The band Living Colour's song Desperate People chronicles the struggles that people go through that can be overwhelming to the point of no return. Or, if they return, it is going to be from a mighty long way, unless they take time to pause, be still, and realize that in taking time to help rebuild yourself, you can overcome things.
Well, on Friday night, March 15th (yes, the Ides of March), at 10:45pm, someone I know beyond well came in contact with two people, one middle aged, short hair cut yet meander-driven caucasian female, and later, her best friend, a middle aged black male whose focus on their friend William and the fact they owed him money, along with the fact they knew without a shadow of a doubt (well, clearly there's some doubt here) that he is "here" (Really? Really?) clearly fit the description of desperate. The only problem is that they didn't take time to help themselves in the manner in which the band suggested. They took things in a much more different direction in that they are able to break into my home while I am present.
Other than beyond perturbed at the fact I am not as fully prepared as I usually am, I am extremely thankful to the Most High that things didn't turn out the way they could have. Far too often, we have seen cases in which people are tied up, tortured, maimed, and even worse, and during the entire time, I focused on remaining as calm as possible and just praying for as positive an outcome as possible, because I could easily be in the same condition as a former student (he graduated high school in 2006) whose homegoing service I'm still scheduled to attend later on March 16th at 1pm.
Clearly, these are individuals whose desperation is so severe to the point they felt the only way to ease away the pain is to make someone else feel the same sense of desperation they felt. As the saying goes, hurt people hurt people, and clearly they cleared intended to make sure somebody paid for whatever shortcomings or wrong that they live with, real or imagined, on a daily basis.
I sure hope that my good neighbor and my county's finest are able to do their part as best as possible.
Anything can happen anywhere. In a moment's notice, be it the calm, cool, and collected person who loses his or her composure, the mentally ill individual who sees spaceships on Bankhead, or someone who clearly is under the influence of their brain on drugs can be driven to doing anything. And while I am angry at not being better prepared and being $35 lighter and having 2 less bottles of a beverage of a spiritual nature that is derived from a fruit, I am thankful that things didn't turn out the way they could have.
I may not be in a position to even share this story to any of you at all, so as I rebuild and recover, so too must I renew and redouble my efforts to make things better before they become worse. As bad as tonight is, I think about others who experience the same that I did, yet may never have the opportunity to breathe again.
Again, I am thankful to Him for keeping me protected; it is a reminder that tomorrow is never promised, and our job is never done. But if we don't make an effort to do something, we can easily be left with or reduced to nothing, especially when someone's self-image and worth are as visible as the thick fog that mulls around on a humid, hazy day.
Definitely shaken, but never stirred...
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