Monday, October 24, 2011

When Things Go Wrong


Like most people, I have beliefs, er, to put that a bit less obliquely, I believe stuff without having a real good reason for it. If you don’t think you are one of those people, then you clearly aren’t being honest with yourself. You can try to be as comprehensive as you are at eliminating crazy things you believe, but you can’t do it all. Too much stuff happens in life that we just don’t question.

Examples? Sure. From my own life, I believe that things will more or less, work out okay. I know intellectually that might not be the case, but when s#!t  starts going down, I always think that it’s all about to turn around for me. I’ve seen enough tragedy in my life to know that isn’t the case. I’ve seen cancer, accidents, even murder, disrupt and destroy the lives of people I know and care for. Doesn’t matter, nothing that bad will happen to me. It’s a matter of faith really. I’m sure there are some deep, psychological nuances at play that make that way. But still, I’m okay with that.

Anyhow, that’s just an example. But some folks have those sorts of beliefs about things that are demonstrably false. Wait, I might have used the wrong adverb there, demonstrate-ably false.

Example number two: I love my grandmother, she is more awesome than most. She grew up during the great depression and has seen some real s#!tty things in her life. She can go through a tin of snuff in a day, and string a bushel of beans even faster. She has broken more bones in the past decade than I have during my entire life. She still plugs away, outliving all of her 13 brothers and sisters and refusing to let much of anything stop her. She doesn’t suffer fools lightly though, bring your A-game if you visit, because she’ll eat you up if you don’t.

So, you know that little light in the fridge? Don’t bring it up around my Grandma. And for the love of all that is good in your life, don’t flick the little switch to show her how the light goes on and off in her fridge when you shut the door. She will beat you with whatever she has handy. Pray that it isn’t an iron skillet. She wins that argument, don’t even try.

Did I have a point? Yes, when I started writing I did have one. Whatever it was is lost on me now. It probably had something to do with seeing someone give a misguided rant on the internet. I mean, rant all you want about how unfair something is, or how bad something smells, about how fat Americans are, whatever. Just don’t go on a rant about something I can disprove as easily as my grandma’s eternal fridge-light theory.  

15 comments:

Tonja said...

I feel like whenever things are going well, especially financially, something bad is around the corner. I LOVE your grandma!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

What misguided rants have you seen lately?
I don't rant online. Serves no purpose.
We usually get what we expect, so I don't expect bad things to happen. Besides, I have the weapon on faith on my side. Whatever happens, I know God will get me through it.

Matthew MacNish said...

That is a hilarious anecdote about your grandmother. She sounds like quite the character.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I want to hear more about your grandma!

Cindy said...

Sometimes bad things happen randomly, however, negativity will attract more negativity. So improve your odds and be positive. Or beat up people like Rusty's Grandma..lol.

PT Dilloway said...

Murder? Hurm, that sounds interesting.

I had an insurance salesman visit me recently. He was trying to sell me life insurance. He said at one point, "What if yo die tonight?" I thought, Well, I'll just have to not die tonight. Everyone does eventually, but a lot of us don't like to think that far ahead.

Where was I going with this? Um, I don't know...

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

I keep myself well grounded in reality. I'm an atheist. It kinda goes with the territory. I don't believe in God, the devil, luck, karma, magic, pixies, leprechauns, and ghosts.

Briane said...

Michael: P Don't you down pixies!

I like the story about your grandma. I'm sort of the opposite of Michael, maybe, in that while I don't believe in luck, karma, magic, leprechauns or ghosts, I do believe in God and the devil, but I also believe a phrase I repeat to myself many times a day: "Everything works out for the best."

Sometimes it takes a while to see the results as such, but I feel like it's come true in my life.

But more than just believing that whatever hard time people go through will ultimately work out okay, I also think that continuing to repeat that as a mantra helps me work to improve my situation. It's not just some stupid "The Secret" kind of thing; it's a bona fide belief and organizational principal I work on.

On another note entirely, I will be putting up a review of "A Dead God's Wrath" ASAP, but I am telling you now, it was INCREDIBLE. I tore through it in one day. You'd better get going on finishing this story. Now. Quit reading this comment and go write.

Briane said...

Hey! I said QUIT READING and GO WRITE.

Andrew said...

My grandmother, who lived quite a long time and would have lived longer if she hadn't been put in a nursing home in her 90s, used to eat sticks of butter like they were candy bars while watching tv. She believed the moon landing was fake.
I have a post about the whole positve outlook thing, but, maybe, people shouldn't go look at it. heh

Nancy Thompson said...

I'm with you, I always believe things will work out. Eternal optimism. Then again, I married my polar opposite so I have to look on the bright side or risk falling into a deep dark pit of hopelessness.

And hey, your grandma is a real pistol. Great character material for a novel! I wish that everyone was as sharp and motivated as she is.

Golden Eagle said...

It sounds like your grandmother has personality!

julie fedderson said...

What are you talking about, the light shuts off? That's ludicrous. Have you ever been inside your refrigerator when it's shut? Didn't think so.

Laila Knight said...

I love the fridge light, Rusty. Your grandma sounds funny. I believe that when things go bad in life it's just creation underway. Everything that happens is relative here, up, down, young, old, so it's to be expected that the good will follow the bad. Love your optimism. :)

Gail said...

You have romanced me with your words...now, you're stuck with me!

Wonderful story...I want to know Grandma's theory on the light.