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erfection is something
everyone chases. We look for it in the cars and homes we buy, in our bodies that we work tirelessly to shape and especially in the individuals with whom we try to build relationships.
Unfortunately, though, we hardly ever find what we search so desperately for and end up tricking ourselves into believing that what we eventually purchase, what we achieve or who we choose to be involved with intimately, are the embodiments of what we wanted all along.
But, as time passes, we inevitably discover that what we actually have is nowhere near as flawless as we thought. And that usually leads us to start from scratch, while engaging in a futile ex- pedition to find a more satis- fying upgrade.
It becomes a vicious cycle that many never seem to be capable of escaping. This is mainly due to the fact that most of us have yet to realize that perfection, as we visual- ize it in our minds, doesn’t
actually exist.
The ugly truth is that we
all have warts. And the ideal image that we’ve been brain- washed into desiring, like the mythical unicorn, can only be found in fairytales.
I bring this up because for years I’ve had close friends confide in me about the trou- bles they’ve encountered in their relationships. Regard- less of who they meet or date, they eventually find some- thing that they view as a deal breaker which causes them to exit the scene. And most of the time it’s the result of something extremely petty.
Whether it’s him con- stantly crying about her never being home to cook dinner or her criticizing his weight gain, there always ap- pears to something for them to complain about.
Never mind the fact that his woman takes college courses at night to obtain her degree so that she can find a higher paying job or that her man works 14-hour days managing his own business, which causes him to skip
workouts, in their eyes there are no excuses for their sig- nificant others to not be im- peccable on all fronts.
I realized years ago how unrealistic those types of ex- pectations can be when I, ba- sically, gave away a good woman because of my own pettiness. I left her because I felt she wasn’t freaky enough and ended up becoming in- volved with another woman whose freakiness couldn’t be contained.
That is when it dawned on me that the search for the “total” package can be costly and extremely pointless. The best you can truly hope for is to find someone who has at least 85% of the qualities you like. And, if you’re blessed to find that, it doesn’t make sense to give it up while try- ing to get to the other 15% they may be missing.
The people who we see in long-lasting relationships have already figured this out. And, in order for the rest of us to achieve the same level of longevity, we also have to learn to take the good with the bad, while praying that our own shortcomings can be overlooked just as easily.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
We All Have Warts
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
A Memorial Day Commentary
hat would we do or be without war? From the
first stone thrown to the last nuclear device det- onated, have we through the centuries amassed enough cemeteries filled with military dead that we feel that we can break the addiction we seem to have to the sound of military snare drums, smart uniforms, and ground trembling instruments of mass DESTRUC- TION? The answer, thus far, is simple: ABSOLUTELY NOT! We seem to love the mayhem.
For, there seems to be a belief that “Freedom” that thing we hold most dear, may only be held by vigilance and bloodshed. Our history shows it. Our culture screams it from the rooftops. In order to be free, we pe- riodically need the sacrificial blood of young men and women or of innocent men, women, and children in order that’s we may remain humane, so to speak. .
And so, we, at the Sentinel, take the time to com- memorate the men and women, young and old, who decided their lives were worth the sacrifice in order to keep and conserve the concept called Freedom. For every brave heart-of-hearts who has risen up on the side of Liberty and was willing to lay down your life, we shed our tears, not only for your pain, but for the pain of our human inability to dream about what it would be like to live in a world without war, then make that dream a reality.
Regardless of color, gender, religion or lack thereof, this is a heartfelt note of thanks to any of you who ever thought it not robbery to rub against the grain of des- potism and give life to democracy by risking your life in the sky, on the battlefield or on the stormy sea. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if Freedom was free?
CELEBRATE DAD
FATHER’S DAY EDITION TO BE PUBLISHED ON FRIDAY, JUNE 15TH.
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TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5