LIFE'S TOO SHORT

by Michael Douglas Carlin

I probably know more people who are no longer living than people who are alive, which makes one of two things true: I need to meet more people, or I am getting old. Probably both. The fact is that life is precious. It is a gift. Life is also too short. Fifty years has gone by in a blink. Before I know it, I will be at the end.

I was partnered with studio executive Brendan Cahill. We traveled Europe together, chased women, and worked on film and television projects. He admonished me to hang out only with performers–people who consistently delivered. He claimed that life was too short to waste time with people who buckled under pressure or disappeared when heavy lifting was needed.

He kept a list of people who had let him down, which he called his "Life's Too Short List." I sat there a few times when he told someone whose name he was putting on this list. He would say: "I will have a cup of coffee with you anytime, and I have no problems buying you a meal, but I will no longer work with you." From that moment on, he would not take their calls, because life is too short. Brendan has been dead for a number of years, which proves the point that life…is too short.

Inspired by Brendan, I have my own "Life's Too Short List." When my phone rings, I see the "Life's Too Short" appear on the screen. Although I never know which of the wankers is calling, I know that life is truly too short to concern myself with whatever it is the caller has to say.

There is always a sense of urgency, and time is always of the essence, because all of our lives will be over before we know it.

© 2014 Michael Douglas Carlin. All Rights Reserved.