Grasping for Something

It’s amazing how one tiny slip-up can be blown out of proportion. Obama’s “You didn’t build that” is a made-up controversy, one the Romney camp pounced on because they were hard pressed to come up with something real.

By now everyone should know that Obama’s comment was about building roads and other services made possible by the government. No matter how industrious you are, you still receive help. Everyone needs help.

But not everyone wants to admit it. We’re a county founded on the principal of self-enterprise, and to imply otherwise ruffles a lot of feathers. My friend Sharon is a republican, and her biggest beef with the democrats is all the handouts we (supposedly) want to give. I understand her thinking but I don’t agree. You can’t run a race if you’re malnourished, and everyone needs to start with something. I believe it’s up to the government to supply that something, and it’s up to us as individuals to become productive members of society. Of course, not everyone does so, but the world is an imperfect place. I wish I knew how to fix that, but I don’t.

How we campaign is certainly imperfect. I shouldn’t be surprised that the Romney camp is making such a fuss about one comment taken out of context, but I still feel stung every time I read about it.

Speaking of feeling stung, on Friday I went to pick Monty up at the airport as a surprise. My afternoon was less busy than I originally thought it would be, so I decided to meet him in baggage and save him the trouble and expense of taking a taxi.
 

Imagine my surprise when I see him accompanied by a very tall, very beautiful co-worker who I hadn’t realized was also on his business trip to D.C. Her name is Brooklyn, but people just call her Brook. How precious is that?

“Why didn’t you tell me she was on the trip with you?” I later asked him, after dropping her off at her apartment and then driving us home.

“I thought I had,” he said.

 

“I think I would have remembered that, Monty.”

“What’s the big deal?” he demanded. “You’re acting like you don’t trust me.”

So I explained that I do trust him, but the fact that he didn’t even mention she was on the trip makes me think there’s something else he’s not telling me. I don’t think he’d cheat on me; it’s not that. But he’s a straight guy with a pulse, so I can’t imagine he hasn’t noticed how attractive she is. Is there some part of his life, or his fantasies, that he wants to keep to himself?

Maybe I’m just blowing things out of proportion, or taking them out of context. Maybe he did tell me, and between our two jobs and our two small children I wasn’t listening. But I will listen now, especially since she’ll be on his trip to Africa that’s coming up soon. He’ll be gone for several months, and they’ll be travelling together.

 

So I’ll work on not turning this into some made-up controversy. I have enough going on in my real life without having to fabricate problems.