Tattoo's blog: "Life"

"Earthquakes"

I've decided to call these things "Earthquakes, 'cause you shake violently, then topple over and wait for all the aftershocks. I'm not tryin' to start a fight, and I love y'uns to pieces, but to those that are sayin', "You should have called me!" or "Why didn't you text me?", I'm very sorry, but here's a few tidbits for you to chew on: My phone is ALWAYS in my front left shorts pocket for emergencies. BUT, when your whole body goes stiff as a board, and you're  falling forwards, backwards, sideways, or straight down, and your arms & hands won't even reach out to stop your face slamming into the floor, ground, yard, sidewalk, street, or whatever, and you work your ass off for over three hours to try to make your mouth scream "CAROLYN!" (My upstairs neighbor) just to get someone's attention as to what's happening, and there ain't never gonna be no "Honey, I'm home!" comin' later, and you can't turn your head, it only stares at the clock next to your recliner, and you lay there and think stuff like, "Fuck. I need to sweep!", and every minute that clicks off you try to make some kind of progress, whether it's recitin' the alphabet, or your full name, SSN, address, birthday, ect., there's no way you're gonna flip open your phone, and start trying to find help. Holly lives close. Dave & Ruth live close. Henry & Tom live close. Leigh lives close. Brenda lives close. Andrea lives close. Susan & Tom live close. Charlotte lives close, Susane & Mike live close. Alan lives close. Tess lives close. Karen lives close. Honestly, I just went through my phone to find anyone that lives nearby, that I have a number for. See? I'm surrounded by some of the very best folks on this planet. I did what I could, and just patiently waited for the storm to pass, the clouds to clear, and the sun to come back out. That is it. That is all. I was scared, but I did not panic. These happen much more often than any of y'all know. This ain't my first rodeo. You ride that mean, ugly, bitch 'til she quits buckin', then you ride her a bit more. That's my survival instincts. To not get flustered, and remain chill 'til I can make a plan. Add to all that, the fact that I'm a grown-assed man, that until my accident in 2006, had worked very hard his whole damn life and never asked nobody for nuthin'! (God I hate beggin' for help!) I feel guilty. I feel ashamed. I feel like a loser. That ain't something that will ever change 'bout me, I'm thinkin'. I ain't always gonna be right, but I ain't always gonna be wrong either. I do the best I can with whatever pile of elephant shit lands in my lap next. I roll & I keep rollin'. It's all I know to do. Peace...