“doc pittman” died the other day. i couldn’t even tell you his first name. he used to come in and drink at mcgills at 21st and utica where my sister used to bartend. she thinks he had a miserable life. i’m not sure if he was an alcoholic or not, but he was in mcgills most nights. he “wasn’t old enough to die” either, whatever that means. i suppose it means they didn’t die of old age, post-70 or something. but what is interesting to me about doc is that if he did live a miserable life then he certainly wasn’t a totally miserable person. and he took a keen interest in my sister and me. he worked on our teeth for free cuz he knew we didn’t have much money. he’d always tip susy $20 or something. every night she was in. people who live miserable lives are interesting. some live in total misery and project that against every other human, but others seem to find some cause they deem worthy and support it. who knows how many others doc pittman took joy in helping out, maybe we were the only ones. but miserableness sometimes causes people to try to see something good in life, some take it into their own hands to do something good. i suppose it’s self therapy. one slightly cynical part of me says that focusing on helping others takes away from dealing with the hurt inside yourself, but the best humans are those that put themselves aside completely for the good of others. i dont know what made doc so miserable, but fighting against personal misery must surely be the greatest cause a human can undertake. it’s greater than curing cancer or aides. it’s more important than bringing peace out of some war. it is the affliction that every human must deal with at some point in their lives, some in their whole lives.
it is absolutely fascinating that humanity at large doesn’t acknowledge that. there are almost 7 billion people alive today, not counting every single human that has come in the past. most, if not all that lived to maturity, have at some point wondered what it is to live a life with peace in oneself. all that though, all those great minds, and yet still most fail at that cause. it’s so weird.
at least we now have twitter…
2 years ago