Gotta Laugh!

OK, so this is later in the day than most of the times I blog, and I'm having some glitchy things go on with my computer, which seems to be the name for the day: dealing with the challenges of technology! Of all things, my "bluetooth" (hands-free link) in my car froze on "in use" even when the car AND the cell phone were turned off... The only consolation of the moment was when I took the car into the dealer for "huh? what's up with this?," the young mechanics were as baffled as I! It is nice to know when technology confounds the young... Then I don't feel so old! And not feeling "older" when one is now a "grandfather" is a bit of a trick.

So I called my mother, and she was no help. She said, "It's nice to have another grandfather in the family!" And I would have thought that her focus would have been on The Little Princess, Elizabeth... Oh, well...

Anyway, somebody once said that "perspective is everything"-- at least I'm pretty sure some one must have said that at some point-- and so I am going to offer the following one:

You who know me know that I read the comics daily. If I'd read Scripture with as much faithfulness, I'd have been a better man today! Anyway, I am sorry to report that I have realized that my life has reached yet another new low. I'm sure of this because my life has begun to parallel that of Ted Forth, husband of Sally, father of Hilary, and co-star in the strip with his wife's name.

Here's the thing: some weeks, perhaps months ago now, Ted was "laid off." "Laid off" is like being terminated, in the same way that "put to rest" is like being "buried." Either way, one does not have a job. At the time Ted was laid off/terminated, I thought: WoW! What a bold plot for a comic strip. I mean, even Dagwood Bumstead is employed! Even Ralph Drabble is employed! Even the pale Robert (I think his name is) in "Get Fuzzy," who takes endless abuse from his cat, Bucky, is employed. I tried to think of another comic strip character who was "between jobs," and none came to mind. I wondered: What a strange phenomenon in comic-strip-land, to have a laid off person? The only other one I think I've ever seen was Sally's boss, Ralph, and he was obnoxious by nature, so the writers sent him packing to a fast food joint before they deemed him redeemed and sent him back to work at his old company, so he could be an even bigger thorn in Sally's side.

But I'm losing my point here, which is my life has become comparable to a comic strip character's! The character I pitied and wondered about, is now in the same state as I am.

Thus naturally, I find myself comparing myself to Ted. How are each of us handling our forced idle? (Oh yeah, now I remember: Andy Capp was unemployed, but he was English, so it was OK to be "on the dole." Besides, he shot billiards, which is almost like pool, and drank something that was almost like beer, and thus had that reprobate aura about him that both Ted and I lack...) Anyway, at the beginnning, Ted was quite industrious. He'd lost a job he'd never liked, so he rejoiced in being let go, convinced that he could easily find a more satisfying position if he just searched the Internet enough. When this enthusiasm played out after a short period of time, he divided his days in terms of the TV shows he watched, shaved seldom if ever, and gradually sank into the kind of torpor that surrounds almost anyone who watches too much daytime TV.

For her part, Sally nagged and moaned and worried-- but made the anti-cultural decision not to send Ted to the MD for anti-depressants! Instead, she gave him a vote of confidence-- a strip I held up to our ber vols at what has turned out to be our last meeting, as an example of excellence in family emotional process.

Besides, I figured that on the heels of such comic-strip-insight there was surely a job to come for Ted. I was wrong. This week finds Ted still on the couch. Sally has gone back to being concerned: "You're wallowing in misery, Ted. It's like you don't have interest in anything anymore." "That's not true," protests Ted, weakly. "OK, what did you do today?" asks Sally. "Ohhh, what didn't I do!" Ted offers. "Okay, what didn't you do?" bites Sally. Ted looks down and says, "Leave the house."

Recognizing that this is supposed to be humor, I thought to myself: Well, at least I left the house today! And of course, I am still in the industrious, the-whole-world-is-my-oyster stage of unemployment... But I'm trying to learn what might be to come...

So in tonight's strip, Ted goes to coach his dtr's Little League softball team, an activity Sally tells her friends brings Ted "some sense of joy...". Only Ted screams at the girls, "WHY MUST YOU GUYS FAIL AT EVERYTHING?!" And we see his inner voice writ large onto his players...

Again, someone is finding this funny... But I find myself saying to myself: Ted does not have my friends. In fact, I've not seen Ted have any friends since he left work, nor has he received any encouragement from neighbors or others he might have known somehow, that I can remember. He is stewing in his own juices, and most of the mix is not very healthy.

So how sad has MY life become that I am comparing myself positively to a comic strip character? I don't really want to think about that! Instead, I want to focus not on the differences between our fates, attitudes or families, but instead on the differences between our Creators. Ted's authors are Marciulano & MacIntosh. Mine? Well, mine goes by many Names...

When my life is feeling like a tragedy, I am comforted to know that God likes to laugh! Pretty soon, then, my human tragedy becomes divine comedy-- and we'll all find reason to smile.

Blessings!