Can You Live With It?

By Elliott Joseph

Copyright 2010 Elliott Joseph

February 2010

It started with the car, now a designated classic, my 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Convertible, of which I am the original owner. Miraculously, it has 296, 010 miles with the original engine, though it has had two transmissions, several starters, two valve jobs and enough repairs to have helped send my mechanic's two children to private schools, and more recently to college.

For this gorgeous vehicle -- which gets the high sign daily from the drivers of passing cars, pedestrians, policemen and bus drivers -- and children who have never seen anything like it -- and the frequent shouts I hear to "Sell It?" -- finding parts has been difficult and some times impossible.

I think the first time I heard, Can You Live With It? was from my mechanic about the door on the car's passenger side that has a temperamental lock. To repair it, the door would have to be dismantled, there would be no guarantee that the repair would work, and even a risk that the door could no longer be opened or locked. In addition, the cost would be quite high.

"Yes," I said, "I can live with it."

I realize there are actions one can take to repair things, or to try to change the difficult behavior of others, but at the same time that there could be the possibility of unintended consequences. So the nagging question must be faced. Can You Live With It?

For example.

You love your wife, but she snores. Can You Live With It?

Your cat brings you dead mice. Can You Live With It?

Your neighbor, with whom you have an otherwise good relationship, plays the loudest, most god awful music on the weekends. Can You Live With It?

Your loyal dog barks and sheds. Can You Live With It?

You get parking tickets you can't fight. Can You Live With It?

Children scream. Can You Live With It?

Newscasters shout. Can You Live With It?

It seems people are beginning to speak more and more softly, making it difficult to hear what they're saying. Even the actors on stage are no longer projecting enough. Can You Live With It?

War. Can You Live With It?

The economy. Can You Live With It?

Lies. Can You Live With It?

People on cell phones. Can You Live With It?

The way the newspaper makes you sneeze. Can You Live With It?

Your loss of height. Can You Live With It?

The weight you gain. Can You Live With It?

The misspelling everywhere. Can You Live With It?

Other people's taste, or the lack of it. Can You Live With It?

The dripping bathtub faucet that would require breaking through the tiles and the wall to fix. Can You Live With It?

The leaking windows. Can You Live With It?

The smokers. Can You Live With It?

Your mother-in-law's cooking. Can You Live With It?

The nearly maniacal laugh of some people. Can You Live With It?

Those terrible movies. Can You Live With It?

You know what I'm talking about. All those annoying, frustrating, challenging things you can't get fixed or changed. What are yours? Do you let them get to you?

Can You Live With It?

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