A Story Of Kings & Queens

Thirteen or fourteen years ago I told someone LeBron would leave Cleveland because it wasn’t ever going to be enough for him.

I said he would never win a championship there and that he was overrated.

History has already proven me wrong about the championship and has forced me to consider there may come a time when I say he is not a top five player, but the best ever.

That hasn’t happened yet and it may never, but I admit it is possible.

I feel badly for clevelanders who set their hopes upon him because it is hard to see your heroes leave once, let alone twice.

One of the biggest distinctions between my childhood and kids today is my sports heroes generally stayed with their home teams for their career, but life changes and so do people.

A Story Of Kings & Queens

I blocked a few people on Facebook today.

It is not something I typically do, but my hand was forced.

We weren’t Facebook friends but we are part of some Facebook groups and when the talk turned political we turned against each other.

Most of the time in these online political disagreements I do pretty well for myself.

If I say it is because I am a better writer and more effective at providing fact to support my position you might say it sounds like I am bragging.

Don’t get caught in that because this is not about me patting myself on the back. This is me sharing my frustration.

I blocked them because I they challenge everything I write and say anything that doesn’t follow their narrative is ‘fake.’

This tactic is disappointing because it doesn’t provide any room for common ground and I figure if I can’t find common ground there is no point in continued discussion.

Especially from/with people who consistently attack me. I haven’t the time or energy, so I blocked them.

I hope one day they’ll come out of their echo chamber, but who knows. Either way I am politically homeless as I have been for a long time.

Independent is my name.

****

It is impossible not to think back to a time when I and another took on all comers online and debated politics with them.

Back in the days when I knew someone always had my back as I did theirs.

But things change, people evolve and you never know whether the carousel horse you ride will leave you in a position to grab that brass ring or not.

You absolutely hope so and do what you can to facilitate such things, but you never know if your horse will stop in the up or down position.

So you do your best to enjoy that up and down ride and the strokes that come with or without.

Does Love Win?

One of the guys said it does.

The conversation came about the other day during a longer conversation about what happens when you are about 50.

When we look around our particular landscapes it is common to see our friends in the sandwich generation position.

We are beginning to take care of have been taking care of parents who are old enough not to care about whether AARP has sent them a card or not. And that doesn’t even include those who have lost one or both parents.

Most of us have kids ranging from 10 to early twenties and more than a few have gotten divorced.

The guy who said it to me is among the divorced and remarried crew.

He is ridiculously happy with the new wife who isn’t all that new anymore, but new enough to still be considered new.

“Love wins but it might not win in way you expect or can see”

I nod my head and say it makes sense to me, thinking I am not sure I entirely agree but not sure that completely disagree either.

****

The dryer is filled with laundry that I need to fold and the fridge is starting to look a little bare.

I am playing an odd mix of music and thinking about leaving those clothes in the dryer. There is no one here but me and since they’re not cluttering things up I am ambivalent about it.

Besides I might as well move some of those items straight from the dryer to the suitcase ‘cuz that plane ride is almost here.

I am not a fan of the anticipation that comes with only a few days left before I leave.

It makes me edgy and a bit crazy, hell I almost threw some clothes in the car and started driving. It wouldn’t take but two days and I’d be back.

There is so much that has to be done and not nearly enough time to do it all.

That of course covers what absolutely must be done and ignores the hopes and dreams part.

One day maybe those hopes and dreams will be given a chance to be pulled out of the closet and explored under direct sunlight.

Maybe.

Six Months Later

There is a box of DVDs near the suitcase I plan on using.

The top one is from one my favorite flicks. Hard to believe it is 13 years since it came out and yet is not.

Everything is the same and everything is different.

Sometimes I wish I could go back to that moment and tell the guy to do things differently and to ask what he expects to see down the road.

I bet if he shared some of his big fears I’d be able to tell him some of them happened anyway and that he ought of have done what he didn’t.

And I’d tell him that some of those hopes and dreams aren’t quite as far away as they seem.

I’d tell him that it is hard to predict what is going to happen in six months, let alone 12 and that 2-5 years is even more challenging.

All you can do is walk the line as best you can and roll with the changes that come, because they will.

That is part of every great story of kings and queens.