Layers and layers of the-same-old-garbage peel back and the inner rotten core sees the light of day.  That one impossible challenge faces me and I quiver beneath its stare.  I understand the keenness of the knife that I suspend over my heart.  Its plunge into my breast seems inevitable.

Then along comes Genevieve and she tells me, remember, you are awesome, and I think to myself,  How can I remember something that I never knew?  I have not forgotten that I am awesome; I never believed it; I do not believe it now.  I hear that voice:  Same old shit, same old shit, don’t bore us, and I wonder:  Whose voice is that?  Then Genevieve embraces me and repeats in her tender tones:  You are awesome, don’t ever forget that, and I get through the evening, at least; and relatively unscathed.   I see the knife hovering but a thin shield blocks its glancing blow.  The blade retreats.

It’s the twenty-eighth day of the thirtieth month of My Year Without Complaining.  Thanks to my dear friend Genevieve, life continues at least for another day.

Me and Genevieve McBrayer Casey in front of her photo, “Floating”, which I am so glad that I own.