Get Behind the Mule
I found an old note from my friend Jolene. She remains, to this day, my oldest friend. I’ve kept in touch with no one else from the otherwise misspent youth of my high school days, except for my cousin Lou who I was pretty much born next to, but like his title says and like I’ve told him countless times - he is my cousin, it’s $20 if he wants a friend.
But that’s besides the point, what matters is this - Jolene knows me pretty well. We talked each other nightly through some just mindnumbingly godawful teenage relationships, obsessed on things (she on Billy Joel, me on Moonlighting), and kicked each other in the ass every now and again when we really needed it. And here we are now, crappy relationships a thing of the past, Billy Joel for some reason kind of a douche and tuning down a half-step, Moonlighting long ago cancelled, and trading baby pictures on opposite ends of the country.
She used to have this habit of signing off on her emails with a quote from any number of historical literary figures and/or muppets, and this was one of them -
“To fall into habit is to begin to cease to be.” – Miguel de Unamuno.
I know, I thought she was coming on to me too. No, I KNOW! I was like, should I tell Sue? But you know what? Yeah, she wasn’t.
SIDE NOTE – Ol’ Miguel there was a professor in… Spain, I think it was. He was once hauled off in the middle of a lecture for some thought or another he wasn’t supposed to be having about the political air of the time. He was kept from teaching for four years before the powers that be released him and allowed him back to his job. He went into his class and started it off with, “As I was saying yesterday…” - I like that.
So I stumbled across that quote the other day and it kinda sorta hit me. Because, sadly, I am nothing if not one big day in and day out walking and talking habit. And as I’ve said, lately I feel a lot less me.
Now what to do about it? I’d love to say it struck me so hard I’m going to change this and that and blah and blah….. but no… I may be less me, but I still know me. But, and this is a big but (and I cannot lie) – it was the first time in a long time I suddenly felt some kind of… kick in the ass maybe?
So yeah, it was purely unintentional, but I needed it. Thanks, Jo.
