Editorial
Front Page - Friday, March 19, 2010
View from the Cheap Seats
Turning point
William O. “Bill” James, Jr.
Last Saturday, I went to an event. There were a lot of people there. Most of whom I did not know. This man about my age walks up to me and says “you don’t remember me.”
I looked at him and said that he looked familiar, but I was having trouble placing where and when I knew him. He gave me a quick rendition of the altercation we shared, and suddenly it was crystal clear. Well, the altercation was clear, but I still have no real memory of how he looked that night 25 years ago in the parking lot of the Royal Vista Hotel in Hot Springs. I don’t know what time it was. I do know it was a couple hours after our separate bid parties had ended.
The event started in motion a chain of events that changed my life forever.
All week long, I have tried to imagine what would have been different if I had not been involved in that altercation. It should be noted that, to the extent it is possible, I was in the right. At least, I was not in the wrong. The skewed thinking of some and the refusal by others to stand firm on what they believe, sent my life in a direction that was not initially planned during that long ride from Fayetteville to Hot Springs earlier in the day.
I think about that night every time that I drive by the old hotel. It haunts me like the football player who blames a twist of fate on his failure to become a star. I dream of a past that creates a future that will never be. It is a dream that is more of a fantasy that anything based in reality. It is a dream that lays a pit in my stomach every time that I think about it. It is a dream that ultimately has no different ending than the life I am currently living, but rather a middle section with a rewritten script. In the end, it is mostly time wasted thinking about the past.
Earlier this week, I read a quote which related the idea that a reputation takes a lifetime to build, but can be lost in a moment. People often remember the great things you accomplish, but they will always remember the single misstep that was fun to talk about. As I said, I was in the right, but the altercation referred to above will not be included in any future campaign literature.
Speaking of campaign literature, who is ready for a couple of months of serious campaigning? It will be a nice warmup for the general elections. It is going to be expensive. Luckily for Arkansas, it seems that much of the money for the local federal elections will be provided by outsiders wishing to buy our relatively cheap elections.
The candidates for Supreme Court spoke to the PCBA last week. The one thing I wondered during the speeches was how many undecided voters were in attendance. Most of the candidates have been campaigning for close to a year. I am generally for elected judges, even though I think that elections can put pressure on judges to rule a certain way. While there may not have been many votes changed last week, the presentation definitely highlighted the differences between the candidates.
Life is full of life altering events. Some are big, some are small. Some you bring upon yourself, others are put upon you. How much difference will running through that red light make in your life? You may have something happen because you arrive sooner. The time wasted by the other driver catching her breath after almost running into you may cause her to lose he job somehow.
You see, there is nothing you can do but live your life and see where it takes you.
Worrying about where you should have gone and how you could have gotten there is a waste of time. When the past approaches you in the form of a unfamiliar face, meet it head on and smile. You see, the past is what got you here and that is exactly where you are supposed to be. If that wasn’t true, you would be somewhere else. That is true, even for those of us in the CHEAP SEATS!
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