Never (#AtoZChallenge)

Never is a harsh word.
Never is much harsher than never again.  Adding the "again" sounds possibly hopeful.
Never is definitive, unyielding, uncompromising, and perhaps limiting and shortsighted.

Never

        "Never" sounds non-negotiable.   And yet it is often used in a frivolous way in the same way we hear "always" and "everybody" being used.    When someone says "never" and they absolutely mean it it can mean an ending as well as a beginning.  

          If someone close says they are never going to see you again and it actually happens, the loss can be devastating.  A total separation from someone you care deeply about also means you have new options that must be considered and eventually addressed in order to move on.  Never doesn't have to be an end of hope or happiness.  Quite the contrary, the permanent separation from another might be a release to a freedom that had been previously unrecognized.  No matter what the case though, we must always make the best of the negative never.

         But, although never is classified as a negative word, it can have very positive implications.  When a smoker declares that they will never use tobacco again or an alcoholic promises that they will never drink again then that's usually a good thing.  Maybe bad for the suppliers of those products, but usually I think we can say that with all bad there can be some good just as with all good there can be some bad.

           Never can cover a lot of time.  As much time as forever.  The old adage "Never say never" makes a lot of sense in many ways.  If we're going to say "Never" then let it be a promise or at least intend it that way until the time comes to change our mind--if that time ever comes.

          When do you usually use the word 'never'?   Do you prefer to use 'never' as a promise or a threat?  When is a time when the declaration of 'never' proved true in your life?

         

Negativity Nuisance

        He was the kind of guy who could find something wrong with everything.  By just walking into a room, he would drain out the energy and siphon it through his aura of negativity leaving a sad empty suck that made everyone present want to skulk away into whatever other place was happier.  Norm was the ultimate party killer.

        "Where'd everyone go?"  Norm looked at me with sullen questioning.  "Do I smell bad or something?"

         What could I tell him that he had never figured out in the past?   It was always the same.  Whether I tried sympathetic apologetics or flat-out telling it like it is, he would always put it off on someone else.  It was always the other guy--nothing that he ever did.

          I would have gone too, but Norm and I had been friends since I could remember.  He could drag me down even in my happiest times, but someone had to stand by him I reasoned.  I tried to think of someone else to keep him company while I recharged myself with a happier crowd.  I could think of no one who would be willing to accept this task.

          "Everyone's looking out for themselves," Norm continued.  "It upsets them when I put the truth out on the table for them."

            Yeah and serve it with a side dish of scorn, I thought to myself.  You lay out a feast and then puke on it.  Then you expect them to eat it.

             I was annoyed, but decided to give it another go at trying to salvage the evening.

             "Let's go over to the Bull Pen and have a beer and shoot some pool."

              Norm pondered the suggestion and then scowled, "I hate that place."

 *****************************

             So, on the topic of lemons and lemonade, I'm saddened to see the Borders bookstore across the street from where I live going out of business.  It was walking distance and the only bookstore in the town where I live.  There are bookstores in the adjacent towns that are not all that far from me, but it was just kind of cool to have a big bookstore that I could walk to.

            On the plus side, since the store closes it's doors for good this weekend, everything is marked down to 80 to 90%.   Here is my haul on Friday:

Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood

E.L. Doctorow's World's Fair

Jody Hedlund's The Preacher's Bride

John Irving's Last Night in Twisted River

Lee Sandlin's Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild

 All for a grand total of  $17.79 plus our outrageous 10.75% city sales tax of $1.91.    Not too bad considering the nature of the books purchased.

          Good-bye to another pretty good bookstore.  Hello another empty storefront in a bad economy.  At least I'll have some more books to read when I can't afford to leave the house anymore.  Negativity is a nuisance,  but you can always find some good in anything if you look at it the right way.

          On Monday my topic will be Optimism.          



************