The Dumb.

    While driving to work today I had the suspicion that someone called ahead and let all the bad drivers know I was leaving, then told them to get in front of me. The "F" word kept coming to mind. Of course, by "F" word I mean FAIL. Huge semi's switching lanes at random, a moron on a crotch rocket decides to do wheelies at 80 miles per hour, an ancient woman oblivious to the rules of the road insisting she be let over into the far left lane in order to do 4. It was a pure and unadulterated mad house. Mad I tell you! So I'm pulling a Mohammad Ali, ducking and dodging, bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic, switching between offensive and defensive driving just trying to stay alive. Then somewhere between attempting to anticipate what that bus is going to do (still trying to figure out what a city commuter bus is doing on the highway in the first place) and making sure I'm up to date on all my confessions, I realize I'm bringing a child into this world.
     This world is insane! People are dumb, selfish, they don't care about anything, and the majority of them will screw you over the first chance they get; if not intentionally, then through sheer stupidity. Her heart is going to get broken by at least one daft hormone driven tool, she's going to have to survive in a vile world that wants nothing more than to consume her very soul, and the only thing protecting her from that world is her parents. I think I'll be a great parent, and I'm sure Catie will be, but how can I compete with the constant barrage of media, peers, hormones, and drugs? It's like stopping gravity while my kid's learning to walk. Sure, it'll keep her from banging her head, but it's also impossible to really learn how to walk in a vacuum. When you think about it, walking is just a series of controlled falls. Maybe there's something to that. Maybe learning how to live is just a series of controlled failures. The best I can hope for is to be a good example, in spite of the world around me.