Making Lemonade, With A Sling

ONE LOVELY DAY LONG AGO I awakened, and, grateful, arose. Soon I became involved with a minor disagreement with my girlfriend, something to do with cat litter. "You change it" rapidly escalated into "I do all the work around here", turning a minor tiff into a full blown shouting match, she doing most of the shouting. At length, she threw me out of the house, my instructions never to return. I packed rapidly, and drove to work, my SUV laden. pon my arrival, my supervisor started chewing on me, I made the mistake of responding, and she fired me, on the spot. While driving home a bit rapidly, forgetting that I no longer had one, it began to sprinkle. Then, my vehicle died, precipitously. Unable to start it, I soon became convinced that help was not impending, and began to walk. (This was in the days B.C., before cell phones, and I wouldn't've had one anyway).then rain intensified. Before long I was soaked, and nobody stopped to give me a ride. ON I trudged, foul of mood, soaked of clothing and skin. somebody did drive past me, but instead of offering help, splashed muddy water all over me, then gave me the finger, laughing uproariously. The only other the other thing that happened was that I slipped, fell, and sprained my ankle, but, at long last, I made it to safely, and eventually got dry clothing, car repair, a place to live, a new and better job, and, albeit a bit reluctantly, a new girlfriend. It was the worst day of my life, but the funniest, and now I laugh about it in fond remembrance. I think of a couple of Goethe quotes: "One does not always lose if one has to do without". And" "There is no situation which cannot be ennobled through endurance and achievement." I reckon that day way back in the eighties took me a heap of enduring and achieving, but, indeed, it paid off, with a good story to tell. What matters is how we choose to look at things. The best example is the story of David and Goliath. The Bible, and everybody since, assumes that David was a prohibitive underdog, who succeeded only with great courage. we tell that story in that context. the truth, although nobody seems to know it, is that David was the prohibitive favorite. In fact, Goliath never had a chance. It was a complete mismatch. there stood the doomed giant, wielding only an unwieldy ax, useless at a range greater than a few feet. There stood David, at a safe distance, with a deadly accurate, deadly sling, the assault rifle of its day, knowing exactly how to use it. to this day everyone has that story backwards. I am fortunate in my life not to make the same mistake, about me, or about the Bible.