WE ARE CONSTANTLY DEALING WITH LOSS

For those who have difficulty with change, these are trying times, though it feels right to change from an incompetently run Republican USA for the last eight years to a Democratic one with some positive hope. Those unwilling or unable to make change must likely follow the adage, "The Devil you know is better than the Devil you don't know." Once I have met a Devil, I want to make a change immediately!

There was a time when I loved really good French Fried Onion Rings. There was only one place in town that made them fresh rather than little frozen and thawed out skinny strips of gooey onions, deep fried in pancake batter. The restaurant closed. The staff must have taken all their meals there, too, because I have never seen so many well-fed waitresses in one spot as an ad for their highly caloric meals. Not only have I never found a replacement but I have been so long without them, I can no longer eat fried things with any residual enjoyment. (the side-effect is that my cholesterol level is going down)

My city used to have lots of small stores and even a huge discount house. All are gone. (the after effect is that I seldom go to stores, I shop online) It saves fuel and I usually can find what I am looking for. I don't have to eat lunch out or waste lots of time and gas. Living in a city that is surrounded by well-to-do, and often dry towns, we seem to have morphed into a city of restaurants and bars. It is much easier to find a great meal at a restaurant than it is to open the refrigerator door and wish you could teleport food from it to make a meal that never happens.

Sometimes things change for the better. Our single small theater years ago was torn down. only to be rebuilt many years later to house several smaller theaters offering great movies from which to choose. While the cheap movie is a thing of the past, there is rarely a time when there is not a great movie to choose from just two miles from home.

I've heard people say, "Your loss is my gain." It could just as easily be said, "Your gain is my loss." Ideally, we say neither. It is not a loss or gain; it is a change.