Hanging by A Thread by Dr. Juan Harrison

Around us we see an increasing number of individuals and sometimes small groups who seem to finally lose it all and lash out at anyone close to them.  America is a great place for successful people; not so much for those who haven’t been able to grasp the brass ring.

Most of us somehow manage to fit ourselves into a slot in our society and set up housekeeping and live a fairly normal life.  We battle life’s challenges and hold our own.  A few others fight the fight and feel overwhelmed or hopeless and totally lose connection with all life.  Most likely they have no foundation and few if any functioning relationships to help with their feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Who knows what finally gets somebody off track.  I remember a scene in Adam Sandler’s movie Mr. Deeds where Steve Buscemi  is preparing a hit list just as Adam’s character calls to apologize for the way he bullied him when they were younger.  Steve then takes his marker and crosses him off his list .  In light of world events it’s hard to compare real life to a movie, but you have to wonder if just one person had reached one of these perpetrators in the last minute before committing a horrific crime, could it change the outcome.

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A lot of people, families, businesses, and towns are hanging by a thread.  Some cut the thread and all hell breaks loose as the world of hindsight examines with a microscope the life that hardly anyone seemed to acknowledge the person’s existence.

Air conditioners need their filters changed; cars need their oil changed; some sea turtles need attention to not go out of existence, aka the dodo bird.  Most of us thrive when given attention, some more, some less.  Marriages are like that.  A partner may be secretly stashing getaway cash as a friend’s wife did.  Maybe their suitcase is half packed in the back of the closet.  The union may be hanging by a thread.  One more word said or unsaid, one more kindness given or omitted, may set off the string of dominoes leading to the small suitcase slid under the bed.

I had a button fall off my sports coat Sunday as I prepared to take up offering as an usher.   I simply put my left hand over the vacancy and continued with my collecting.  If I had only known the button was hanging by a thread, I could have repaired it at home and avoided the potential embarrassment.  It could have been worse.  Probably more than that, but at least once I’ve taught a class or taken up offering with my fly open.  A sweet stylish friend entered the gym for a game.  She thought her friends were waving.  Some were snickering and pointing at her shirttail sticking out of the back of her unzipped skirt.  If someone had only taken a moment to stop and tell her she was about to embarrass her cool and awesome reputation for being the epitome of style when it came to dressing.  Most situations in life tend to fall along the lines of our hair sticking up or a piece of toilet paper clinging to our shoe as we exit the bathroom.  Unfortunately we’re likely to continue to have major incidents with tragic consequences occurring made more notable because one person failed to say a kind word or give a welcoming smile just before the perpetrator went over the cliff taking a lot of innocent victims with him.