The guttersniper reads the room.

Reinvention?

Renewal?

Rebirth?

Overrated.

Or.

Highly overrated.

Underrated.

Or.

Highly underrated.

Whatever happened to loving someone, “Just the way you are?”

Warts and all.

Faults, too.

Well. If only life were so simple.

Loyalty comes too late for some.

After the ego has been puffed beyond believable measures.

Some folks see it sooner.

Some folks see it later.

But.

Sooner or later.

We all see “it.”

Then the question becomes not what to do about it.Moreso “it” may take on a whole new ball of wax.

Before excitement rears its head and you get all “light the candles” on me.

Stop.

And think.

Really think.

Why not get it right the first time.

Chances are, if you thought you were getting it right the first time, you thought you were getting it right the first time. Then. maybe, just maybe we would not be here, where we are.

In the conundrum of all conundrums.

The funny thing about the conscience.

It hangs around longer than we like. To remind us of our errors. In life. In moments. In judgments. In weak moments. In “I don’t really care” thoughts. And lastly,

”The maybe I should have cared more” moments. Thus. The concept of the New Year’s resolution was born. Or coined. Or both.

To show I am a joiner :

Here’s my resolution.

To drink more water✌🏻.

I am anticipating being less, crabby.

Until then.

With my conscience as my guide.

I forge ahead.

Head and heart firmly planted, firmly rooted in.

Doing right by our fellow men. Beings.

By no means, does it mean I get it right all the time, if at all.

Oftentimes, I just don’t play well with others.😚

Pay back is a fickle pickleball game of: No fun.

Even if the courts are packed and the waiting list of racketers is endless.

And the latest pickleball fashions are darting back and forth across the hallowed courts of the pickle.

I understand some heavy investors have bought in to ths pickle ball phenomenon.

While the rest of us remain,

In the conundrum of conundrums.

The guttersnipe has been there. Done that.

The guttersnipe presents the self as gruff, with a badly behaved childlike demeanor. the spend most of their time

On the streets.

Street smart.

A street fighter.

Trying to figure people out.

What would be so wrong, the guttersniper wonders. If I walk up to that other person and say, ”Hello.” Guttersnipe knows very little about the puffing up of another. In fact, it is foreign to the guttersnipe. He has spent much time being the underdog.

The Underdog.

The Mangy Mutt.

Mark Twain nicknames the guttersnipe the “street urchin.” Sounds a bit more refined, wouldn’t you say? Better.

Snipe. Used to also mean a disreputable person.

Snipe.

Swipe.

Stripe.

Crawling along.

The ragamuffin crawls along with the waif in tow. Trying to figure it all out on the streets with no names. Why, then, is a guttersnipe automatically considered a person with low morals?

I wonder this.

Do you?

Wonder this.

Or do you assume they are

Dog meat.

Squalor-like.

Ragamuffins.

We should be thanking our lucky stars, well the majority of us anyway. That we were born where we were born.. This competition thing is getting out of hand.

Who is the guttersnipe now?

The person in the mirror, who looks the other way.

The great pretender.

The garbage picker.

We not talking about recycling.

The guttersniper is a pro. At the street cleaning thing.

The guttersniper invented the guttiferous delicacy called

Gum.

Before it became a delectable treat for the rich and wealthy to

chew on.

The guttersniper says to us. “Chew on this buddy.”

Because he knows. What it is like to live, eat, breathe and sleep on the street. On the streets. On the streets with no names.

The guttersniper knows it is fruitless.

To try and outrun a past that we invested and contributed our worst selves annd our best selves. Into.

And try to hide behind the “I didn’t know.”

By God’s grace we watch a pro at service. No. No. Not that kind of pro. That kind of service.

To be. In service of others.

Not.

The service of the car, air conditioner, etcetera.

To be. In the service of others.

We have all pretty much exhausted any ounce of realism. True and honest service means not to get ahead. But to.

Stop.

Look.

Listen.

Reach out.

Why. Is it soooooo hard?

Because we are sooooo weak.

There are no shortcuts.

Boy oh boy do we NOT like this.

The guttersniper knows ALL the shortcuts. ALL of them. He lives among the shortcuts. He has never needed a resolution….has never heard of a resolution because his life has been a resolution.

Until and unless someone throws bonafide support (not just temporary shade) behind another. The guttersniping continues.

Gets worse even.

We turn into the krampas of all krampases. For those of you who may not know. Krampas is a competitor of Santa Clause.

Who knew?

Not me.

Would not enjoy watching that ringside show anytime soon..of the two duking it out over egg nog.

There is a huge difference in philosophies, I am guessing. but I really am not sure.

Also other than the drinking more water, there is only a moderate amount of self improvement I am really planning in the coming new year.

Why?

Because although I align with the guttersnipe views—a lot.

I am moreso a

Realist.

A-been-there-done-that-kinda-realist.

Persons really do not care to be inconvenienced. That much.Too much.

Really.

Especially the puffer-snipers.

I think they rate the guttersniper sway too low to know.

That. And a I prefer to keep my expectations low. That way disappointment is kept low. I like folks.

Really.

I do.

All kinds of folks.

I had the best of teachers and the worst of teachers in my guttersnipe alley of life.

I had to pick a side.

Make a choice.

Do what felt like a heart would do.

Ignored the head, and yes, it got me into a lot of trouble.

Mistakes are the lessons we use to grow.

The guttersnipe and I and the guttersnipe in me learned this long ago.

There is no need for pity, sorrow, or tears.

Been there and done that, too.

Why, oh why.….would I want to resolutely change the person I have become and the lessons that got me here. The persons in my head🤒😉 and the ones who speak to me face to face.

Have all taught me.

Don’t change a thing.

Just improve on some things and forget about the puffer-snipers.

They are not a straight shooter anyway!

Happy New Year!