NEVER SAY...

The optimum ending I suppose is to finish with never. Which is a pretty sound philosophy in some ways. At the heart of which is the awareness that nothing in life is certain as a rule. So saying never means you are making sure something will never happen or on the opposite side saying it will never not happen.

I like the word never in some ways. It has such a ring of confidence and control. But you know in reality since actual control is more an illusion that truth, never is sort of utopia of self reliance that is mainly a myth.

Now I know and you know that, but it doesn't mean we like to admit it. We just have so much more fun pretending we are sane and in control and even when so disaster takes place it's cool. It was really planned in the first place. Sounds good even if it is a crock.

Yeah, I have been giving that aspect a little thought lately. Personally, I find it most comforting to be able to give meaningless speeches about self-reliance that never actually exists. See there is another optimum use of the terms never, which I savor.

In any event we all get jazzed and have a great time sitting there and feeling all pompous and lords of all we survive. And as long as we squint in the right light so we see only about a foot or so, it is absolutely true.

For myself, I don't know, I do relish the precious gift of excuses that everyone accepts as true so we don't have to face the dreadful truth that we all suck in some ways. There is that old saying about keeping a stiff upper lip. It was probably invented by some guy who has his lipped surgically altered so it always looked that way. Can you tell I'm not impressed with that idea.

Okay, for the record, panic is normal, being calm, cool and collect only really happens in the movies. Unless you are utterly brain dead or otherwise incapacitated so you only see what you want to see. Now that is heaven in a practical sense if you ask me.

So, I savor the precious gift of finding someway to always make the future seem rosy and promising even though it sucks and we are all going to buy it in the end. I think I would have enjoyed being the publicity manager of the Titanic. I would have espoused how it would never sink, no matter how big that iceberg had been. And naturally, to display our faith in the boat's durability everyone could go on savoring the moment by passing out the champagne and having a party.

Meanwhile as they were all getting drunk and not paying attention to the water pouring through the door, I would has gotten all the life preservers set aside to sell to them for ten times the going rate. Oh I would haggle for a bit and then make sure I was in the life boat I kept hidden while they all fought over getting into the other ones.

Oh I might say a few words of sentiment as the boat sunk while hugging my bag of cash, but in the end I would vow to never forget the wisdom of denial and times when never means anything, but never.