Aren’t You Tired of Knocking Down Walls

My faithful squire, the ever present Sancho Panza asks, “aren’t you tired of knocking down walls and chasing that which prefers not to be caught?”

“I don’t know whether to tell you I am not smart enough to recognize when enough is enough or if I am so smart I see opportunity that others do not.”

We smile at each other and return to our respective activities where he provides the courtesy of not calling me quixotic and I return it by not asking if he thinks I am.

Not that it would matter because I am who I am and I do as I do not because of bravado but because of nature.

This is how I am made and unmaking myself wouldn’t leave anything but a ruined shell that wouldn’t be occupied by the lowliest of crabs.

The silence is broken again by his asking if I am aware of how many people have remarked upon the prior post.

“I know something of this and other things but those who ought to read refrain from doing so and those who do not understand continue to debase themselves with strange ideas.”

A Telephone Call

Got a telephone call one ides of March about big news and remember well the tired but happy voice on the other line.

Walked away and considered what it all meant and thought some more about future changes and tried to picture potential opportunities and outcomes.

It was never hard to do and still isn’t, but what I could picture 18 years ago and today are tempered by time and distance.

That is not a bad thing nor something I wish to give more weight to because what is done is behind and what lies ahead is still big.

But there are things that make me think about how much runway is left and how fast things can swing one direction or another.

Word of prostate cancer and surgery for an old friend remind me these stories are slowly becoming more frequent than they once were or so it seems.

Truth is they may not be more prevalent in number but that if you live long enough you encounter more tales and certainly if you know enough people the likelihood of hearing such things increases.

****

I can hear water running in the upstairs bathroom and wonder if the barista is preparing for sleep because the big guy has to be in at 5 AM.

Kid still hasn’t gotten a taste for the liquid gold but I imagine eventually he will. I tease him sometimes about being a legal drug dealer.

He laughs and says he hadn’t thought about it that way and I ask him if he pays attention to the state of those who haven’t had their first cup.

“Some are almost grumpy as you.”

“No one can be that cranky, wait, I take that back. Have you ever seen a half awake woman in need of coffee.”

He tells me he won’t let me bait him into getting in to trouble and asks how I have managed not to be murdered in my sleep.”

“I survived being a teenager and a few other experiences. If you had any idea of some of that you wouldn’t ask.”

He laughs and tells me he has enough of an idea and reminds me that he isn’t crazy like me.

“Not yet…it is coming.”

I wink and tell him I am not serious and add “or am I.”

How Wealthy Are You?

Facebook friend list has shrunk over the years based upon a number of variables.

Some of us decided we had no interest in being connected because of fundamental difference in our life philosophies and some died.

Those that walked through the cornfields occupy a space on the list but there are no status updates to be found from those who are no longer here.

Some of us who were left behind occasionally comment and or leave remarks about how we miss them or share a memory about a good time we had.

And then there are others who I know have taken on a variety of challenges, some financial, some personal, professional and or health related.

They’re juxtaposed against some who have had tremendous success in other areas. A few have created huge fortunes and have the financial windfall that provide significant comfort.

We’re all on different paths that intersect in a variety of places and all are guaranteed to eventually merge onto the same highway that leads out of town.

It would be of real comfort to be in a position in which financial concerns didn’t impact any future plans but given what I have seen, read and experienced I think I’ll still opt for Emerson’s first wealth first.

If you have that you have the ability to do the things that lead to possibility and opportunity for the other.