As I enjoyed my weekend in the city, we were getting ready to head out Saturday night for a night on the town and were contemplating bringing jackets and umbrellas with us. Me, being the stubborn new englander I am, I made the snap decision that we didn't need umbrellas or a jacket. It was just rain.. and besides only a 60% chance at that. We headed out for the night got through dinner, got through the show, trekked over to our first bar of the night and yet, not a chance of rain. Actually, if I recall it was BEAUTIFUL out, seemed to of gotten warmer. As we finished our first drink we noticed a group of boys who were apparently just as stubborn as myself entering the bar drenched. The apartment was too far away to run back and get an umbrella so the easiest thing to do was to run from awning to awning, store front to store front until we came across a convenience store. We ducked into the first store we could and this is where I learned about the new york $5 umbrella.
Any New Yorker or visitor of the great city has come across a $5 umbrella at one point in their life, either they had to purchase one themselves or they have seen the mangled metal bodies littering the streets. These umbrellas, although may look like your typical umbrella, I can assure you they are NOT. These umbrellas I swear are designed to last an hour, tops. I even joked saying they were equipped to self destruct and implode on themselves 2 hours after being opened for the first time. Believe it or not, that umbrella lasted me all night. I thought I must of been lucky and got one they forgot to "arm".
The next morning, we headed out for gay brunch and some daytime shopping. The winds were heavy, the rain was pouring. My umbrella, although almost having a moment of self-imploading after a strong gust of wind, still was able to withhold the test of the mean streets of NYC. After withholding rain all day, I packed up my bags and headed to the bus to come home to MA. After my goodbyes I headed out early giving myself plenty of time to hail a cab and make it to the bus 1/2 hour before scheduled. As I stood there in the rain I noticed everyone around me with their big fancy umbrellas which when compared to mine, cost them 10 times as much and was doing a poor job at protecting them from the now windy sideways blowing rain storm that was hitting us head on. As the rain subsided for a moment, I stood there shivering, alone, reflecting on a great weekend. When I noticed something unusual, the rain started to seep through the nylon fabric of the umbrella. I stood there curbside surrounded by a sea of twisted cheap aluminum frame corpses slowly separating from their already partially shredded nylon skins. My bus was now late, I'm now wet, cold and realizing although this person standing next to me umbrella may LOOK the same, there's a difference in quality.
In life you are given the choice, the choice to be the $5 umbrella or to be the $50 umbrella. Although both may look the same from the outside, it's about quality. Quality of life, quality of design, quality of strength. The $5 umbrella serves a purpose in life. Although that life may be short lived, it lived a life nonetheless. If something that cost only $5 was going to protect me from an April NYC shower/storm then why are there even umbrellas being sold in department stores for 10x the price? Chances are it's too good to be true. Regardless, I wanted to believe in my $5 bargain, I wanted to believe I beat mother nature.
As I start a new chapter of my life, I sit here in a remotely empty apartment sitting by candle light, sipping a freshly brewed cup of coffee wondering about the other aspects of my life that could benefit from a quality umbrella. Have I made the right choices in life or did I push hard work and dedication aside for the cheap $5 version of life? Is this even what I want? Is this my dream? Although I think it's near impossible to have a midlife crisis at the age of 25 I sit back and look at my friends, my career, my lifestyle, my family, my love life and wonder... Is this the best that I could possibly get or is this the $5 version waiting to self-implode?
Never settle for 2nd best, never settle for B-grade, never settle for the $5 umbrella. The truth of the matter is, everyday we are one day closer to death, one day closer to the end. Live your life to the fullest, make each day count, make each day better than the last. Chase your dreams, make them happen for yourself. Tell your friends and family you love them, make a change in your life for the better. I truly believe you create your own destination in life. As much as I like to live life on the edge, on a whim, on the fly... Sometimes it pays to step back, plan your life for YOU and realize.. sometimes 60% chance of rain means just that.. 60% chance of rain. You can plan ahead and bring your jacket and umbrella with you on the journey of life and prepare yourself for what's ahead or you can risk it, end up cold, wet, alone, and $5 poorer. Make the choice for yourself, but this weekend I promised myself to never be the $5 umbrella version of myself again. There comes a point where you grab life by the metal nylon covered horns and run with it. I'm running.
Your post has sparked some thoughts of my own. The flip side of 60% chance of rain is a 40% chance of no rain. There's also this saying, "the glass is half full," but it's also "half empty." And this one, too, "Life is what you make it." Every one should strive in life to be the best person they can be. Every one wants more and better, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. I've always been the $5 umbrella but always wanted to be maybe a $25 umbrella. I don't care if I'm not a $50. As I got older I was able to have a little more and a little better. Sometimes good things come my way and other times I just keep dreaming about the other $25. But one day almost two years ago a precious little boy passed from this earth into eternity. Now everything is compared to that. Things don't matter, people do! So go ahead and love and laugh, cry and scream, help an old man who falls in a parking lot, take your mom to lunch, say a kind word to a loved one who just lost a job, be willing to go above and beyond to do a good job at work, encourage friends, share good times with a special aunt and uncle, fix your grandfather's pills, etc. YOU are not a $5 umbrella. You're being who you REALLY are. Just keep following that path and focus on what your heart tells you. That, my Joshie, is priceless!!
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