Time To Back Off

By The Big Guy

Senior Contributor

I’ve always been one of those people who are looking ahead. Good times or bad, I’m pretty much of a mind that what’s done is done and it’s time to move on. There is seldom anything to be gained by dwelling on past events. And that’s why I’m concerned.

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not opposed to the fine art of reminiscing. There’s nothing like sitting down in the living room with an ancient photo album, watching family movies from the previous century, or flipping to TCM on the cable TV machine and spending an afternoon with Cary Grant and Doris Day or even Gregory Peck. I think these sorts of things help lower blood pressure and clear the mind.

In fact, I think that’s the point. In the next several months of looking ahead all I can make out are things that are going to raise my blood pressure and confuse my mind. And this goes for most of us so consider this a warning for us all. Yes we managed to prove the Mayans (or at least the Mayan backers) a fraud. We also managed to survive the fiscal cliff. Hey, who remembers the fiscal cliff? Anyone? But there’s a whole new pile of fertilizer standing between us and let’s say major league baseball’s opening day. If you don’t like baseball then please substitute the opening of the next Star Trek movie. If that still doesn’t work then you need to consider expanding your value system.

The Sunday morning talk shows and the weekday evening political shows have replaced Mayans and cliffs with things like the debt ceiling (again), the platinum coin gambit, gun reform, Presidential cabinet appointees, a financial market crisis, not to mention the return of the attempt to kill Obamacare. And each one of these items seems incontrovertibly linked to conflict among our congressional friends. That would be the body of individuals where the leader of one chamber recently suggested the leader of the other chamber commit a physically improbable act upon his own being. How’s that for a new spirit of cooperation?

So I’ve decided there’s only one thing I can do. It’s time to back off. No more Sunday morning talk shows. No more weekday evening political shows. I’ll read the sports and arts sections of the newspaper and set fire to the rest. I’m going to spend more time with Mr. Grant, Ms. Day and Mr. Peck. And come the start of the baseball season or the premiere of the next Star Trek movie, whichever comes last, I will check back so I can see that all of the above problems are resolved and we are moving forward as one nation.

This is never going to work.