the eugene bean

At the Carousel Bar in New Orleans Ty once ordered a Wild Turkey on the rocks. He got something decidedly different. He sipped it. I sipped it. As the bar slowly turned we tried to guess what it was – some kind of orange liqueur – and we laughed about it. Ty didn’t mind – the drink didn’t bother him – the night had been special, we were in one of our favorite bars in a beautiful, historic hotel, and it provided an opportunity to giggle when we saw the bill and realized the mystery liquid was Cointreau.

And that is how I want my life to be lived.

I do not want to fret over the Cointreau, over the wrong beer or salad dressing, over the lack of extra butter. I do not want to freak out while I’m waiting for someone and they happen to be 15 minutes late.*

I’m going to get on people’s shit list when I say that this tends to start happening the older we get. I think we’re more apt to develop an “I Deserve This, Damn It!” attitude that we think helps us but really hurts us.

How far can we get in life if we think that others owe us? How do I benefit from bitching at the customer service rep or getting exasperated with the girl at the Burger King drive through? All I do is embarrass the people near me. And then maybe lose a little self respect – which causes me to be even more of an uppity bitch the next time I order from there.

Yuck. What a nasty way to live life. What a waste of time.

There are so many valid, frightening, anxiety producing things to worry about. It’s terrifying, really, if you think about it. Why in hell would I want to add more drama?



* There are, of course, exceptions to this laissez faire attitude I’m trying to develop. I would not eat anything that had a bug in it. I would not stay in a hotel room that had roaches. I wouldn’t expect you to eat a food that repulses you just because I don’t want you to bitch at the wait staff. Let’s just try to keep our dignity?