Lord, y’all know it’s been awhile. As with many others my little part of the world has been bombarded with sickness, unexpected and gloomy events, and downright bad luck. Trying to write a humorous column; devoid of self pity, cloaks of doom, and infrequent bowel movements...has proven to be nearly impossible. But by golly, we’re gonna try.
Back in October, James and I were diagnosed with COVID. My case was nothing to sneeze at, but not nearly as terrible as poor James’. He was hospitalized for a total of eighteen days.
During that time, I was already dealing with ongoing stomach issues, high anxiety, and now...COVID...so needless to say, I wasn’t running any marathons myself. Of course, anybody who knows me...knows good & well, that I don’t run marathons anyway...unless a toilet is involved. But I digress...
It was during the Washington Parish Free Fair, when most folks were excitedly attending the festivities. While they were immersed in funnel cakes and blooming onions, James was struggling to eat jello and I was eating NyQuil gel caps.
Long before nightfall I was passed out, on the living room couch... in my very own little self induced semi-coma. Around midnight, I awoke to complete and utter darkness. I blinked my eyes several times, to no avail. And that’s when a terrifying and irrational realization hit me. I was blind. Isolated, alone, sick and BLIND. I knew, with no small doubt, that the COVID had stripped me of my sight.
Frantically, I started fumbling for my phone. I figured that I’d mash unseen buttons, until somebody...anybody...answered. Everybody that I knew, was either sick at home, in a hospital, or at the fair. But honestly, at that point I would’ve been relieved to hear the voice of the guy who earlier was so concerned about my extended warranty. Finally, I mashed something that caused the phone to light up.
‘Oh, thank God! Now I can see, to get some help over here! I’ve GOT to let somebody know, that I’m over here, helpless as a turned over turtle.’
As I’m visually scrolling through my contact list...VISUALLY searching for an available body, to come and help me because I’m blind...
‘Wait a second, fool...(chastising myself) You don’t need any help...you can SEE!’
Lord have mercy, I nearly wept, with relief.
It became obvious that there was a power outage, and I, in fact, wasn’t blind. Sick and crazy, sure...but not blind. Thank you, Jesus.
I think Mark Twain explained it best when he said, ‘Humor is tragedy plus time’. While enduring awful points in your life there is, certainly, nothing to laugh about. But time passes, and with that passing...you find tidbits of humor. You HAVE to. In life, we’re gonna laugh and we’re gonna cry...sometimes even, at the same time.
My morsel of advice for today, is simply this: Through all of our struggles and grief... never lose sight of the good or the humorous, for those are the tools of perseverance and fulfillment. Humor is a healing power, and it is very often tragedy’s first cousin. Never be so blinded by the bad... that you can’t see the good... or the funny.
I’ve surely missed y’all!
