Letters & Opinion

Until the Fat Lady Sings for You, Keep Hope Alive!

Carlton Ishmael
By Carlton Ishmael

There are times in life when you think you have reached the end of your rope. You may have gracefully aged, spent a lot of time and money taking care of yourself, as well as the family. You may have abided by all the laws of the state, walked a straight and narrow path, paid all your dues and avoided living a crooked life.

Yet you seem to have reached a point when you are now asking yourself: What was the point?

The journey was tedious, back-breaking (in some instances), challenging, and even complicated and complex, yet you have come to see and realize a different reality.

All of us at some point get to that junction.

Today, at this juncture, you wonder how much you should still bear and is there really going to be a better tomorrow, or is it all an illusion?

Even though you have reached the Twilight of your years, there still seems to be no twilight end to your needs. The cost of living makes even more demands on your living and support seems more distant, you sometimes hear promises from the Government of the day and that may comfort you, but sometimes this turns out to be only talk and does not result into progressive reality and still remains a figment of your imagination.

You start to feel as if your children and (some of) your friends, even present and past lovers, seem to start getting economical with their love and support. You try your best to keep hope alive, in the back of your mind a voice says don’t give up, but all how you look, you see and notice things crumbling around you.

Patience is a virtue, but the real help continues to elude your hopes. You pray to God to send you a miracle, you play Lotto hoping to be the next big winner and you dream, you aspire, you live in a constant state of hope, but that hope seems like a tale, a far-fetched story.

There is nothing wrong in waiting, hoping, aspiring, or even believing that tomorrow is going to be your big brake, but sometimes, all that is left, is only the thought of such a possibility, and before you could blink, there is the other thought that your number will soon be called, but not on this Earth.

So sad that so many of us have to wish for Tomorrow, so many still wish that things will get better, that prosperity is around the corner.

But I say today what I have always said: Don’t wait until I have passed-on to tell my tale. If your love is real, please give me that helping hand today — now and not tomorrow, as tomorrow has no guarantees and it’s promised to no one; and because no one knows the hour when we’ll be called, when our number will ring.

We cannot play deaf when our number rings, so do good deeds now, for love is a needed thing and should not be tomorrow’s dreams.

But most times, like now, this remains just a wish, a hope, and the truth is: It is what it is, and we are left with no choice but to endure until the Fat Lady sings.

There are those who can really help, many who can assist in a positive way to ease others’ burdens, so to speak, but such souls, seem to be beyond your reach, you still think that for the good that you have done, good will follow you, but in this changing world, as well as the people in it, all seem to have different priorities.

Alas, the love you expected to get from life seems to have vanished, and you and you suddenly realize that only you have to deal with all your hopes, aspirations, wishes — and remain forever patient while you keep hope alive.

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