Tonkin to You!

One of my favorite words in the English language is "and."  You can be a student "and" an athlete.  A banker "and" a painter.  Even a college professor "and" a bass player.  "And" makes it possible for us to have a "calico" career and lifestyle:  All of the "colors" in our lives can run in different directions and shades while still creating a useful "coat" for our career and hobby body and soul.  However, just as the cat above is running out of white space to fit another endeavor, we can run out of time, energy, or overall space for that next endeavor.  We can't (or don't want to) give up our existing patches, but we also feel the need to make a place for the new creative output.   At this point, we seem to have three choices:  A. Give up on the new project (not desirable).  B. Give up something existing to make room for the new colors (could be desirable, depending how attached we are to the exist...

 As a man of a "certain age" (47), I clearly remember the 2000 presidential election.  Despite the uncertainty that lingered for weeks as multiple vote recounts commenced and we waited to see if Bush or Gore would be number 43, people kind of just "got on" with their lives.  Yes, individuals were very insistent that their candidate should get the coveted spot, but I don't remember knock down, drag-em-out arguments.  The situation was fodder for a lot of discussion and even humor; I remember a skit on SNL when Bush and Gore decided to "both be president."  It was a riff on "the Odd Couple" and people from both major parties actually laughed about it. In reality, when the recounts were done, one candidate admitted defeat and got on with his life.  The other became president.  The process was civil and dignified, albeit LONG.  At some level, most people accepted that their team lost and things got back to normal. There were some rough spots betw...