There’s actually some comfort in hearing that final coffin nail hammered home

Earlier this year my wife left me. Then I lost my house. Last week, I finally hit the Trifecta of bad luck – I was fired from my job.

It wasn’t my fault, or the fault of the newspaper I was working for. The economy stinks, and they simply couldn’t afford me anymore.

Management was exceedingly nice about it; I should point out, and did everything they could to make the whole affair a little less devastating. It’s a great company; the best I’ve worked for, and I have nothing but good things to say about the folks there.

I’ll miss ‘em.

But I’m still unemployed. And, as many of you already know from sad experience, this is not a good time to find oneself without gainful employment.

So, the wife, the house, the job … if I knew three chords I’d write a country-western song. Seriously, I’m starting to feel like a character from a Steinbeck novel here!

If it weren’t for the fact I now have nothing left to lose, I’d be bummed out. But, other than my health (knock on wood) everything I thought important a year ago is long gone.

It may be that I’m still in a state of shock, but the whole thing is actually a little liberating. I have nothing left that can be taken from me. I can’t help but wonder; at some point did Job finally throw up his hands and laugh at his situation? The Bible doesn’t report this event, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.

I mean, there’s only so much that can happen to one person in a short amount of time before it becomes impossible to miss the flat-out irony of it all.

So I’m not going to panic or pout. I’m going to file my unemployment claim, dust off the resume, get a good haircut, polish my shoes, pray, and start looking for work. Eventually (the unemployed bum says with crossed fingers) I’ll find something.

And when I’m not hunting for a new gig, I’ll do what everybody I know has been telling me to do for years: work on The Book. “Starving artist” sounds so much better than “unemployed bum,” don’t you think?

I’m not sure yet what the book is going to be about, but trust me, it will be fabulous! So much so, in fact, that you’re not only going to want to buy a copy for yourself, but several additional copies for friends and relatives.

Why? Because “successful author” sounds even better than “starving artist,” that’s why.

Missed a week? More “Reality Check” online at http://mtrealitycheck.blogspot.com or www.milive.com. E-mail Mike Taylor at mtaylor325@gmail.com.