Losing My Religion (What? It was never there? Oh. Okay).

“Facts are meaningless. You can use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true. Facts schmacts.” – Homer Simpson

I have occasionally wondered what sort of things I’d be doing with my life if I were a teenager/young adult right now. Social media obsession/addiction? Filming myself doing everything in the hopes that real effort is never required to make a living? Would I use fun words like ‘stan’, ‘woke’, ‘lit’, or ‘sus’? Would I spend hours a day arguing with strangers online? Perhaps I’d try to lead the charge in an attempt to ‘cancel’ someone. I’d go all out to collect attention and praise. I’d have the running delusion that my ‘content’ is brilliant and providing a service to the world. Man. What a life, eh?

A lot of talk lately about the Covid vaccine. A bit more now that the CDC has given the green light for vaccinated folks to ditch the masks in most situations. I got my vaccination out of the way last month. Will I go out in public without a mask? Probably not anytime soon. And that just stems from my constant lack of trust when it comes to other people. Yeah, we’re cresting a very important hill on the road to getting past this pandemic. That’s great. But there is still a large chunk of the population that doesn’t care a bit about any of it. The same chunk that operated under the idea that it was a “fake pandemic”. That it wasn’t “that serious”. It’s not a blanket statement but I’m fairly sure that there will be a few wonderful people out there who pretend to be vaccinated. Maybe they’ll even go as far as getting a fake vaccine card. You know, if our country acted this way when Polio was a thing, well, we’d probably still have people coming down with Polio. I mean, we’re a few weeks removed from people filling up bags with gasoline. That says it all.

Some of the hesitation comes from the idea of the unknown. What might happen to me down the road if I get the shot(s)? What sort of side effects are going to pop up later in life? It’s a fair question and a fair concern. I get it. Our species has always been terrified of the unknown. Of the uncertainty that awaits. And I’d never judge anyone for having those worries and fears. Hell, sometimes I worry that my stuffed animals are going to come to life and kill Britt in her sleep. Thing is–and I try to live by this idea–our futures aren’t going to be great if we don’t make the efforts right now. The present dictates the future. If we’re constantly looking ahead, then we aren’t giving the now the attention and care that it needs. Could the Covid vaccine screw us up later? Maybe. Can getting Covid now screw us up? Definitely. That isn’t an unknown. That’s reality.

But to touch on a point that sits on the other side of this. I find it laughable that possibilities and maybes are driving people to sit back and not get this vaccine thing done. And I say that because for a good bit of folks, engaging in horrible, unhealthy habits is a daily thing. Okay, yes, you’re dealing with more established outcomes. Smokers know they’re going to get lung cancer. Alcoholics know they’re going to destroy their livers and other organs (and families). Drug addicts know that death can be waiting right outside their door and they still go for it. The obese know that a heart attack could be imminent and they still put in that order at McDonalds. I know that sugar is no good and I still break down and have that bowl of cereal in the morning (not every morning…I’m trying). It just begs the question of how much we really care about our bodies. Perhaps the comparison is not exactly fair. I don’t know. It just sort of seems like a loose reason to try and hang your hat on is all.

I want to give a special shout out to the guy who ran the stop sign coming off of Rt. 8 a few mornings ago. I appreciate you doing that right in front of me. May your coming days be filled with horrific bouts of public diarrhea.

But to jump back to the whole worrying about the future thing. Don’t get me wrong, I think about it a lot. Where I want us to be. How I want things to look. Hell, even the idea of children has been floated around a time or two. And yeah, like a good bit of you, I am saddled with the lingering regrets of mistakes that happened in those days long gone by. That’s life. Pretty sure that there will be plenty of mistakes to follow. Again, life. I’ve dealt with my share of headaches; the mean ones that come from living in three different times at once. The ones that wrap around the skull and squeeze until all of the juice is out of the orange. I am both prepared and not prepared. I demand a future–and a present–that is built on hard work and honesty and not compromising on the things that matter most. And then I drop those demands onto the floor because I am far too tired to function. The cycle repeats itself. Sometimes the audience laughs. Other times, they do not.

The NHL playoffs are in full swing. The Pens look to keep their season alive tomorrow night in what I’m sure will be a very tense game 6. I don’t know what the hell happened last night. All I know is that it wasn’t good. I do see them taking the game tomorrow and forcing a game 7 back in the ‘Burgh. We can debate until the sun goes down about the things keeping the Pens from potentially moving along. I do think it’s important to remember that the Islanders are a pretty good team. That tends to play a big part in things.

Edmonton is out. Done. See ya next season. I still can’t put that one into words. Two of the greatest players in the world and they looked like they didn’t belong. Perhaps the time has come to ignite a bomb within that organization. McDavid isn’t going to wait around forever to have a real shot at winning.

I did pick Nashville to upset Carolina. And after games 3 and 4, I am a bit more convinced that they can do it. Very excited for the tilt tonight. Carolina is sneaky good. Outside of their own market, you don’t often see much coverage in their favor. They are loaded with talent. If Nashville wins tonight, I say they take the series.

It’s Knight Time in Florida. Can the rookie help the Panthers complete the comeback? Absolutely. Will it happen? I don’t know. Tampa is frightening. And they look like a team that is ready for another championship. But a rookie goaltender going on a hot streak has worked out several times for teams that ended up winning the Cup. Either way, Florida has a super bright future ahead.

Obviously, the ideal final sees Pittsburgh and Colorado going at it. Crosby vs. McKinnon. Best friends competing for the ultimate prize. Come on. That has storybook written all over it. But with the intensity we’ve already seen, I don’t think it’s going to matter who winds up in the finals. We’re in store for some damn good hockey.

I’ve noticed a great increase in the number of very large birds in the area.

The creative side of things is still at a crawl. I thought I was close to a breakthrough a few weeks ago. Turns out I was being fooled. I blame hunger. And my gem of a stomach. I’ve been trying to cut sugar from my diet for about a month now. And in the expected case of Ralston Luck/Irony, I’ve felt rather terrible. Makes sense, right? Sure. The brain suffers as much as any other part of the body when you’re putting trash into it. Add those extra lovely things like poor sleep, a night turn schedule, and not having a hefty supply of the Limitless drug or cocaine pancakes and you’re going to have yourself a hell of a good time. You’ll get to do fun activities such as staring into space for minutes at a time, nearly falling over when moving from room to room, and the always enjoyable moments of nodding off while driving.

And speaking of, I suppose it is time to sign off. Be good out there. Stick to your own business. Your own life. Enjoy what you can. Find happiness in the little things.