 A Simple Expectation Called "Tomorrow"
Most of the things we discover and consume in a brief second are the products of long
processes. A caricature we laugh at for a moment might be the result of an unpleasant
struggle that lasted several hours. And, it might not be nice to look at it this way, but
a romantic song that makes us think deeply is most likely the result of conscious
calculations about rhymes and notes. Even though this column is simple enough to be read
and perfectly understood in five minutes, I generally start to think about its features a
week before the due date.
But this week will be an exception. Of course I had something in mind to write about
before, but right now it's impossible for me to use it. Mom called me yesterday to tell me
that my dad had had a serious heart attack. "Wait," I thought to myself for a
moment, "dads don't have heart attacks. They don't face any troubles. They're strong
and unbeatable."
I have to admit that some anonymous person put it perfectly on privatesozluk.com: to most
of us, "Dad" is the most important hero of our childhood. The moment I was told
about the heart attack, I tried to hold onto that thought and push away the reality.
But sometimes, reality is too solid to be distorted: he was lying in a bed 500 kilometers
away, surrounded by cables and machines that were helping him to continue breathing. There
was nothing I could do but go there, see him and thank God that he survived the attack.
It's generally logical to expect things to continue on the way they always have. Indeed,
it would be impossible to stay sane while expecting a surprise every other second. But
sometimes, things just don't work that way. The Universe gets bored with the cycles on
which we build our trust, and It decides to change our lives, or, at least, It changes the
way we perceive the world.
Just like an artist who creates a painting over the course of months, even if he knows
most people will consume it in a minute, we all create our stories over the course of
years, although we're aware that it's very easy for the Universe to consume them in a
second. An unexpected pain in the chest, a simple problem in a single vein, an evil
combination of the surrounding circumstances, and it will no longer matter what plans
you've made for tomorrow. It's weird to realize that even the most pessimistic agenda
includes the hope of survival.
İsmail O. Postalcıoğlu (POLS/III)
ismail_orhan@yahoo.com
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