Saturday, June 12, 2010

Don't Trouble Trouble

I had a friend named Faye. Faye was barely five feet tall and weighed maybe 90 pounds. She wore the highest high heels. When I made reference once to her short stature, she drew herself up and even though in her heels she was still inches shorter than I, she seemed to be glaring down at me. Her eyes flashed as she growled, “I am VERY TALL.” She was like a toy Doberman.

Faye was from Mississippi. She had a rich Southern drawl and was full of Southern quips and wisdom. If confronted with an unpleasant possibility, she would brush the air with her hand and shrug. “Well, I always say don’t trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.”

Sadly, trouble did trouble Faye. She battled manic depression, and in the end, despite devoted friends doing their best to help her, she took her own life.

That was years ago. I still think of Faye sometimes. I don’t remember her in her manic or depressed cycles. I remember her when she was full of joy, real joy. She loved life even as she fought the demons that finally wore her down. I never heard her worry about the future. She went for the gusto. She was very tall indeed.

Do not worry about tomorrow’s trouble, for you do not know what the day may bring. Tomorrow may come and you will be no more, and so you will have worried about a world that is not yours. –Babylonian Talmud

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