I continue to believe the pandemic strips away pretense and illusions and forces us to look more honestly at who we trust, rely and lean upon.
Want to know more about who you think your best friend is look at who you go to when times are tough.
Yesterday morning I looked at news that spoke about the spike in cases in Coronavirus here in Texas and decided it is time to buy a second refrigerator so that we can be better stocked.
It wasn’t a particular hard decision to make as the majority of the last 25 years have included living arrangements with two but given the health concerns of the time it seems more important.
The interesting thing about it is as I was thinking about whether it made sense to do it now or wait I swear I heard my dad tell me to look in my email for a birthday coupon I received from one of the big boxes for 10% off of major appliances.
My Gmail account gave up the coupon and I silently thanked dad for the reminder and told him to feel free to chime in again.
He took me seriously.
This morning I looked in the mirror and decided that my hair was too long since it wasn’t a distorted reality I made plans to shave my head.
Right after dad died I spent a little time going through some of his jackets and shaving gear as it wasn’t stuff mom would want or use.
I found a small clear plastic box that had razors, blades, shaving cream and assorted shaving paraphernalia that I took back to Texas.
Upon my return to home I took out a razor and some of the blades and put the rest under the sink. I remember smiling as I did it because dad had squirreled away enough supplies for me to avoid needing to purchase anything for a while.
Fast forward back to the present.
During the nine weeks or so we have been locked down I have taken to shaving my head every few weeks.
My son tells me he doesn’t like a bald father and I laugh and point out that my hair is full everywhere but the top three quarters of my head and that it grows quickly.
But since it doesn’t fill in that section anymore I get irritated because I don’t like the way it looks.
Anyhoo, the past three times I have shaved my head it has been a mess because I use a combination of an electric shaver and blades.
It always takes longer than I like and I find that I inevitably miss some patches around the back of my head because I can’t see what is going on there.
Today I decided I wanted to shave it again but was done with the hassle and mess. I went online and did some research on clippers and found a couple of options that looked like they would do the job.
Right before I was about to buy one I swear I heard the old man tell me to open my eyes. That was always the line he used when he asked you to get him something and said you couldn’t find it.
That is when I remembered that plastic box with razors.
I pulled it out and found a clippers he must have used to shave his own head.
Pulled them out, plugged them in and in ten minutes I had shaved my head faster and with far less hassle than every other time.
Granted I didn’t bother with the razor and shaving cream because these clippers eliminated the need.
So I c0nsider it a birthday gift from dad and if he is somehow listening or reading I’m asking for him to help me find a bag full of money or winning lottery ticket.
Crazier things have happened.
Got a big day and big week ahead of me and being of a superstitious nature about some things I won’t give many details here at all.
What I will say is game time is coming and I have spent a chunk of time doing prep work this weekend so that when tomorrow comes my head is screwed on tight.
Riding with the Dark Knight now, lip curved into a smile or sneer as I begin to map out how and what I want to happen.
Visualization goes a long way but so does the ability to adjust, pivot and adapt.
Whatever the outcome is I will know I did my best and that I hit the breach hard. I will be agile, fast moving and relentlessly methodical.
After and even during it all I will be grateful and humble but confident.
That will either be enough or it won’t.
I will be enough or I won’t.
And if I execute as I hope to than regardless of what happens I’ll be fine.
Stay tuned to this Bat Channel and or hold onto your best friend.
