First World Problems Are The Best Problems

 So the other day I ran into an old acquaintance -- hadn't seen him in years. I asked what was up, and he volunteered "Well today I am six months sober!" I congratulated him, and told him I had no idea he had a problem with drugs or alcohol. It was alcohol. He then proceeded to tell me that his doctor wife had told him his drinking as an empty nester Dad was too much, and he was to move out and get it straight before moving ahead with life.

So he got an apartment, and did the whole recovery thing -- AA, therapy, psychiatry. He even got a scrip for that drug that you take and if you even get a hint of alcohol, it makes you violently ill. I couldn't imagine, short of chemotherapy, a more horrible pill to swallow. But it worked, and he was happy with his life without alcohol. The only unintended consequence: he realized he was FAR happier without his wife, after half a year of living without her -- and told her he wanted a divorce!

They have grown kids, and she earns probably more than he does -- so she'll probably get the house in Aventura and they'll just split the investment accounts. And he seemed quite happy, though a divorce after a 25 year marriage is stressful. Alas -- a first world problem.

I've been hearing about more and more of these lately -- probably because I live in the First World. Everyone I know has, as my late mother in law said, "what to eat," and shelter, and a car. There are grown kids with serious issues -- one of my dear friends' daughter married, unknowingly, a Nazi. Big problem -- but still a solveable one -- they're working on getting the young man to move back to Kentucky or Georgia or wherever he's from -- he despises living in Broward County, surrounded by unreal Americans (Jews and Hispanics). Of course, his wife is the daughter of two Cubans -- but somehow she was Qanon-ed in.

I always recall a long ago interview with Springsteen -- back when "Born in the USA" came out, and he went from star to superstar. Wifey and I saw him in the Summer of 1985 in the Orange Bowl -- greatest concert I had ever seen. I was reading about him in Rolling Stone, which we subscribed to for a few years when we were trying to keep non Yuppie cred, and the Boss was asked how he dealt with all the "pressure" of his career. I still recall his answer, which was that a man working in a coal mine supporting a wife and 4 kids who gets laid off has PRESSURE -- Bruce just writes and sings songs each day. The minor has pressure -- Bruce has fun.

He said it later on in another favorite line, where he called himself "A rich man in a poor man's shirt." I love that.

So I don't wish problems for my circle, but if they are to come, let them be of the First World type -- the kind that can be solved without the worry of basic necessities of life. They're the best problems to have.