Reconstructing Robbie Bulger

I could try to explain what life feels like these days, starting over again in my mid-fifties... but unless you’ve lived something similar, most of it would probably get lost in the nuance. Still, that’s nothing a little dark humor and twisted logic can’t sort out, so let’s give it a shot.

In the 1960s, there was a TV sitcom called Bewitched that ran from 1964 to 1972. For the first five years, an actor named Dick York played the lead role of Darrin Stephens. Unfortunately, due to a severe back injury, he collapsed on set one day and was replaced at the start of the sixth season by Dick Sargent.

The show had already been off the air for years by the time I first saw it in reruns growing up. It played almost daily at dinnertime throughout most of the ’70s and ’80s.
Why is this important, you might ask?

Well, I can relate to Dick York’s back problems, and his struggle with painkillers. But more than that, I can also relate to how he must have felt being replaced. Nobody tells you you’re being replaced when you’re falling apart; the show just goes on without you. It’s a lot like divorce, really. Throw in losing your home, your business, and your dog on top of it all, and you might even start to take it personally.

Am I getting shot at today though? Anyone trying to blow me up? These are the kinds of questions I ask myself whenever I start slipping into that mindset. It’s important to keep perspective. No matter how bad things get for me, I’ve probably had worse days. Besides, I still have my military pension—and a full liquor cabinet—so shut up, Bulger!

I think the biggest problem with most of us, is that we go through life thinking we shouldn’t have to struggle. But the truth is, the only way to grow, heal, or succeed in life... is actually through struggle. Ironic, isn’t it?

Sometimes I remind myself with this question: Would I rather go through life as the soldier who ends his day with nothing but a cigarette and a cold ration pack—or as the staff officer whose main mission in life is to convince command to take away the chocolate bar inside those ration packs because they’re “bad for you”?

For a writer, all that stuff is gold. And honestly, what would I have to write about if I’d never struggled? My $100 million dollar trust fund? My perfect ten model girlfriend?
On second thought... wait a minute.