Real Trouble

In this human life, there will be trouble. It may be financial trouble. It may be physical illness. It may be family problems. It may be any or all of these plus dozens of other troubles and hardships. You never know where it is coming from or when it will arrive, but you can bet it is coming. When it comes, you have no choice; you cope, you push through, you persevere.

I have trouble. Real trouble. I am coping, pushing through, and persevering.

I am living in the most primitive of conditions. Due to circumstances beyond my control, my life is in shambles, in total disarray. A storm came through and my electricity is out. Kaput. Missing in action. That means I have no air conditioning. The horror.

Sure, some people may think they have bigger troubles, but that is just because it affects them. Some have lost roofs, cars and boats. One unfortunate family lost all three to one downed tree. Another house has been split by a tree. But all that happened to someone else, and I am the one who is hot and inconvenienced. Well, not exactly hot. I am at an air conditioned O'Charley's eating a chocolate brownie and ice cream. But I am inconvenienced

It is not convenient for me to be here instead of at home eating an ice cream sandwich. I did that earlier to save the poor thing from melting away in a warming freezer. Of course, it wouldn't have been kind of me to leave its brother behind. I ate that one, too. Trouble requires sacrifice.

As usual, and as trouble will do, this trouble sneaked up on me. It came in the form of a surprise storm. Storms find me an easy target because I don't watch The Weather Channel. They know that and use it against me. Sneaky little wind bags.

This particular storm was even more diabolical than others. She timed herself to inconvenience me to the utmost. She wasn't content to blow in at a time convenient for me. No. She struck right at the end of the work day, making me choose between staying dry by staying put or getting wet while making my I'm-out-of-here-end-of-day dash. I stayed in and stayed dry. Yet another sacrifice.

She didn't hang around long. She didn't need to. Temper tantrums don't have to be long to be effective. She blew through town quickly, leaving the evidence of her temper in the downed trees, electrical lines and fires. And she made sure that I, personally, didn't have electricity.

On top of all that, her denying me my electricity means I have to type this brilliant little piece on the tiny keyboard of my Blackberry. Such deprivation.

Okay, so maybe my trouble is not big in your eyes. How big does my trouble have to be to suit you? How big is big enough? Can't you see that this trouble is big enough for me?

It gave me an excuse to eat ice cream. That is as big as I need.

p.s. Now that I have finished my brownie, the guy next to me is tempting me with chips and dip. That didn't sound quite right. His chips and dip are tempting me. Never mind. I am not tempted at all.