Day: July 7, 2025

When a young man, he always wore
conservative, drab clothes.
Wearing clothes too colorful was
considered a taboo in his culture.
He felt compelled to conform to
the fashion constraints of his day,
not wanting to stand out too much
or face ridicule.
When he reached seventy odd years
of life, he broke free of the fashion
constraints of his culture.
Like people of many other cultures in
the world, he began wearing more
colorful clothes and felt better, freer.
People from other cultures even
complimented him on his new fashion
choices, as if he were a kindred soul
in a more liberated, colorful,
celebration of fashion and of life.

Bob Boyd

I’ve often wondered how many people
who thought bad things only happened
to other people are in their graves.

I’ve often wondered if because of that
misguided belief, they were not as
aware as they should have been and
strayed into deadly situations oblivious
to the dangers they could have avoided.

God knows, I’ve done that a few times
when I believed bad things only
happened to other people in my less
aware days when by luck I didn’t end
up dead.

And when nothing bad has ever
happened to you, like you’ve seen on
the news, it is so hard to realize you
could be one of those people.

It seems inconceivable that those
bad things could ever happen to
you until they do.

And, of course, even if you are fully
aware that bad things can happen
to you and you take every precaution
to avoid being a victim someday,
there’s no guarantee your vigilance will
keep you one hundred percent safe.

It’s as if some of us are tragically fated
to have those bad things happen to us
that only happened to other people
no matter what we do or don’t do.

Bob Boyd

I’ve often read about people who
commit suicide by jumping off
tall buildings onto the hard pavement
in the streets below.
It’s hard for me to understand how
they could get up the nerve to take
those deadly leaps.
Just the harrowing thought of
standing on the edge a tall
building and looking at the
streets below is scary to me.
Even seeing a movie scene of
someone standing of the edge
of a tall build is unnerving.
Hitting an air pocket in a plane
flight high above the earth is
scary enough for me.
Were I suicidal, I wouldn’t have
the nerve to do myself in by
leaping off a tall building.
I’d opt for something less terrifying,
perhaps like overdosing on aspirins
or even hanging myself to death.
So sad that many people in this world
come to such a place in their lives
that they are driven to jump off
high buildings.
I cannot imagine the horror as
they begin to fall to the ground.
I cannot imagine the anguish they
must have had in their hearts to
make such a life ending decision.

Bob Boyd