I overheard them talking during my walk.
“I wouldn’t get a physical now. Too dangerous.”
“Oh, so you want me to drop dead now.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Maybe not, but I won’t say I want my best friend back because I don’t want to be misunderstood”
She clearly knew what he was referring to and I am pretty sure he did too because I recognized the dance.
I came close to interrupting them with a “just sleep with him and stop the nonsense” followed by instructions to him to make sure he was clear that he was serious not just playing around but in a time of a pandemic caution rules the day.
Sat in the car with the windows open enjoying whatever is left of the Fall heat knowing I’ll blink and the weather will no longer lend itself to such things.
It is the middle of the work week and any minute my work phone is going to ring so I am taking a few minutes to review my notes and compose my thoughts when my personal phone rings.
The number is unfamiliar and just as I am about to let it go to voicemail I decide I’ll find out if it is about my auto warranty or some other robocall.
It is not, it is some lady calling behalf of the so and so branch of the Republican party and I decide it will be interesting to see if she can handle a calm but firm recitation of the million reasons why I will never support their failing president.
We go back and forth for a moment and I tell her the utter failure to lead and manage the pandemic is reason enough to fire every last one of them.
She asks me why I would it a failure and I list five reasons and finish with no one told me that in 2020 you’ll miss being hugged.
“Sir, I think you are exaggerating.”
“Nope, it has been months since I have hugged or been hugged by anyone. Months of chaos and confusion with no confidence that anyone in leadership has a plan that isn’t called “we’ll let people die and hope that we hit herd immunity before we hit 3 million dead Americans.”
She tells me that is an exaggeration and I tell her you can’t label things you dislike as fake just because they bother you and hang up because I am done.
Don’t mention I am about done with most people because there is no interest in getting into such details or having someone ask if that is literal or philosophical.
Very few deserve real time, let alone an explanation and fewer care to ask.
****
One of the boys calls and asks if I think Trump is really sick or not.
“I am debating on whether to regrow my beard and thinking about shaving my head again. Yeah, he is sick and I think he is sicker than they are letting on.”
We go back and forth and then I launch into a bad impression of Papa Can You Hear Me.
‘Seems a little strange that we have to face this now and that it is not our parents. Are we really this old already.”
It is not a question and we both laugh and I ask if he knows the bit from Deadpool that ties in Frozen to Yentl. He says no and I tell him to listen to this.
“Can’t hide from this, so I guess we have to face it head on. But damn if I am not tired of people in my life playing obstacle. Some are going to learn the hard way I am not playing around.”
He laughs and asks if those people haven’t figured out I will find a way to navigate around them.
“I think they forget around, over, under or through work too. I don’t understand if they are hoping I’ll make the hard decisions or if it hasn’t occurred to them that I will. Kind of reminds me of this.”
What Do You Believe?
The question of what do you believe comes up in a different conversation and I tell them this clip answers it but I don’t know if it will make sense to you.
“Why not?”
“Because very few people are open or interested and this isn’t exactly as it seems.”
“I can’t decide if that sounds angry, frustrated or hopeful.”
“Might be all three.”
“Are you talking in circles?”
“Not really but if I told you that I am working on tearing down walls you wouldn’t understand that either.”
“No, I wouldn’t and I don’t think you are going to explain either.”
“Nope.”
“You get a perverse pleasure out of this.”
“I get no pleasure out of this. I am direct and very blunt, but not with this.”
“Why?”
“There is a time and place and this is neither nor are you the person to engage with on this. Let that part go and accept I am confident that I know some things and that is enough.”
