at the two above and remember most people live in interesting times and the only choice they receive is whether to act or react to what they encounter.
And we are also reminded that even though we might seek adventure and the danger that comes with it there is a chance it might find us. Sometimes you trip and fall onto the tracks or you get hit by the drunk driver even though you were minding your own business. Things happen. Life happens.
Sitting On a Girder
So I feel like I am sitting on a girder hundreds of miles above the ground. I am sure footed and confident about my ability to do my job and to work with the guys who are up there with me.
But sometimes when I look down the earth starts spinning a bit and I wonder if maybe I fooled myself into thinking that I wouldn’t get dizzy, feel scared or nervous.
And then I remember I have nothing to worry about because bad stuff only happens to people in the movies and to those others who aren’t lucky and or are just lazy and I am none of those, right…
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