2001-06-05 | 3:57 a.m.

corduroy licorice was a man who climbed every mountain. boy, did he rack up the frequent flier miles to get to them all, too.

***

ok. not ok.

not ok. ok.

you see how little divides the two?

i came to the realization recently that there is a very fine line between being ok and being not ok.

this realization took the form of a big ole pick-up truck barreling towards my little car's side impact panels.

there wasn't an accident. i slammed on my brakes and made a big ole "o" with my mouth. the pick-up swerved a bit and whizzed on by.

i was ok. he was ok. but 15 feet and a split-second difference and it would have been very not ok.

a very cool friend of mine just got downsized this week. one hastily called meeting can make things not ok. i know that from personal experience. but i know he'll be ok. he knows how to find ok in the most unlikely places and wrestle it out into the sunshine.

recently two people at work each lost a parent. i can't even begin to imagine that kind of heart-numbing shock and pain. one phone call made things not ok for them. very much horribly not ok.

sure, things can go from not ok to ok very quickly, too, thankfully. wonderfully.

a smile from the opposite sex. a favorite cheesy classic pop song making your grumpy morning foot tap out giddyness on the carpeting. someone doing one of those random kind things all those bumper stickers talk about.

but it's kinda a solemn awakening to become aware of how fleeting ok-ness is.

makes me wanna relish ok and hug it up close and kiss it all over its face.

because four of the most comforting words i know are:

it's gonna be ok.

right here and now, i'm ok. i hope you're ok, too!

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