Optimists Need Not Apply

When the bad goes down, I don’t want to be next to an optimist. I want to be next to a prepared realist. A prepared pessimist will do very well too, thank.you.very.much. Optimists kind of piss me off. They’re good when the birds are chirping and life is great, but when the tough gets tough, they can bug off.

I may give the impression in this blog that I’m an optimist. Those who know me well will tell you I am anything BUT that. I prefer to say I’m a realist, but many have called me pessimist. I’m OK with that. I stay prepared. I prefer to find the funny in things as they happen or after the fact, but in preparation, I prepare for the absolute worst case scenario, while hoping and praying fervently for the best.

What is prompting me to write this? I was in the school yesterday assisting in our clean up/salvage effort. All the kids had been told to take home their personal belongings and books, so I figured most of the effort would be in taking care off teaching supplies. Most had been wrapped up so most was safe. We got to the religion room and opened the lockers and there were all the kid’s Bibles. They are given Bibles in 6th grade and they keep them through 8th. It was fun looking at them as the kids cover them and decorate them anyway they want. However, as we saw all these books, a teacher’s assistant said to me, “These books should have gone home with them with the rest of their books and supplies.” And she was right. They should have.

What was the religion teacher thinking? I know what she was thinking. She was thinking, “Oh it won’t hit here. We’re safe. These are just silly precautions.”

Heh. I’ve checked her off my list of people I want to be next to when the everything starts going to hell in a handbasket.