When it ain’t fizzy it’s flat.  So a wise soda jerk once told me years ago.

And now I know it better than ever.

When you tire of running you slow down and maybe even stop for a while to rest and catch your breath (interesting little expression don’t you think?) and wait until you can walk or maybe even run again.

But what to do when you fall flat and face down on the cold, hard ground in late winter?  Barely clothed and alone, in the middle of somewhere you never been before, hoping for a place to crawl off to and wait until things get better.

Things get better. Things getting better- just like the always do.

But they seldom do unless you happen to muster enough strength to rise up and continue on until…well, until what?

I know that I don’t know- do you perhaps?  Would you share if you did? Maybe just tell me a story like that soda jerk.

The years, yes, we know, they do fly by and leave us older and not always wiser.  And, if wiser, then to what end?  Don’t know that either.  Hell, I don’t seem to know very much it sorta seems.

The same soda jerk went on much to my chagrin. He told me how when it was flat most folks just wanted to pour it out and either get the glass re-filled or just move on about their business still thirsty but not having time to do much about it. Damned if they done did; damned if they done did not.

Now what the hell did all that mean?

I wish that I could see that wise guy again someday before too long has passed on by me. When too long passes by too short is all that’s left. When the glass passes from mostly filled to mostly empty there ain’t no longer any fancy words about “half this” or “half that”. Only those bullshitters who might tell you- y’know, like the soda jerk- that “it ain’t gone til it’s empty” or “small sips make it last longer”.

Yeah. So?

We‘ve been over this. And yet still I hear the words of the soda jerk as he wipes the counter:

“So the secret is to just take big swigs when it’s filled up and fizzy cuz if you wait too long the Great Flattener comes along and takes all that fizz away and leaves you with just the flat.”

So I remember looking kinda cock-eyes at him and giving him a mixed mad-hunh?-pained kinda smile. He smiles back and finishes wiping the counter and grabs holda my glass.

“Syrup sucks man. Guess you waited too long and it so happened you done got flattened.”

I was ready to explode.

“Looks like he got you too.”

With all I had I reached back and took a swing but he had vanished. I did manage to knock over the glass and spill out the fizz-less, foam-less, froth-less filmy fill that had remained. No bubbles, just flat.

What a jerk.