Being Blanche DuBois

"I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers." -- Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire

After the last couple of days, I have come to realize that I could not be Blanche DuBois. Well, that goes for a lot of facets of her story, but especially in being reliant upon the kindness of strangers.

There's a birth order joke about t-shirts for those of us who are not only oldest, but practically "only" because of the gap between siblings. For us, our tee shirt is "Leave me alone, I'll do it myself." Very apropos for me.

I say all that because this week, I was forced to depend upon the kindness of others -- not necessarily strangers, but just others. My car was in the shop for an extended time. Like most Americans, it isn't the flag or the Constitution or any of that which best symbolizes our independence and freedom. Our vehicles are just that, the path to freedom and independence. As long as we have our wheels, the world is ours. No wheels and we are crippled.

Tomorrow, things get back to a routine schedule. And as much as I relish the idea of being a total free spirit, the truth is that I need "flexible restraint" in everything..... and my wheels. I need my wheels! :)

No, I shan't be Blanche DuBois.

Perspective

I have been busier than a one-armed paperhanger lately. And everything that was nicely ordered in my world prior to January 1 has gone BOOM! I could go on and on and do a whole post or two about those things.

But none of that seems important right now. My best friend's husband was taken back for his second surgery in 5 days -- his 4th in less than a year (maybe 5th? I can't remember). It is due to a chronic condition that he's fought since age 12. It's one of those lovely "invisible illnesses." For him, it's something where he's gone years between major episodes -- yet when one does hit, it is a massive disturbance to his life.

I admit, I get more than a little pissed thinking that there's not one but THREE drugs out there for ED... and not saying that it's not an issue, but SRSLY? Is it so damn important for some ol' geezer to get it up for his new 22-year-old Playmate squeeze, that there are this many drugs to help Gramps...... but they can't allocate resources to find cures for diseases that are TRULY disruptive to people's lives: cancer, migraines, gastro diseases, etc.

Don't get me started.

It's perspective. We're sorely lacking in it these days, and I'm as guilty as anyone. But thinking about C & S and their troubles puts me in a different frame of mind about what is really important in life....