aching

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Christ, how people ache!

Not theoretically or setting things up for a soothing spiritual riff, but actually-factually ache!

Physically ... mentally ... ache!

I don't mean this in some white-whine, circle-jerk "Oy vey! Ain't life awful?!" way ... a way once aptly spoofed by The Kingston Trio.

I just mean the facts as they stand.

People ache.

And you can't tell them what to do. Only they can do that ... do something about it.

And instead of doing that, they often spend years running in circle after circle, seeking out someone else's good news. The other day I read a long speech by a fellow listing improvements that might be made to the Roman Catholic Church. It was touching. It was hopeful. It was humane. It was just and kind and loving and ....

A lot of times, people who ache will do that to themselves: Give speech after well-meaning speech about aches ... which generally only makes them ache more.

I do wish I could help out in something other than useless way.

But as cruel and dismissive as it may sound, the best I can think of is the malapropism once attributed to New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel: "If people won't come out to the ballpark, you can't stop them."
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