When You're Going Through Hell....

Keep walking. Man, I wish I was the clever soul who coined that particular phrase, but alas, the credit goes to Winston Churchill. A friend of mine dropped that pearl of wisdom on me last week, and it's been bouncing around in my noggin ever since. Suffice it to say that things have not been all that rosy here at the compound for the last few weeks, and in my current state, some things have fallen by the wayside, this forum being the first thing to go. I'm not going to bore you with details, because, let's be honest, we all have times in our lives when things begin to fall apart, and nobody wants to hear another person whining about their problems. To me, my problems seem monumental, but to you, they might seem like minor irritations and vice versa, so why wallow in the depths of our self pity? Everybody likes a party, but nobody wants to go to a pity party. My, my, how pithy and profound. That's a lot of alliteration.

So in keeping with Winston's words of wisdom, I need to pull on my moccasins and keep walking. (No, they are not another man's moccasins and I haven't walked a mile in them, but no one has borrowed mine for a hike either.) What other options are there? Well, I guess I could "take to my bed" and spend days at a time lying in the darkness ruminating on my situation. That sounds like a hassle though. I would have to explain to "Wife" and "Daughter" what I was doing, and having to explain such an act takes all the "poor me" fun out of it. Not to mention, the dogs would have a field day on the carpets while I was developing bed sores the size of flap jacks. I could begin drinking to excess like many a great Irishman who found themselves on the brink, but I enjoy tropical cocktails and the sound of the blender would, no doubt, irritate my fragile condition.

No, none of those would work. Like most of you, I will do what we always do, suck it up and move on. Freud said that the Irish are the "one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." That may be true. To me, talking about problems with someone is a sign that you can't handle your own business. Outdated thinking? Perhaps, but thinking none the less.

I have come to learn over the past weeks, that more people read this than I thought. Word has filtered back from various sources inquiring about my whereabouts and the absence of my humorous (hopefully) ponderings. I will have to up my estimate of readers from six to eight. That's a pretty big jump, percentage wise, so I can't disappoint the growing masses. I will lace up my cross trainers and set out down the path. I stared this with a quote, so let's end with one too. Someone said, "it's always darkest before the dawn." I tend to believe that. Right now it seems like 4 am. The sun must be right around the corner. Right? Thanks for reading. Later...Brian

EPILOGUE: Oh man. It's been about five hours since I posted this and I just went back to read it. I must ask your indulgence for what seems like quite a self serving, boo-hoo type rambling. Thank God there is an edit feature on Blogger. I have heard from a couple friends who expressed concern over the above diatribe. Rest assured, all is, or will be well. I appreciate your notes. This has always been a forum for me to vent my thoughts and I have always tried to be as honest and entertaining as possible. Today I guess the honesty out weighed the entertaining, but wait until you see what I have in store for tomorrow. Wow, this is cheaper than therapy. Thanks! BN