Ducks Rowed (More or Less)

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Q: Hold down a job? 
A: Check. 

Q: Pay bills (on time)? 
A: Check. 

Q: Save money? 
A: Check. 

Q: Obey the Rules of the Road? 
A: Check. 
Or, mostly check. 
Or, rather: Check-ish. 

Q: Recycle? 
A: Check. 

Q: Observe common courtesy? (Exempli gratia, holding doors open for those who follow behind, allowing others to lead the way onto or off of an elevator, giving up a train seat to those who are less steady or heavily burdened, et cetera.) 
A: Check.

Q: Charitable? 
A: Check. 

Q: Keep in shape?
A: Check. 

Q: Avoid junk food? 
A: Check. 

Q: Find someone to love you back?
A: ...

Q: Find someone to love you back?
A: Pass. 

Q: Find someone— 
A: Shut up. There’s always a rub. Exempli gratia: You’ll have love, but you won’t have money. Love, but your lover’s unfaithful. Love, but you’ll be sick with AIDS, MS, or cancer. Or, they’ll be sick with fill–in–the–blank. You’ll have love, but you’ll also have alcoholism; love, but it’ll come with an addiction to crystal meth. Love, but you’ll be in jail. Love, but suicide bombers are blowing your world to bits. Love, but you’re in a persistent vegetative state. Love, but you’ve overstated last year’s earnings by several billion—and you just got caught. So what makes love worth the bother? 

19 June 2005

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