On the afternoon of a sunny day, the missus and kids and I got away,
And took a ride up into the hills to where it was cool, quiet and still.
Of course, if you want quiet you go alone, but I wanted the missus and kids along.
Well we rounded the corner and came into town, and wouldn’t you know it the car broke down.
I phoned for help and while we waited for a ride, I spotted a drugstore with a soda fountain inside.
We went on in and ordered a coke, and listened while the cashier and the druggist joked.
Then the little bell on the front door went buzz, and we all turned to see who it was.
A lady on crutches hobbled in. She needed some medicine for the pain she was in.
As she moved to the counter, and went around the shelf, the druggest remarked how she’d shot herself.
They joked and laghed and teased her a bit.And I said to myself that that couldn’t be it.
We sat and listened as she began to tell how her day had begun. It hadn’t gone well.
She was checking the cattle early that day, and she went to step over a bale of hay.
Her boot came down upon the head of a rattlesnake, and it wasn’t dead.
Now she had a choice of what action to take; she could let it go, or she could kill the snake.
She didn’t want to raise her boot, so she pulled her revolver and got ready to shoot.
Part of the head could be seen as it lay, but when she pulled off the shot, her foot got in the way.
That pretty much ruined her boot and her day. Now she needed something to help the pain go away.
As she waited for her prescription to be filled, she hopped on one foot and tried to stand still.
The druggist laughed, ” You get what you deserve. You just need better aim to go with your nerve”.
She said, “Maybe I got my just desserts,. But self-inflicted pain still hurts”!
This little story hits awful close to home. No matter where I am , no matter where I roam
I tend to meet folks just like me, that are trying to hide the pain and the misery
That came because of a mess we made . Something we did or something we said.
When I think of myself and the shape I’m in, I know most of my pain is because of my sin.
You can rightfully say I deserved what I got. Too many times that lesson’s been taught.
I may have gotten my just desserts, but folks, self-inflicted pain still hurts.
Tim Parish – 2001
