THE UNLUCKY AND LUCKY

 

For more times than countable, guns, knives, fists, and hard-soled shoes pressed my temple or throat or blasted into my being. The manic outbursts of a madman left me a bloodied, bruised, battered and insecure woman.

Never opening my mouth to anyone about the abuse and threats, I lived in an isolated world of pure agony. My escape came only after nervous cops advised, “You need to go into hiding now. Right now, as we can’t ensure your safety.”

Not a complete idiot, I heeded their advice, put hundreds of miles between my abuser and me. Phew! I breathed, and the distance insured life-sustaining oxygen would continue to enter and be expelled from my lungs. Oh, lucky me.

Others aren’t so fortunate, and now, entire communities suffer when someone’s failed marriage, loss of a job, or whatever drives them to the brink and prompts them to end life/lives, create havoc and hell.

Human emotions are capable of creating magnificent masterpieces but equally able to perform great dastardly deeds that defy logic.

My heart bleeds for those left in the wake of grisly life-changing actions that maim and destroy, leave us shaking our heads in gut-wrenching disbelief.

Yes, in my case, for whatever reason, though knuckles crushed, the trigger never snapped, the blade never slashed, and the feet never snuffed out the life force from my body.  The threats against my family were never carried out, and for all this, I am grateful.

What makes one person jump into hellfire and commit brutal, violent crimes against their fellow man/woman while another plants their boots just this side of the invisible barrier keeping them from committing heinous atrocities?

What moves an individual from sanity to utter insanity? The answers don’t readily arrive, and at times, the mysteries are never unlocked.

Sadly, this is our new brave world. And fearless we must be.

Those who possess decency and common sense, are left to ponder the madness surrounding them, but after the initial shock, most regain a degree of balance.

With the population at its limits, resources stretched to their boundaries, I fear all anyone one can do is make an attempt to navigate the amalgamation of crazies who pop up from the woodwork to deliver their doom.

And, while maneuvering through the quagmire, the best we can, we hope to remain one of the lucky ones.