It is now twelve, midnight and this is station KRGR, leaving the air. — A Nightmare on Elm Street

All good things come to an end.  If it’s possible, it’s better to go out on your own terms, rather than let things degrade to the point that nobody enjoys your efforts.  Once something you enjoy starts being a job, or a job starts becoming just a paycheck, it’s time to go.

Mufasa’s death was a terrible tragedy; but to lose Simba, who had barely begun to live… For me it is a deep personal loss. So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne. Yet, out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era… in which lion and hyena come together, in a great and glorious future! — The Lion King

One of the more despicable thing I see people do, in politics and in other parts of life, is to use a crisis to convince people to do things that they would normally resist.  Preying on the weaknesses and fears of others is an old tactic, but it sure isn’t a worn out page in the playbook.  “They’re coming for your children” or “If we don’t, we risk catastrophe” seem to be the way that things get done anymore.

There are two dilemmas… that rattle the human skull. How do you hold onto someone who won’t stay? And how do you get rid of someone who won’t go? — War of the Roses

The calculus of knowing when to end a relationship is rarely simple, at least to the people on the inside of it.  A third party may look at it and see abuse, neglect, infidelity, or worse.  But to those who are entangled in it, they can still remember the good times, the first glances across a room, the first kiss, the birth of children.  The bruises, both visible, and invisible, are easy to overlook when you can still taste the first meal she made for you, or his smile the first time you danced.  The problem was, to me, that those good times were all that I had to go on, and eventually we both became indifferent to the present because we were lost in the past.  Things finally fell apart when one of us woke up from that dream and realized how nightmarish things had become.

Honor is a private matter within; it’s an idea, and every man has his own version of it.  — Becket

Every person has to answer to themselves before they answer to others.  I’ve found that good people are harder on themselves than others are, and that those I don’t respect tend to reverse that.  A true oxygen thief displays no personal honor or morals, yet still expects the rest of us to treat them with respect and charity.  The walking saints I’ve known can easily list their own deficiencies, while not being able to enumerate those of their neighbors.

Never be in a hurry. You’ll miss the best parts in life. — Around the World in 80 Days

Someday, I’m going to stop.  I’m going to wander around an old-fashioned library for a few hours, then sit and read for days on end.  I’m going to finally watch all of those movies I forgot to watch over the years.  I’m going to climb back up that mountain in Arizona and sit on my rock until my brain boils.

But that day is not today, and it’s not soon.  Until then, I’ll be the dad, the husband, the friend, and all the other things that keep me moving.