I Wasn’t Shot Today

I wasn’t shot today.

I made it through another 24 hours.

I couldn’t find a sitter, so I didn’t make it to the bowling alley.

I was late going to the parade.

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I went to this grocery store instead of that one.

I missed school that time law enforcement didn’t come to the rescue.

I skipped my appointment the day that the patient shot his doctor.

That cop didn’t use me for his anger management target practice.

I didn’t attend the potluck dinner.

I didn’t go to the synagogue that day.

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I wasn’t serving my country at Ft. Hood at that time.

I didn’t join my friends for the concert in Vegas.

I wasn’t at that Walmart.

I wasn’t at the movie theater, I wasn’t dancing with friends at Pulse, I wasn’t finishing up a long shift at the spa.

I wasn’t at Chapel Hill, UC Santa Barbara, or Virginia Tech at any of those times.

Whew.

I survived another day in the U.S.

Another day to see my nephews grow up.

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Some angry young man didn’t choose to walk into my orbit, ending my dreams, today.

But he could have. And he just might.

But today, I am grateful.

It was a good day.

I wasn’t shot and killed in America … today.

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Joe Guay of Dispatches From the Guay Life is a recovering people-pleaser now writing on Medium and other publications. A full-time voiceover actor aiming to also be the poor man’s David Sedaris, he writes on mental health, travel, showbiz, gay life, and surviving life through humor.