Monday, April 6, 2009

Oh, the emptiness!

A vintage Eagles' song Tequila Sunrise uses a phrase "it's a hollow feeling". We all know that feeling when it comes to man - woman experiences. My good friend Rod Ice reminds "the GAS-afflicted go through a very similar experience in our guitarquests. You know that gnawing, pervasive mood of loss when (for whatever reason) a sufferer is unable to buy another guitar. Like withdrawal from an addictive drug, perhaps? A crawling hunger that rests deep within the belly... or soul."

I've certainly been there. Sometimes the GAS gods will put one right in your path at the worst possible financial time. And in today's economy, I'm betting there is a lot of these empty, yearning feelings occurring. I've also experienced it soon after a purchase which drained the ole "fun money" account into a bone-dry situation. Any new acquisition would come from giving one up, a (perish the thought) trade. Some are mentally skilled enough to rationalize that the timing is just bad, karma isn't right, or even that others will be there down the road - when the timing IS right. This enables them to move on. Oh, if only it were that easy for me. I wind up losing sleep doing "what if" scenarios. Remembrances quickly come to mind of all the ones that got away because I hesitated, the times I chose to bid instead of hitting the "Buy It Now" and ended the auction, only to find someone else just beat me to it during my hesitation. The agony gets revved up a bit when the notion occurs that perhaps this one just might have something about it that makes it even MORE collectible or valuable that wasn't mentioned in the description. You know, a little pleasant surprise that is unlikely to be there on others that come along. Olde sayings like "He who hesitates is lost" and "The early bird gets the worm" pop like kernals in a microwave. Words on a page blur, only to be replaced by mental images of where it will hang or sit among your others. Conversing with others brings strange looks as your mind drifts to bank account balances and impending debits and credits... desperately seeking something that might accelerate a deposit or delay a withdrawal. The combination of exhausting all financial wizardry ideas AND sleep loss exacerbate the gnawing feeling. All energy and reason reserves must be tapped in order to begin the painful acceptance of a hard reality.

What say you about this hollow feeling, this yearning?

1 comment:

  1. Jay - The pervasive economic gloom hasn't made it easy to deal with GAS pains. But they persist. I find myself cruising through entries on eBay to deal with my unsatisfied desire. The yearning is there... perhaps this accounts for a 'spike' in sales of your book. If one can't afford another axe, at least it is possible to deal with such emotions by READING about the affliction. Maybe...?

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