Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2004 - 4:47 P.M.

You know, I certainly don�t begrudge people who are striving to climb the corporate ladder. I�m all for personal growth and added experience. I, however, am not one of those people. I have a different mindset. That is not to say that I don�t strive to do well at my job or that I don�t appreciate compliments or opportunity for advancement but there are things in life that are more important to me. Like shoes and purses. Oh, alright. Family and friends can come too.

In my life I have known several people for whom their job is the be all, end all. For them there is no higher priority than their career. Some have families, some don�t. Some have other obligations, some don�t. Either way, a parent�s missed anniversary party, a friend�s missed wedding or child�s missed ballgame has less effect on them than their missing a day (or even an hour) of work. Thereby, at least in their mind, disappointing the powers that be and immediately falling behind others in their workplace who eat, sleep and breathe their jobs. This mentality, while foreign and strange to me, seems to do wonders for them. They flourish in such a climate. They are seemingly fully fulfilled and left with no longing or want unaddressed. Or, if not, they�re damn fine actors.

So it is with both a heavy heart and a sorrowful remembrance of opportunities missed that I reflect on a very close friend�s life. A life lived just as described above. A life lived by the credo �All work and no play makes Jack happiest.� A life cut tragically short. A life that will be missed despite all of the idle time we never had. Somehow I always hoped and thought we�d get the chance, time would be made by both of us. We met as children, hated our parents together as teens, commiserated as young adults and fell out of touch as grown-ups. The time we had was sweet, though I suppose I�ll always wonder if the time we missed would have been sweeter still.

I cannot imagine a life lived solely for the purpose of striving to reach what you believe is the pinnacle of success. Furthermore, I certainly wouldn�t want the stress of having to maintain such a supposed stature. But, again, that�s just me. I�m not judging anyone for it. I�m not holding anyone up on a pedestal either.

Farewell, my friend.

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Ebert And Roeper? Watch Your Backs. - Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005
Coffee? Tea? Map? - Monday, Nov. 07, 2005

� Purplecigar

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