"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

The Emmis

I am less selfish now than I used to be and less resentful too. The world doesn’t owe me bubkis. Nobody is out to get me and I haven’t been jipped. Sure, I know better intellectually, but emotionally? Well, that’s not always so simple. But if I keep my head buried in the past I’m sure to be angry and cold, remote and self-loathing. Hard to love. 

It’s easy for me to fall into that line of thinking so I remind myself every day to be present, in the now, not yesterday and not tomorrow. After all, it takes a lot of energy to be pissed off. And it would be shame for me to act like a spoiled brat at my age, especially considering all the good things I’ve got going on, especially this peach of a woman I call my wife.

Damn, I’m one lucky sonofabitch.

Categories:  Memoir  The Mrs

Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email %PRINT_TEXT

18 comments

1 Jon Weisman   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:05 am

"Sure, I know better intellectually, but emotionally? Well, that’s not always so simple."
Biggest challenge I face today. It's no free throw.

Great pic - you are, as always, the man.

2 Diane Firstman   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:11 am

AWWW ....nice!

3 Sliced Bread   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:17 am

Sweet peach, dude.
And I mean that with all due respect, and fondness for peaches.

4 weeping for brunnhilde   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:34 am

:))

5 Alex Belth   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:49 am

3) NICE. Hey, I did one thing right--married the right lady.

6 Virginia Yank   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:55 am

Good stuff Alex. As always, thanks for the honesty and great perspective.

7 Jon DeRosa   ~  Apr 5, 2011 11:58 am

[5] I think that list is probably a lot longer, but at least you started at the top.

If you want to find regrets and shortfalls in your life you will. And I think if you want to find joy and achievment, you will. If you can train your focus on the latter and learn from and discard the former, you're doing as well as anybody.

8 Diane Firstman   ~  Apr 5, 2011 12:01 pm

[6] THIS!

(that being said ..... I have a lot of trouble executing it ...)

9 Alex Belth   ~  Apr 5, 2011 1:18 pm

6) Thanks. It takes a lot of work not to be a schmuck and act like a self bastard, but I guess that's what they call being adult. LOL

10 Ken Arneson   ~  Apr 5, 2011 2:43 pm

Such a cute couple you two are...

Yeah, if you're pissed off more often than not, you are probably approaching life wrong.

On the other hand, denying yourself the occasional selfish angry rant also seems wrong. A small handful of 100% schmucks can take advantage and ruin it for everyone if most people are 0% selfish bastards. It's better if most people are about 90% cool and 10% schmuck.

I had a 10% schmuck moment yesterday, but the schmucks deserved my wrath. ;) Now I can move on, and get back to working on being a 90% good guy.

11 Alex Belth   ~  Apr 5, 2011 2:52 pm

10) 90-10 seems like the sane ratio. And if someone deserves a beatdown that is different than walking around like a shithead all the time. Sometimes punks jump up to get beat down and that's all there is to it.

12 Dimelo   ~  Apr 5, 2011 3:21 pm

Nice pic. All the best my dude!!!

13 Alex Belth   ~  Apr 5, 2011 3:25 pm

12) D! You the man, bro.

14 Eric McCauley   ~  Apr 5, 2011 4:25 pm

11) Brand Nubian? LOL.

Nothing too original to add..great photo and I couldn't have put it better myself.

15 Diane Firstman   ~  Apr 5, 2011 4:43 pm

[0]

The couple to your left looks so glum, especially compared to you two. Could you tell us when/where/why this photo was taken?

16 FlyGirlFan   ~  Apr 5, 2011 5:27 pm

: )

17 Evil Empire   ~  Apr 5, 2011 8:07 pm

Al -- you are a lucky SOB....I'm still looking at that green light on the other side of the sound, filled with hope and thinking..."someday".

18 Alex Belth   ~  Apr 5, 2011 10:39 pm

15) At a four year old's birthday party at a community center in New Mexico! No joke. LOL Don't know who the folks in the background are actually.

feed Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email
"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver