Dogwater Soup

I was out for beers with my friend Mark tonight and we were talking about the fact that to succeed in certain (or most) endeavors that we take in our lives we must at some point succumb to “the game” and play it to get to where we want to be and get what we want out of our time here.

If we look at our lives like the NHL this is what I see. There are the few elite (using the term loosely) who own the teams, they have control over almost any aspect of us regardless (IE: government) weather we like it or not. Then there are the managers and the coaches all there to make things happen the way they see fit based on what the “man” wants. Then there are the players, guys who have fought tooth and nail to make it to where they are. If they’re lucky they have a good run on a good team and make a shit load of money and perhaps eventually get a shot at coaching or managing a team later on in life. These are the guys that deserve success. Not just in a direct hockey context but in a general life context. Those of us who fight to do something different with our lives, our time and our energy deserve, in the bigger picture some sort of pay-off.

Now we look at the arenas and the people that clean the stands, mop the floors, serve the spectators popcorn, hot dogs and over-priced beer etc. Those, as with a lot of the spectators are 80 percent of the rest of the population. The working stiff with mere hopes and dreams that most will never see the light of day due to the paths we’ve chosen, debt, kids, life etc. Is this the end? Are we all destined to be mere hot dog vendors in the larger game of life? I don’t think so.

I have plans in the works to at least throw my hat in the ring and give the game a shot. Definitely not in the hockey sense because anyone that knows me knows that would just result in a wheezing pile of nerd on the ice. I think we should all, in our time, give our dreams and our goals a chance in whatever form they may be. But like in Hockey, you can’t score if you’re not playing the game.