Life is good

I saw a woman the other day with a message on her shirt. It was a simple three word phrase, one we've heard many times before.

"Life is good."

I thought about that message this morning while driving to the office in the drizzling rain. An old doo wop song came on the radio. An old pal called on the phone.

And I thought, "You know, life really is good, if you think about it."

Oh, there have been disappointments. But those things happen. And when you put them up against all the laughs, and the good music, nights at the lake and days in the sun, they can't even compare.

I was cleaning up the other day and came across my stash of old photographs. Stuff I haven't seen in years. I laughed a lot. I felt a twinge of sadness at the sight a couple of faces who no longer come around.

But mostly I marveled at all the fun I've had. My own musical act at 15. Vacations here and there; baseball trips to Atlanta; football trips to Birmingham; NFL trips to Indy.

Way in the back were shots from my fifth grade trip to Washington with the safety patrol. It brought a smile.

Sometimes I let the world get to me. I focus on the bad, remember the disappointments instead of basking in the glow of the good times. But, you know, if the last few years have taught me anything, it's that at the end of the day all you can control is your own actions.

Let others go as they will. Me? I'll be the guy in the corner, laughing my you-know-what off, singing too loud, grinning too often, loving too hard, blabbing too much and walking too fast.

It took me awhile to realize this, but life -- this wonderful, horrible la vida loca -- is pretty darn good after all.