Trinity...

For any who know me very well they know one of my favorite books is the novel Trinity by Leon Uris. It tells the story of the Larkin family from the fictional town of Ballytogue in Northern Ireland. It tells the story of a family who is constantly plagued by sorrow and misfortune. The death of close family members and friends, oppression of a people because of their religion or where they lived and the fierce pride one can still seem to find in themselves and their lives despite all of this have rung oddly true to me both when I first read it and as I live and breath today.

I have found through my life that nothing is easy. Despite what people may tell you everything worth having in life involves some form of struggle and pain. It takes work. Growing up where I did I had the interesting position of seeing people I knew and admittedly was very envious of get handed everything by their parents; and while my family did not live in abject poverty, I was aware at a young age that there were certain things in life I would have to live without.

This is not to say that I did not have things I probably didn’t need. I had toys as a child, quite a bit of them. I enjoyed fishing (which is not a cheap hobby.) But I knew that these things were a privilege. I did not ask for a new pole every year and didn’t own my first really nice pole until I was in the early part of twenty (at which point I was able to pay for it my self.)

But I never got that brand new beamer from Mommy and Daddy as the kids I went to school with did. I didn’t wear designer clothes growing up (and at this point in my life don’t have many “big name” labels in my closet. I won’t spend a hundred dollars on a pair of shoes and very rarely pay much more than that for a new suit (before tailoring…)

My first car was a 1994 Chevy Beretta that I got from a very good friend for free because he won a new one in a contest and I braved the sleet, wind and hail with him for four hours waiting to see if his key would be the one out of a hundred which unlocked the car.

We never took yearly, expensive vacations to exotic places like Cabo San Lucas or Disney (although I did get to go to Disney once as a small child.)

And while I do have some fairly nice, luxury items that I probably did not need (my Blackberry and my Canon Digital SLR being the chief culprits) and took a trip I probably could have lived without (Vegas in 2008) I have worked and toiled with the sweat of my back for them and none of them were handed to me.

It seems silly to me that in the day and age we live in that people with jobs (while approximately ten percent of our country is unemployed and a much higher percentage are trying to survive on minimum wage jobs which BARELY cover the gas to get to and from work every week) would have the nerve to bitch about their jobs. They should be thankful they even have them.

I find it humorous when the very small amount of people I still keep in contact with from High School who were handed everything by their parents tell me how hard their lives are now that their on their own. They never knew about the hefty costs associated with utilities and rent and vehicle payments and insurance, groceries, health insurance, clothing etc.

While their parents (a majority of which grew up without much themselves) probably thought they were helping their kids and giving them “everything they couldn’t have” when they were growing up; have done them a disservice. They didn’t prepare their offspring for the harsh realities of the real world. It saddens me that our populace is full of ill prepared Paris Hilton parodies.

Paris, France had someone like that once. They sent her to the Guillotine during the French Revolution. All she did was suggest the starving populace “-- eat cake.”

Despite everything though, I envy these people not. I look back on my youth with a smile rather than a sad expression. I am proud of what I have and what I have worked for. So what if I had to bust my ass for it? It has just allowed me to appreciate life that much more…

Until Next Time Kids… Don’t drink anything I wouldn't…

Mac The Bartender