Life's Little Pleasures

Finding A Convenient Streetlight, Stepping Out of the Shade
posted on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 9:24 PM | 0 cmnt/s

When one thinks of bad timing, the first thing to spring to mind in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". The whole play is a tale about bad timing, right from the beginning. We should all be familiar with the final scene of the play in which the lives of the two young protagonists are cut short by nothing more than shitty timing. I mean, there are many "what if"'s though out this final act which could have resulted in a completely different outcome for the two star crossed lovers.

- What if Friar Lawrence didn't actually have a drug that could help Juliet fake her death?
- What if Romeo had received the letter from the Friar in time?
- What if Romeo and the Friar had had facebook?... surely the Friar would have been able to contact Romeo much quicker that way!
- What if Romeo had been held up and arrived at Juliet's tomb a moment later? What if he HAD been distracted on facebook!?
- What if the Friar had arrived at the tomb earlier to tell Romeo all about it in person?

But I think despite all of these "what if"'s, sometimes we can't beat timing nor fate. Somethings may just be intended that way. Who are we to say, as insignificant individuals, whether or not there is a greater plan in which we are all pawns (cue The Adjustment Bureau references). I do sometimes think that things happen a certain way for a reason. Like mistakes. Perfectly timed (not at the time, but can be described as perfect in retrospect) mistakes can teach you lessons, prepare you for something much better. Or, when someone walks into your life at "just the right time". There is a phrase along the times of, that you can classify everyone in your life as being there for either "a season, a reason, or a lifetime". Maybe there is a reason that the timing is that way, maybe the reason they are there at that time is the "reason"?

Ah but it is all difficult to tell at the time. Most of these comments are based on retrospective thinking and analysis. And then there is the most difficult situation where you want the time to be right, but its just not happening, at least not at that time.

After all of this, I think it just strengthens my conviction that timing can be shit at times, it may cause unwanted pain to yourself and others, but maybe there is a reason for it that we just don't know about yet. We might not find out tomorrow, next week, in a year, or it may never become apparent to us, but there is a reason why things happen a certain way.

But I don't believe in fate.

However, I know this whole blog post makes it sound as if I do.

I actually don't know what I believe. The possibility that "things happen because, things happen" is just as suitable. Sometimes, maybe, there is no explanation to the way the world works to us.

So I leave you with the lyrics of Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits because, well, it's a bloody good song:


A love-struck Romeo sings the streets a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made.
Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, "You and me babe, how about it?"

Juliet says, "Hey, it's Romeo, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
He's underneath the window, she's singing, "Hey la, my boyfriend's back.
You shouldn't come around here singing up to people like that...
Anyway, what you gonna do about it?"

Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start
And I bet when you exploded into my heart
And I forget I forget the movie song.
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

Come up on different streets, they're both the streets of shame.
Both dirty, both mean, yes, in the dream it was just the same
And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real.
How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?

When you can fall for chains of silver,
You can fall for chains of gold,
You can fall for pretty strangers
And the promises they hold.
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin, yeah!
Now you just say, "Oh Romeo? Yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him".

Juliet, when we made love, you used to cry.
You said, "I love you like the stars above, I'll love you 'til I die".
There's a place for us, you know the movie song.
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

I can't do the talk, like the talk on TV
And I can't do a love song, like the way it's meant to be.
I can't do everything, but I'll do anything for you.
I can't do anything, 'cept be in love with you!
And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be.
All I do is keep the beat... and bad company.
Now all I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme,
Juliet, I'd do the stars with you any time!

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry.
You said, "I love you like the stars above, I'll love you 'til I die".
There's a place for us, you know the movie song.
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

And a love-struck Romeo sings a street-suss serenade
Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade
He says something like, "You and me babe, how about it?"

You and me babe, how about it?
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