Give Me One More Inch

Doc says I shouldn’t be worried about the rash on my arm, spot on my leg or that both of my hands are swollen.

“Sounds and looks to me like something bit you, probably a spider. You said you were packing boxes and in the garage, that could be spider territory.”

Don’t know why but something about his comment makes the theme to The Magnificent Seven start playing in my head and instead of spider territory I hear something about Indian territory/land.

Imagination starts to take me on another one of those Walter Mitty like adventures and I can see myself somewhere not so far from here but not all that close either.

Got bad guys to fight, villains who wear black hats and are in need of a reminder about what happens when you cross the wrong guy.

“I am going to give you a steroid that should help clear things up. Take it with food because it might upset your stomach.”

I don’t tell the doc that the good guy doesn’t pound a bottle of Pepto before he kicks the bad guy’s ass.

He just rides out and does what needs to be done and that is what I intend to do.

“Here is your prescription Mr. Wilner, if you hurry you can get that filled before the pharmacy closes for the holiday.”

Give Me One More Inch

I walk out the door of the office and head to the car thankful that the visit was much faster than it could have been.

You never know what a holiday weekend will bring and I am grateful for the gift of an empty waiting room.

Got just enough time to hit the pharmacy and do a little bit more work or so I think.

What I don’t know is that the pharmacy is already closed and that I’ll to call three before I find one that can fill my ‘scrip.

I could wait a day and be fine but I have things to do and time is limited.

Inside my head I hear Al Pacino talk about how life is a game of inches and I nod. The difference between making it and not making it is nothing more than who wants it more.

You know, when you get old, in life, things get taken from you. I mean, that’s… that’s… that’s a part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losin’ stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game – life or football – the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.

Life Is Absurd

Al’s voice is interrupted by the sound of music from a nearby restaurant. They are playing All I Ask Of You from Phantom Of The Opera but I can’t tell you who is singing.

I just recognize the song and think about how much has happened during the past twenty or so years and how many changes we have all been through.

Life is a absurd and sometimes that means it is funny in a ridiculous way that makes you laugh and sometimes…not.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to send someone a card like that one.

There is a short list of reasons why I haven’t done it most of them ending with “you are not Groucho Marx” and I am ok with that because he is not me either.

But on this particular night I look at those words from Groucho and think about how the best part of being able to send a card like that is knowing there are other nights to come to compare it to.

Knowing that tonight might have not been the best evening but it doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be the best.

Incidentally, you shouldn’t take that card as a reflection upon how I feel about tonight because I am in pretty good humor.

My hands are definitely swollen but they haven’t prevented me from doing what I want and if anything they just add color to the silly story I am telling inside my head.

A good hero needs some adversity to face and overcome.

Later on I’ll think about whether I want to show my teenager the clip below or if I just want to paraphrase his life is a game of inches quote.

You can attribute some of that to the joy of parenting teenagers and trying to find ways to casually insert teaching moments into the conversations you have with them.

I can’t say whether my teen will buy into any of that and that is ok with me.

He might or he might see it as one of the platitudes that adults speak at children.

So the goal here is to show him what I mean and hope that it sinks in that way. Probably more effective that way anyhow, less likely to be seen as talking at and more as an example of action.

But between you and me I am looking forward to sitting down one day with him so that we can revisit this moment and share a few details.

Life is so damn absurd, but that is part of what makes it so damn interesting and fun too.

Got to run now, if I push hard I can grab one more inch.