Glass half full - LBC topic

Ah yes - if it's Friday it must be LBC time. This week's topic comes from Padmum - our resident Dame Quixote.

The rhetorical question implied - it seems to me -  is am I an optimist or a pessimist.  In the best tradition of Bill Clinton I suppose that depends upon your definition of optimism and the situation at hand. I see myself as a rather practical realist.  Ultimately I am what is often termed rather negatively by the uber-religious as a secular humanist. Simply put, I do not believe some old guy in robes in some mythiocal heaven is pushing all of the buttons that make up my life. I act and react to circumstances and the decisions made  - good, bad or indifferent - are mine alone. I play the cards I am dealt and like most, I win a few and I lose a few hands.

What does this have to do with our topic?  Everything. On occasion my glass appears half full, on occasion it is half empty. Most often as long as there is still some single malt left in the bottle the condition of the glass is irrelevant as I can replenish it as I like. Likewise with the emptying of said glass.

I tend to tackle problems head on. In some ways I believe things usually work out if you give enough effort, but I recognize life throws unhittable fastballs ala Nolan Ryan on ocasion and you are going to strike out.  But to continue the baseball analogy - the game is 9 innings long, sometimes longer. We typically have more than one chance at most things. Hopefully reason prevails. Does that make me an optimist? Or maybe an opportunist? Or simply a realist.

As you know my wife of 41 years has HD.  I defy anyone who as any real knowledge of HD to put a positive spin on that one.  HD destroys people, lives and families. I know the ultimate outcome for her and there are many family ramifications yet to be dealt with.  So am I a pessimist? Or simply a realist taking things one day at a time.

There are optimists in this world that are like the Energizer Bunny on steroids.  My hat's off to them.  They do no harm I can ascertain and do help others.  To them I offer the ultimate optimist's anthem as sung by an 80+ year old member of the tribe:

  While it is the antithesis of pessimism (it seems to me) to have boundless energy , there is much to be said for a purely analytical approach to things. And the old saw - a pessimist can be pleasantly surprised but never disappointed does have a grain of truth to it. For- the pseeimist I offer this:

For me - I can only say this:

As to the question Glass half full - or am I an optimist or a pessimsit? I'll leave that to you to decide. It won't bother me one way or the other.  I am what I am.

What do the other LBCers have to say???  I'm curious myself so I will be going here: Delirious, gaelikaa, Grannymar, Maxi, Maria SF, Padmum, Paul, Ramana, The Old Fossil and Will