7/10/07

Well, as far as the driving goes, today sucked the big one. There is no way to make eleven consecutive hours into an enjoyable experience. The dipshit feds make the rules, so we live by them. I had to drive for eleven straight hours this morning, and that is never good. But anyway...

My roommate is fine, which was a relief. His phone took a shit on him and so he's been out of contact. He has now paid his July rent and all is well.

After an afternoon of reading my mail and playing video games it was time to head to the bar. I got nice and liquored up while enjoying the All Star Game. Then came time for some of that borderline insane Godfather philosophy...

In the ninth inning, a fellow by the name of J.J. Putz entered the game. J.J. is a big strong closer, playing for the Seattle Mariners. Here's the funny thing. Yours truly was a hell of a ballplayer in a previous life. When I was fifteen years old, I played briefly for a Little Caesar's team here in Taylor. Because my high school team went further in the playoffs than most, I wasn't able to participate in the early summer practices. Once I was able to join the Little Caesar's team, I won the starting job as the catcher. My backup you ask? J.J. Putz. I then accepted an invitation to a team playing at a higher level and left the Little Caesar's team behind. Apparently, somewhere along the way, J.J. became a pitcher, and a damn good one.

So, over the course of the last fifteen years, I've been married, divorced, successful in business, unsuccessful in life, frustrated, thrilled, and all the rest. Now I drive a truck for a living and spend the majority of my time alone. I have learned to let bygones be bygones and enjoy what life has to offer me. My old colleague has made a career of baseball. Tonight I was pulling for J.J. more than most people could ever know. We were never close friends, but when you come from Downriver you learn to stick with your own. After J.J. struggled and was pulled for K-Rod, the cameras were steadily focused on his reaction. I couldn't help but wonder what sort of things were going through his mind. While his friends from Trenton and those of us from the surrounding communities see his career as a huge success, J.J. probably saw tonight as a missed opportunity. So who can really define success or failure?

I also entertained a call from an ex-girlfriend earlier this evening. As much as I despise the woman, my love for her daughter causes me to tolerate her insanity more than I would tolerate that of any other human. Where is the line between success and failure for her as a mother? Where is that line for me as a man? I think J.J.'s experience tonight was a pretty fair representation of what the rest of us mere mortals go through in life. We're one bad decision from disaster. We're one good decision from success. The difference between the two is usually microscopic and we don't see when we've crossed it. Just a thought.