All About Perspective

Okay, everybody. Your attention please. I need a show of hands.

How many of you had a lousy week last week? Ah ha. Thought so. It wasn't just me, then.

Boy, I never thought the week would end. I was miserable. The weather was miserable. I made people around me miserable. I growled, snapped and snarked my way through the week that wouldn't die.

I'm generally a glass-half-full kinda chick; happy most of the time, looking on the bright side.

But last week: GRRRRRR.

First, the weather. Even when it wasn't raining, it was dark and cloudy and chilly and blech. Second, my flat tire. Which was my fault. Who knew curbs could be so sharp? Third, my car damage. Again, my fault. Again, the curb. Boy, I'm glad I was alone when I hit that curb. Rahm Emanuel would've blushed at my foul mouth. Fourth, my skirt. I snagged it, then I tore it. ARGH. Could this week get any worse? Could the DAY get any worse?

You know Lucy van Pelt of "Peanuts", when she's really ticked off with the world, and she's got that nasty scowl and the black cartoon cloud over her head? That was me.

Then, I heard a story on the radio that changed everything.

The cab driver taking me to Capitol Hill was listening to our sister station, WTOP. At the top of the hour CBS reported a story about Lt. Brian Brennan, who had both legs blown off in Afghanistan. The brain injury he suffered was so severe, he was left comatose. His family kept vigil by his bedside at Walter Reed, but he was non-responsive.

Then, last summer, General David Petraeus visited. The general told Brennan to hang tough, that his family and his unit needed him.

Still no response. He had been that way for weeks. Doctors were not hopeful.

Lt. Brennan was with the 101st Airborne. As it happens, Petraeus used to command the 101st. So the general tried something:

"One, two, three, Currihee!" He shouted.

Currihee is a Cherokee Indian word that was the motto for the famous "Brand of Brothers" regiment in the 101st. When Petraeus shouted it, Brennan started thrashing about. He was moving, sitting up, and was suddenly responsive!

That was last summer. Last week, Lt. Brennan delivered a speech to a crowd of 2,000.

The cabbie and I both listened intently to the story, hanging on every word. When it was over, he looked back at me, and I looked at him. He had tears in his eyes, and I have to admit, I got a little misty too.

There's something about that story that really puts everything else in perspective. Sure, we all have lousy days, our own burdens to bear, and we all have to deal with dozens of daily annoyances that get under our skin. We all deal with that. But it could always, always be worse.

Suddenly, the clouds broke, and the sun come out, blindingly bright and beautiful for the first time in weeks. My cabbie remarked, "Oh, it is going to be a beautiful day!"

I thought of my damaged car, the upcoming trip to the body shop, my torn skirt, all the work piling up on my desk, and the overall lousy week.

Yup. It was a gorgeous day indeed.

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