Poor Me

When I was in school we had a young girl named Karen who was treated as if very special. She had the disease known as "failure to thrive". I was quite jealous of her. I had a lot of problems of my own in fact but they were secret problems, not the kind of thing you advertise. One day while at work I was regaled by a woman telling all about a rape to a rapt audience who were saying all sorts of positive things to her and it made me feel a little sick. If I did happen to be raped, I don't think I would talk about it at all. All this has made me think about how America is the land of the underdog. I was watching a movie about a girl who never got any attention and didn't get anything from her stepmother, this modern Cinderella who was in fact the star of the show acting shy and unnoticed and desperate for attention. Of course she is very talented and the truth comes out at the talent show and she gets the guy and all the attention. I don't think it is right to always give everything to those with a tragedy in their life, I think maybe there are many with secret tragedies who somehow manage to overcome as I have. There was a girl who had lost her son at my last job; she liked to talk and not work and that was okay. Everyone liked her, I did too, but I was forced to do jobs that were very difficult. I would see her happily chatting wiping the sweat out of my eyes and yes, be a little jealous. I think maybe it is wrong to be so instantly sorry and accomodating to those who suffer these public sorrows, maybe being treated just like anyone else could be a good idea.