Out On a Limb

"You ever had one of those days, when nothing is goin' your way?" One of the regulars on The Bob and Tom Show sings this song, talking about how every step of the way, from getting up to going to bed, is nothing but a series of trouble. It seems that a day becomes increasingly worse dependent on the relationship of two seemingly unconnected functions; severity and frequency.

In the first scenario, no matter how serious the problem, if this is the only situation I will encounter during a given day, I can probably cope with it pretty well. It will hit me one time, all at once, and my natural forces are able to put me in the position where I can accept and rationalize it. This is not to say that it might not be devastating, and have a great impact on me. Somehow my body is able to recover from the initial impact, and find the tools necessary for full and total recovery. (Of course, there are exceptions.)

In the second scenario, consider that a person encounters numerous, little problems during the day. For instance, these might consist of dropping a glass, running into the corner of the bookshelf, an itch that you can't scratch, dialing a wrong number, and, wee, I think you understanding where I am going with this. We've all come across people in our lives; the ones that just can't seem to do ANYTHING right. In my case, "I have met the enemy, and he is I".

I have become a major klutz; no matter where or when, I'll drop, hit, fall, trip, misspeak, butt-in, misunderstand and "mishear". It is hard to imagine I am the same person who, just 16 years ago, spent a summer living and climbing in Yosemite National Park. I was perfectly comfortable standing on the edge of a 1000' cliff, I was at total peace leading the last part of a 1100' vertical, (10.b, for the climbing afficionado) 10 pitch climb. (I must admit, however, that I NEVER felt comfortable standing on the edge of a cliff while anyone was within 20' of me - myself I trust; the others, not so much.)

Now, I know that a lot of this loss of coordination has to do with age, and that some has to do with the "med cocktail" I am presently on, and some relatively small, part might be due to this damned "bipolar monkey" I can't seem to get off my back. Whatever the reason, it is here, so I might as well stock up on bananas and prepare, from time to time, to unexpectedly have crap flung at me from across the room.

And that's the way it is out here (today, WAY out here) in BiPo Land. Ciao.