I
They were made for each other. He was capable of romanticizing the way a waitress touched his hand while returning his change. She calculated potential property settlements during a first kiss. Yes, in a dystopian parallel universe kind of way where the trains crash on schedule, they were made for each other.
II
Overheard at Corky’s…
“Here’s the deal. I knew where I was, where we were, and most importantly, where they were on this issue. The problem isn’t that they weren’t prepared two years ago. The problem is that two years later, they are still unprepared.”
“So why are they still in office?”
III
Work then home. Work then home. Sometimes he broke up his pattern and had dinner with his mother. Then he would go home. “Cleveland’s a terrible place to be single”, he told a co-worker. Work then home. There is no life insurance coverage for the terminally single.
IV
He believed in Intelligent Design. He created his universe. He was the Lord and Master. He was bathed in light and warmth. But his universe was shrinking. The wife moved out years ago. The kids were hanging around till the checks stopped. The eclipse is imminent.
V
We complain when people are silent and accept things as they are. We complain when people protest and make a scene. We don’t like it when the politicians veer too much to the left and are scared when they take the big turn to the right. So we live in our own version of the moderate middle, alone, and wondering why no one else sees our truth.
We are not so different. David Ackles was right. “They suffer least who suffer what they choose”.