Piece on Earth

For years, when we drove Sean to his elementary school, we drove past a salvage yard. There was a white Oldsmobile right along the fence with orange spray paint reading “PEACE OF SHIT.”

It never failed to remind me of the wisdom of Confucius: “Man who lay on ground with woman get piece on earth.”

And then I would remember the pervert who stalked the Wal-Mart where I clerked in college. He looked like Conway Twitty with a hairy belly hanging out of his white tee-shirt. He thought he was hilarious. Came up to me one evening in the hardware department and said, “I got a shirt and a piece of ass for Christmas, and they was both too big.” It was funny, but his breath stank so bad I couldn’t laugh.

I smiled though. You can smile and hold your breath at the same time. It’s an evolutionary adaptation. Rather handy in the retail sales business.

And it is by this declension of thoughts that I find strength for another season of joy. We were created with the ability to hold our breath and smile. And Christmas is the season for using that talent to get through this haze of memories and muted hope . . . waiting to exhale.

To quote the Lord in John’s Gospel, “Let not your heart be troubled [everything will be back to normal soon].”