Do you want the good news or the bad news?

Something I am sure we have all heard more than once. And for that moment, when someone says, "I have good news and bad news, which do you want me to tell you first?" you take a step back and are posed with the following options: You think, if you take the bad news first, then the good news will surely override the bad. You can leave with the 'good news aftertaste' in your mouth. However, if the bad news is really pretty bad, it may not do the good news justice. It could be really good news, but none of that really matters, because you have just been told some bad news. True, this question is a perplexing one, however, I think if you take the good news first, it is at face value. You are truly wallowing in the good of that news as it stands alone. To follow with the bad news, it may hold more weight overall, and you may walk away carrying the bad news in the front seat, while the good news ends up in the trunk of this car we call life, but for that one fleeting moment, you truly appreciated the good news for what it was.

Why discuss this at all? Ah, yes the 'ol "Which came first the chicken or the egg" routine. Well, I was recently posed with this very dilemma. Peter came home and asked the aformentioned good news vs. bad news question. The good news is that Nielsen Global should be receiving its first official payment this week. (Woohoo! Mama needs a new pair of shoes!) The bad news is, our beloved landlord George Goodwin who is 85 years young, has been diagnosed with cancer. He has come home from the hospital this week and has been told by the whitecoats he only has a short time to enjoy a few more Sausalito sunsets. He is a great man who has lived a full life, and our thoughts are with him and his family over the next several weeks. (3/17/07)