Shit happens, and bad choices happen, and the two are frequently causal. Interestingly, the more bad choices you make, the more shit happens.  Ergo, if a friend goes to his friend’s in your new car, drinks 3-4 generous drinks an hour, and then takes off in your new SUV (OK, this story is about my car), then he has certainly made a bad choice… and so have I.  Well, guess what this genius didn’t clue in on: he is driving an unfamiliar vehicle, drunk, and might not drive well… because he’s drunk.  He did hit someone from behind.  Cops came.  Arrested his ass and threw him in jail.  Impounded my car ($9,000 damage).  He basically refused to cooperate.  Guess what… automatic one-year license suspension and virtually guaranteed DUI conviction ($2000-4,000 either way just to defend).

Several bad choices above, but it NEVER EVER fails.  Make good choices (not godly choices)… just smart, moral choices, and good things will tend to happen.  That’s very karma-like, and it works.  There are exceptions, but it’s not God doing anything one way or the other.  Several people had the power to prevent this problem or change the outcome, and it’s not God working in a mysterious way.

Don’t let this happen to a friend or family member this holiday season or ever.  Don’t let people drink and then drive.  Give them a bed or a cab.  It’s just the right thing to do.  We are lucky that the douche nozzle in my story didn’t kill anyone.  Relatively minor damage, but $16,000 in repairs and legal fees later (and 30 days of work release jail) is a tough lesson.  Don’t live that way.  This “friend” is someone that I can’t just walk away from (unfortunately), so I am stuck helping him.

Ironically, or not, the major tool in this story is a Christian.  He drowns his sorrows in booze regularly because he can’t make sense of a fucked up world that God doesn’t seem to care about and he has thoroughly wrecked his life….  well, no shit.  Easier to blame the bastard deity that did it versus your own dumb ass and poor choices.

Hope to write more on these real world things in 2010.  Still trying to get the game plan together.  Hang in there, and if you ARE out there, please comment.  I haven’t a clue what you folks are interested in talking about….