Lucretian Lullabye

Usually I have very nice job interviews because I always behave professionally in interviews, as I do at work. By contrast I had the most brutal job interview this morning! I hesitated to talk about it because some people think that if you get a brutal interview you probably deserved it in some way; but I promise you I didn't. I was perfectly polite and honest. The interviewer lulled me into thinking I could open up and he may or may not give me a job but at least he wasn't going to hurt my feelings. But then he suddenly turned, thrust and parried, aborting the interview when I answered that I didn't have experience. Suddenly he mourned out loud the ten minutes he seemed to feel he had wasted on my acquaintance.

Emotionally, life can be wearisome. I thought about Lucretius' assurance to the prince that "a term is set to our toils." And then I remembered the life expectancy calculator I consulted which asked me about health and heritage and then essentially told me not to think about the end because it wasn't coming. Now, really, if God has some far-flung future plans for me, I'm game. I'd love to ride rocket cars amid the airways between toadstool-shaped skyscrapers. I'm glad I'm healthy. I'm feeling fine. I'm glad I didn't get arthritis. I'm glad I can sprint a mile when the bank is closing and I don't get sore the morning after a workout. But... But what? Don't we all sometimes look forward to that day when the angel comes and says, "It's OK. You've done well. You can come home now?"