Today’s Reality

I guess I should consider myself fortunate. I must know nothing about desperation.

Desperation makes people stupid. For instance…bank robbers. There’s a guy around here who doens’t do much to disguise himself. Maybe a pair of sunglasses and ball cap. But, I’m sure he thinks he’s sophisticated. He’s been cutting out latex glove finger tips and putting them on his hands. He’s doesn’t wear the gloves. Just the fingers. Another guy walked into a bank the other day and told the teller…in essence, “If you don’t give me some money, those guys out there in the car are going to kill me.” She gave him the money. He’s in jail. Those guys in the car are nowhere to be found.

Those guys are desperate.

Whatever happened to guys like Paddy Mitchell and the Stopwatch Gang? They didn’t rob banks because they were desperate. They robbed banks for fun and profit. Sure, Paddy is in Leavenworth and another member of the group eventually blew his money on coke and smack and tried to kill a cop. But…in the grand scheme of things…the failures and viciousness don’t matter as much as their initial drive to do something well and do it for some reason other than desperation. I don’t condone the criminal life, but I sure appreciate it when the criminals are at least somewhat intelligent.

Criminal desperation should be criminal in itself.

I should concede, desperate times require desperate measures. And sometimes desperation leads to ingenuity. I admire anyone who can take that route.

Nevertheless, I guess I should feel thankful. I know nothing about desperation.