(Excerpt from A Fish Out of Water: Floundering in Maryland, publication date September, 2018)
7-22-93
You know how sometimes someone you know can look at you in a certain way, or not say something you expect him to say, and you start to try to read his mind and analyze what you've done to make him treat you differently than you expected? You know how your mind will jump from that failed expectation to another, then from one scene to another, then the reruns start? 1978, 1979, 1982, 1991 . . .
Then you rehearse dialogues in your head: He said, you said. Then you just talk to yourself: If he does this, what I'll say is . . .
If the other person you're having these imaginings about is a spouse, before you know it, you've packed your bags and you're ready for divorce court. But that's probably never happened to you, right? I'm probably the only person who has ever made a mountain out of a mole hill. You should see the view from the top of Mt. Everest!
Well, the truth is, if you can even imagine the scenario if you've never experienced it, maybe he is just preoccupied from work. Maybe he's had a hard day. Maybe he just needs to get some fresh air, some exercise. Maybe he needs to go fishing.
Those first alarming thoughts you have are probably fictional. They are the bait. Don't touch them. If you take the hook and run with it, chances are you're a goner.
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