Jerhanner II

Everybody should take a bubble bath on Sunday night

--Jerhanner's Hammer 1

Jerhanner's Hammer 2

Everybody should take a bubble bath on Sunday night. You can reflect on the past week and anticipate the next while U2 plays in your headphones and the purple Christmas lights make everything dark and cozy. As I stewed in the tub this week I tried to think of a subject for this latest offering. I came up with one, but it takes a long way to get to the point, so bear with me!

My thoughts turned to my pals from my early 20’s and how we were all so dam… young. When friend’s children ask me if I was ever in the Army, I’m tempted to say “No.” 80% of the stories aren’t appropriate for anyone under 15. When I think of the mischief we got into, it’s amazing that we all made something of ourselves. LCL is a computer maestro, Jill is a teacher, I’m a Professional Hired Thug, etc.

When I was about 20, two of my friend’s houses burned down within a month of each other. One was a computer programmer who worked for IBM in Connecticut (ie Yuppie), the others were a biker couple who lived in Schenectady.

Within a month, the biker couple had a furnished apartment, and money in the bank to start replacing all their possessions – their friends had passed the hat. These were not rich people, but they had pulled together to help a friend.

The Yuppie had to move in with relatives.

It was then I realized that it was much more important to be good than rich.

Earlier this week, my guy and I curled up to watch Henry V, my all time favorite Shakespeare play. Henry spent his youthful days partying and carousing, but ended up being a great king. At one point he chides the French Ambassador that he understands how the Dauphin “Comes at us of our wilder days, not measuring what use we made of them.” Henry then sails to France and donné un coup de pied un certain âne.

My point? Not giving yourself time to enjoy life is wrong. We seem to grow up so fast nowadays – worrying about IRA’s in your 20’s is just wrong. Although the 1018^th was a bit more M*A*S*H than Platoon, we learned how to network, how to improvise, how to b.s., and most importantly, how to work under pressure with no sleep and still stay up way too late in the woods on AT.

Finally, the point: don’t believe the hype. Feel free to live your life however you choose to and nuts to those who think you’re doing the wrong thing. All that means is that you’re not doing what they want you to.

That, my friends, is a subtle but important tenet of LCL-ism. Work very hard, but don’t forget to PLAY very hard too. When we lie on our deathbeds, we will not reflect on the days we spent at our desks. We will remember concerts, dances, parties, vacations, and the people we loved. Make sure that you, like our Omnipotent LCL, have lots to think about as you fade away.