It sure is hard to figure life out sometimes, but it sure as hell beats the alternative. The life I imagined and the life I am living are poles apart, but then again, that doesn’t make it better or worse. Not exactly an epiphany, but last night as I was sipping a beer I had a vision of my former suburban life as a retiree in the USA. I had some darts a couple of nights a week, an occasional weekend getaway, but otherwise, it was mostly sitting in front of the computer or watching TV. Damn, I got bored just typing that sentence! The point, to the extent there is one, is simply that the life you have is the one you got so make the most of it. You can be both happy and bored, especially if you don’t know what you are missing out on. I’m trying to get reconciled to my new old single life, and it is easy to lament what you’ve lost rather than embrace what you have. A year from now I might look back and remember this time as good ol’ days. It’s really not so bad.
Last evening was another opportunity to ensure my bargirl friends earned some lady drink commissions. I spent most of my time at It Doesn’t Matter quenching the thirst of Agnes and Roan.
Anyway, it is now well understood that I am nothing but a customer, and spending time with me is just part of the job. That’s just the way the game is played. Nothing to feel bad about.
After I left IDM, I stopped into BarCelona for a couple more before heading home. Engaged my favorite there, Kira, in some banter. In the course of our conversation, she also made it clear that work is work, and after work, she’s all about spending time with her kids. No room for a man in her life she says. And I’m man enough to not take a bargirl’s rejection personally.
Hash Monday has arrived. Went out this morning and put the finishing touches on our trail. I’m pretty happy with it…longish but mostly flat. I’ll let you know how my fellow Hashers feel about that tomorrow. You can get a taste of what the kennel is in for here:
I hadn’t thought about the M.A.S.H. theme song in forever, but it came up in a Quora forum I was reading this morning. The words weren’t featured in the television show (just the music) but seeing them again triggered some emotions. Oddly enough, the song was supposed to be silly/stupid–the lyrics were written by a 14-year-old if Quora is to be believed anyway. What do you think?
Through early morning fog I see Visions of the things to be The pains that are withheld for me I realize and I can see That suicide is painless It brings on many changes And I can take or leave it if I please That game of life is hard to play I'm gonna lose it anyway The losing card I'll someday lay So this is all I have to say Suicide is painless It brings on many changes And I can take or leave it if I please The sword of time will pierce our skin It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin Suicide is painless It brings on many changes And I can take or leave it if I please A brave man once requested me To answer questions that are key "Is it to be or not to be?" And I replied, "Oh, why ask me?" Suicide is painless It brings on many changes And I can take or leave it if I... Suicide is painless It brings on many changes And I can take or leave it if I please Suicide is painless It brings on many changes And you can do the same thing if you please
I’m choosing life. I can hardly wait to see what happens next!
I remember being surprised by the “suicide is painless” lyrics the first time I saw “M*A*S*H,” the movie. I’d seen many “M*A*S*H” episodes on TV by that point and didn’t even know there were supposed to be lyrics. The movie, at least, was intended to be a commentary on the Vietnam War, using the Korean War as a somewhat heavy-handed metaphor. I don’t know whether that interpretation applies to the TV show, which ran for years until many in the cast were getting gray-haired.
Comedy equals tragedy plus time is a bit of wisdom uttered by a character played by Alan Alda in Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” but supposedly dating back as far as Mark Twain. Kind of applies to “M*A*S*H” the TV show, I think.
Here’s hoping the kennel appreciates your trail!
Yeah, as I recall the tone of the movie and the TV show were quite a bit different. If I remember right, the song with words was only played during the final TV episode. I did enjoy both versions of the program though.
I have re-watched some of the early episodes of the TV show and they seem (if memory serves) a bit more cutting edge than the later episodes. In later episodes, they seemed to be a bit too full of themselves.
Realized that I have never seen the movie. I will have to check it out. The Hot Lips character in the movie just passed away, so maybe that triggered your memory in some way?
No, I haven’t seen the movie in decades either. But I had heard that it was really a dig at the Vietnam war, as Kevin mentioned. I only thought about it when I came across the story of the theme song origins on Quora…
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