Day 172. No Shit

Thought I’d share another one of those ‘thoughts’ from my friend’s email with you. From the other day. One was actually the subject of yesterday’s blog post. This one made me giggle; and brought more than a few images to mind. But humour aside, there is a valid life lesson in it. Something well worth remembering:

“Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.”

This is very true. And the sooner we accept it, get over it, deal with it, learn to live with it and move on the better. Otherwise life gets to be a real drag.

For some reason I seem to think I’m the statue more often. What about you?

Maybe it’s because those ‘events’ are more memorable. They’re usually more dramatic, that’s for sure. And very often they teach you something. Leave a lasting impression. And I’m not talking about the visible ‘stains’, either. Just want to clarify.

None of us is immune. None of us will get through life unscathed. We’re all bound to have both good and bad days. And frankly, life would be awfully boring, if every day was the same. If everything went exactly as we wanted it to go, all the time.

No, I am not bullshitting you. I really believe it.

It’s not always pleasant. And I’ve been known to bitch and moan and complain my way through the lousy days as much as the next guy (gal). For a minute or two. Then I give always give my head a shake and talk myself off the ledge. Way too many pigeons up there anyway. Why tempt fate? Don’t have to go looking for trouble.

Except on those days when I really want to find it. And I do have days like that. When I’m bored. When I want a little challenge. When I want to take my coping skills out for a little test drive. When I’m running out of writing material.

All this talk of pigeons is sending me on a trip down memory lane. All the way back to when I was seventeen; on one of those teen tours. Mine was almost two months of travelling through Canada and the U.S. It was an amazing trip. I had an absolute blast and I am grateful to my parents for sending me.

One of our early stops was Kenora, Ontario. Why, I’ll never, ever know. It’s a small city, situated on the Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario. Very close to the Manitoba border, in fact. So it’s pretty far North. Gold was first discovered in the area in 1850 and by 1893 twenty mines were operating there. In 1886 the first Canadian ocean-to-ocean train passed through; and in 1932 a highway was built through Kenora which became part of Canada’s first coast-to-coast highway.

Kenora is home to many natural attractions, but trust me when I tell you, there was NOTHING of interest there for a bunch of seventeen year olds. NOTHING. We were bored out of our minds. And pissed off at being there. Looking back, it was definitely a statue moment.

We were there for a few days, too. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it rained all the time. And there we were. Stuck. Isolated. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Our ‘hotel’, and I use the term loosely, had a little general store. Tiny, really. Selling everything from cigarettes and chewing gum to T-shirts, trinkets, trash and greeting cards.

Out of desperation we started reading the greeting cards. Imagine spending hours pulling cards off a rack and reading the messages inside. We were too young to hit the bar and get drunk, so this was how we killed some time. What can I say?

Anyway, suddenly I spotted one of those huge, over sized cards. I mean HUGE. Like 8″ x 16″ huge. On the front was a plush blue bird. The only message was Happy Birthday. And inside it said, “May the blue bird of happiness crap all over your birthday cake”. In hindsight, not that funny.

But back then, at seventeen years old, stuck in a hell hole with a bunch of other teens who were equally bored, it was hysterical. We were howling with laughter. Literally rolling all over the floor. The poor guy behind the counter thought we were nuts. Turns out he had a great day, though. We cleaned him out of cards. Not one was left by the time we got through.

Looking back at it, though, it’s not that different than the story I’m telling today. Whether it’s a blue bird or a pigeon, a friend or a spouse, an employee or your boss, a total stranger or a member of your family, there are days you’re going to get dumped on. It’s inevitable. There’s nothing you can do to prevent it. Or stop it. So get up and brush yourself off.

Tomorrow will be a better day.