Cats in the Cradle

So it's a Saturday afternoon, and I'm working. I'm up on a ladder, cutting in a wall that I've just painted, working as fast as I possibly can since this job is not being billed by the hour, which means I've quoted this job and the faster I work, the more I make.
Debt Daddy
Below me, an oldies station is playing on the radio (not my radio, not my choice - I don't listen to those stations, because when you know the lyrics to every song that they play on the oldies station, it just proves to everyone within earshot of your singing along that indeed, you yourself are an "oldie". And, in this case, I couldn't even escape to the relative refuge or "Cool Oldie" - y'know, singing along with Jethro Tull, or early Sabbath or Hendrix - no, no, no - this was Eddie Rabbit, England Dan and John Ford Coley type of oldies - and yes, I was still singing along).

So Harry Chapin comes on. Now, I'm a big Harry fan, and while I'd so love to hear "Mr. Tanner" or "WOLD" or "30,000 Pounds of Bananas", I know that these great Chapin tunes were waaaay too long for radio stations to actually play, so it's either gonna be "Taxi" or "Cats in the Cradle". It was the latter.

I'm sure you know the song - Dad works all the time, has no time for his son - son vows to be just like his Dad and succeeds, eventually having no time for his Dad. Karmic, ain't it? Point is, I'm hearing this song on a Saturday afternoon while I'm working and not spending time with my kids who are out having fun with Mommie and Grandma and isn't this just a sad state of affairs when Grandma spends more quality time with my kids than I do but I have to work to take care of my little bundle of debt that was just oh so cute and manageable when I first got him but who has now grown into a fire breathing, money gobbling machine that is eating me out of house and home so I've gotta keep working and working and working, but this song is on and now I'm feeling like a crappy Dad and I'm having a little moment and flashing back to my own Dad who did much the same thing with me and I'm probably on the verge of a really great epiphany when the cash chomping beast blows a little fire up my ass and says, "PAINT FASTER, YA DUMB SCHMUCK - I'M HUNGRY!!!!"

That was my breaking point. I've had it. Pressure turns coal into diamonds? Well, the self-imposed pressure that I'm feeling right now is enough to form a diamond encrusted sword with which I will slay this wretched, soul sucking beast of debt. The Dragon will Die; I'm going to kill it, I'm going to eat it's heart and I'm going to mount it's head on my freakin' wall.

The beast will die completely and finally on December 31st, 2008. There - I've set the goal. Does it sounds ridiculous? Absurd? The Impossible Dream? Yeahhhhh....so what. JFK asked the scientist who would later be responsible for the space program what it would take to put a man on the moon. The scientist said, "The Will to Do It." This debt is taking away my financial future, my financial present, my social life, my time with my kids, their financial future - think about all that on a daily basis and see if you don't find the damned will to do just about anything.

I'll be out of contact for the most part until around August 27th. We're taking a vacation (which I am loathe to take due to our debt, but we've had some help with the vacation fund, so it's not as big of a hit as it could have been). I've told my wife that she should really enjoy this trip, because I am commencing Armageddon on the debt the second we get back. Two men enter, one man leaves - and you know that I'm Mad Max in this freakin' scenario.

August 27th the countdown begins. Stay tuned for the beginning of the end.