Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Life's Gamble

This is a work of fiction.

Last night someone asked me if I loved to gamble and my immediate thought was “Yes. Everyday.”.
I gamble in the morning when the 3 year old alarm next to my bed, lets loose another of its daily shrills. Wincing in pain, I ponder my choices. Do I ignore its announcement and go for another 30 minutes or do I trust my body’s ability to make it to the bathroom without my brain.
I gamble when I brush my teeth. Do I go for 15 strokes, 50 strokes or do I trust the 200 strokes of yesterday to carry me on through today.
I gamble when I head out of the house at a slow walk. I am hoping that the train does not break its routine and somehow make it to the station early.
Most of the time I’m lucky. But other times I have to seat through an angry boss.

You see what I’m talking about?
Everyone gambles.
It’s an inherent instinct of life. I laugh when people shake their heads in pious shock when they are asked the gamble question. They do not believe themselves capable of such behaviour. Gambling is too risky they claim. I nod my head as they announce this familiar bit of defense. It is not out of concordance. It is more out of the situation’s irony. If gambling is too risky what then can be said of living?

Life is a series of gambles. We walk the streets gambling on the chance that the tattooed individual in the corner is not really a disgruntled employer itching to take a swipe at anyone who comes within 3 feet of him. We gamble as we drive—that the 3 million other cars sharing the city with us is not being chauffeured by speed demons who like the look of mangled metal. We breathe daily , gambling that we suddenly will not take an accidental whiff of one of those secret killer fumes that we are assured by the CIA is out there, but instead continued to run into good old, terribly plain oxygen.

Most of the time it works.
We wake in the morning and go through the day with nothing to show for our risky acceptance of fate’s dice except one or two splashes of mud. It is one of the nicer rules of playing the game of life. Most of the time, with very little bit of planning involved, we end up breaking even.
But every now and then our luck runs out and we are left with one of those situations that we might have avoided had chosen differently. Situations that might have been avoided if we hadn’t been so rash in our decisions.

And so last night when he looked at me and asked me if I loved to gamble, I shook my head slowly--even though my thoughts echoed differently—swallowed hard and gently handed over my wallet.
His grim gaze, hovering over the gripped gun told me I had made the right choice.

37 comments:

Tigeress said...

ooooohhhhh I'm first!!!

Quaggar said...

First time commenting on your blog, even tho i've tead every one of your posts..

Love your writing style... your blog's one of the reasons i started meself. lol

Ok now, so wot exactly happened? Thank God you can blog about it. Means u're [relatively] ok.

Quaggar said...

Nooooooooooo! Tiger!!!!! How did u do that? I was busy writing an epistle. Hissssss!

Tigeress said...

omd, u got mugged at gun point? Do u live in Newark by any chance?

That is so scary. It's funny how none of my friends in Naija have been mugged at gun point but i know 3 people here in NJ that have.

Many more wallets to come my dear Carlang. U made the right choice.

As for gambling- my team decided to play the lottery today- i gave my $.

Tigeress said...

Quaggar- Nepa never take light or have they fixed the transmission already? My friend will u go to bed! lol!

Tigeress said...

p.s. Thank God u're fine.

Joy Akut said...

where did u guys emerge from? i'm supposed to be first....

i took a gamble by reading the post first before commenting, thinking no one else would be here already....i'm a bad gambler tonight. maybe i need to sleep.

i gamble everyday of my life, i've had a gun pointed at me, and after that,the fear in me wanted to stay locked home all year round so i dont get to experience it again, but i took a gamble and continued to live life, and so far its been jackpots all the way.

i'm so sorry u have to keep experiencing the 'bad boys' hopefully this will be the last.
i wonder where our dear angel mourino was when you needed him:(

mizchif said...

Hey Carl! Good to have you back.
All of life really and truly is one big gamble.

Hope there weren't too many valuable documents in the wallet and u're not traumatised by the incident. But hey i know this isn't ur first time right?

Don't go for so long again!

miz-cynic said...

sorry bout ur wallet.thot u were in naij

Fluffycutething said...

Ah they have armed robbers "in abroad"???????

Sorry oh!!!!

Shubby Doo said...

There is an inherent risk with every choice we make in this life...sometimes we fail to recognise risks as opportunity risks...a choice that could result in ones advantage...your assailant took advantage u using fear but I'm glad you handed the wallet over... at this moment I glad he wasn't trigger happy either and u were able to sit down and right this...

How many times is it that such thugs have targeted u?...I think I remember an ipod episode when u gambled but they hurt u...this time u weighed up your advantage and made the best choice for u which was to hand over the wallet...

please take care carlang...my prayers are with u...

I wish I could advise u to cut out things u do that might have put at an unnecessary risk but in naija that means not living...so please take care u sweetie...

Shubby Doo said...

I came back to say:
Risk = probability of occurrence x severity of impact

For opportunity risks, to gamble well one should always try to increase the probability of occurrence which is why he used a gun

For adverse risks, to gamble well one should always try to decrease the probability of occurrence which is why u handed over the wallet

He might have gambled well but so did you sweetie.

It is well

isha said...

I hope you're OK man.
Nice piece nevertheless, as always.

CaramelD said...

Ndo.

Anonymous said...

beautifully written... could almost imagine the movie. you'd be a fantastic scriptwriter.

Carlang said...

Hello Everyone,I really am sorry.
In my rush to post i forgot to mention that my last post is a work of fiction.
If you look now,I have corrected that silly slip.Yes , i know. I know!
I'm an extremely stupid lad!

Thanks for all your comments though.
If i ever do get mugged again i shall simply just rush over to this page and reread them again.

Until then though, i just want to say i miss you all, and love you very much--In a "male ego,I'm supposed to be cool so this never get's out" kind of way.

I'll be back to reply messages properly.

Carlang said...

Hello Everyone,I really am sorry.

In my rush to post i forgot to mention that my last post is a work of fiction.
(If you look now,I have corrected that silly slip.)

Yes , i know. I know!
I'm an extremely stupid lad!

Thanks for all your comments though.
If i ever do get mugged again i shall simply just rush over to this page and reread them again.

Until then though, i just want to say i miss you all, and love you very much--In a "male ego,I'm supposed to be cool so this never get's out" kind of way.

I'll be back to reply messages properly.

Shubby Doo said...

This was fictional?...as in not real?...as in made up...

*slaps carlang BLOODY HARD, then delivers a blinding uppercut for good measure*…

p.s
you know I love u but I just had to right your wrong!!!

pp.s
remember that the slap was your idea o!!!

Shubby Doo said...

which one of my posts did you like cos it was creative?

1) fair is foul and foul is fair
or
2) inglorious basterds

thanks for the compliment sha!

p.s
i'm not taking the slap back sha cos as far as i'm concerned you deserve a serious ass whooping!!! :-P

Confessions of a London gal said...

First thing Carl wrote was "This is a work of fiction" and you guys are still asking him if he was mugged?!
FICTION aint real life people! :-)

Glad yoy posted again! Now if only you can make it more than once a month? Pretty please?

Confessions of a London gal said...

Oh just read your comment and figured u just included that it as fictional.
Now u go let everyone come and insult me back for ta-sing them!
*Gives Carlang a konk on his head*

(Note that I said konk not knock) lol

G-FUNC said...

you no tell me sey you don start to dey blog again oh
wetin be all this rubbish na???????????,,
see all this people wey dey here dey claim first and stuff
wetind them get wey I no get eh........ Carlang Adeyinka Obidike Yusuf ..... tell me oh

lol man It's nice to have you back at least now I can read good stuff.......

G-FUNC said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
theicequeen said...

true dat! we go through every day in a series of gambles...this or that? left or right? rice or yam? walk or bus....*sigh* and as in "actual" gambling..luck gets us through :P

LusciousRon said...

Look who came back. Sorry hope nothing was damaged.

CaramelD said...

I had already carried your gist to my peeps saying 'see how they robbed a blogger in America'!!!

Chai Now I have to tell them it was fiction!!!

Rayo said...

the 'carlang' i love!

Thirty + said...

Hey C, glad to hear it's fiction.

As I recall, the last time you gambled a different choice and that was not a work of fiction.

I suppose life's a gamble to a certain extent.

Roc said...

“Life is a gamble at terrible odds, if it were a bet, you would not take it”Nicely written..

Minor Insurrection said...

Nice one, on several levels. Was entertained.

Lady A said...

Just living life is gambling.
Heck, getting in the car is a gamble!
However I play to win and keep!

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

just checking in on you. Hope all is well

LusciousRon said...

When are you coming back? Miss your posts. :(

G-FUNC said...

Hey dude!
where you at?
Hope you're ok and all
been ages since you last posted
We,I mean I miss your post *in a male ego,this neve get's out kinda way* hehe

Holla!

Padosh said...

come back!!! We miss you, I miss you...,

G-FUNC said...

abeg help me tell the bobo oh,
Phoenix

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