Letters to the Editor
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Taking us off message
There are no athiests in foxholes, I was always told. The homily about being scared straight has been turned around in Breaking Bad. The question is, if you have been straight all your life, should you try the other side. (You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Lucille, just not sure if Walter is Lucille, or Lucille's husband, or both).
To clear up some details, Walter is only straight in the Confucian sense of the word. Late life confessions may be trite, but it is part of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as well as Catholicism, and Walter seems determined to plunge even lower in the chakras, (to be reincarnated as a car wash boy?) or any pagan thought he has in his mind. Going to church is not a viable option here, which may be a sign that the boomers have put their stamp on the endlife crisis, and the evangelical movement is played out, sort of.
The metaphor about the late afternoon drop off in office productivity is good, every one in my age group knows, you make decisions in the morning, and take care of clerical details in the afternoon, and you manage your blood sugar swings. Your doctor manages your chronic health problems, and you try to get as many good years out of life as you can. And that's really what Walter is trying to tell us, by taking us off message. One gets the feeling before this series is over, he will be back.