A Reality Check

And so, here you are. Surprised? Amazed? Delighted? Befuddled?

It is not that you deserved this. You are here past your seventieth

year. You are willing to bet that the hundreds of Hail Marys and

Our Fathers you recited as a child had nothing to do with your

longevity, even though they may have helped at the time. So then,

it was the temporary distraction from reality which allowed you to

go on.

Had you eaten meat on all those Fridays of religious prohibition

growing up, surely clogged arteries may have caused an earlier

demise. Could it be then that it was an abiding faith which got you

to this place in time? Look, there’s more to it than carrying a rabbit’s

foot in your pocket or wearing a scapular of St. Christopher around

you neck.

In your time, you have known kinder, more intelligent and savvy folks

than yourself who left this life in an unreasonable and untimely manner.

Besides, there have been children, as pure as gold who were never given

the chance to fulfill their potential, those who possibly may have con-

tributed unselfishly to the betterment of all mankind.

And so, here you are—Fortunate?​ Lucky? What about that bus which

nearly got you crossing the street, or that random bullet you never saw

which missed your head by inches? Over your lifetime, you have con-

sumed alcohol to excess, smoked cigarettes for nearly 60-years. You

have gluttonously stuffed your gut with mega-tons of all the unhealthy,
heart stopping slop imaginable. You have cursed, spat, kicked and
screamed your entire life, and here you are.

Even a million more Hail Marys can’t help you now. You are deserving of

the pain which comes part-and-parcel, and is commensurate with a person

of your advancing age and waning condition. Stand up and face it like a

man! You are a prime example of a living testament to the adage, “Only

the good die young.” In any case, you are here and now. And tomorrow

(should it become available), we’ll discuss your rightful place in the over-

all Universal Scheme of Things. For now, any questions?

Chris Hanch 4-21-17