According to Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” He was so right! Our lives are like Broadway, TV and Hollywood productions with crises, climaxes and denouements.
Although we’re given some control over the outcome, in the important area of casting, it’s largely in the hands of Fate and we are rarely consulted. Take my life, for instance. I have no complaints about the leading character choices, but the selection of those in supporting roles and even the walk-ons, have caused a considerable amount of anxiety.
Fate made a big mistake near the beginning in casting my kindergarten teacher. Someone like Doris Day would have provided a great start to my scholastic career and instilled a sense of fun and adventure in my pursuit of knowledge. Central Casting sent in Norma Desmond and I had to be dragged to school every day, kicking and screaming.
My first real job was as a drug store delivery boy. I was a pre-teen and eager to learn. If the pharmacist had been a Jimmy Stewart type, I might have gone on to eventually win the Nobel Prize for Medicine. But Casting sent in Peter Lorre. The closest I got to dealing with medicine was planting rat poison in the cellar.
Think back over your last few weeks and the characters Fate has pushed into your path. Do you realize how these supporting players have changed, at least temporarily, the tone of your life? What about that waitress last Friday evening? After a very rough work week , great food and friendly service was what you needed. Dorothy or Aunty Em would have been perfect servers, but the Wicked Witch of the West was sent out. She spilled the soup on your new suit and claimed you’d tripped her.
Supporting players on a typical work day have such minor roles we often fail to recognize their effect on our psyche. Dealing with a grouchy bus driver (Ralph Kramden) or a weird subway passenger (Freddy Krueger) can impart a sense of imbalance to your day. Would it make a difference if the office security guard who greets you each morning was Jack Lemmon or Bela Lugosi?
Why is it every time I’m called in to authenticate my income tax deductions I have to deal with Inspector Clouseau or Howard Cosell? And how come I was stuck with Felix Unger for my State’s car inspection? He failed me again. For dirty bumpers.
I have to end here. The Three Stooges just arrived to fix my water heater which was recently installed by Homer Simpson.
Imagine That 