Chipping away at life, if a bit reluctantly

‘A mixing bowl shouldn’t chip after using it once.” This tinny whine was met by my wife’s verbal dope slap informing me that chips are part of life, get over it. “But it’s imported from England”. Surely, this upscale tidbit would lend the appropriate gravitas to justify my indignation. She was unmoved.

Once again, the real world collided with my world and I was losing, badly. Most would say that fixating on mini-adversities is a rabbit hole to be avoided. Easier said than done. Is scuffing your new dress shoes on the revolving door of an office tower really worth even a moment of angst? What about when the proverbial shopping cart crashes into the car you just drove off the lot? Trivial, but encroachments on daily life nonetheless.

Why bring any of this up during a pandemic that has redefined adversity? You would think that this 21st century plague would force me to look at all of these banalities in their proper perspective. Yes and no. COVID-19 is like gravity. It’s everywhere, all the time, and must be respected and dealt with even though we can’t see it or, for most of us, explain it. Ignore gravity and COVID-19 at your own peril. The petty annoyances of my quotidian existence are more like solving a Rubik’s Cube. Unlike gravity (and COVID-19), you have a choice. Accept the challenge and try to solve it, or not. Some people are better at it than others. In the moment, depending on your skill or luck, it can be frustrating or rewarding. At the end of the day, it’s just another brick in the wall. Life goes on.

I realize that dress shoes, working in an office building and a Rubik’s Cube tag me as hopelessly out-of-touch. And what am I doing with a mixing bowl in the first place? Well, I thought everyone was trying to make brownies. The point is that most of life is the stringing together of daily minutiae. It is not unreasonable to expect more from this thread even if the individual details appear relatively unimportant.

Granted, taken too far it can border on the pathological. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” (“Network” – 1976). “I’m just standing up for my rights as a consumer” (“Falling Down” – 1993). Smashing the merchandise with a baseball bat is a rather extreme way to get your point across. But that bodega was charging Michael Douglas way too much for a Coke. More last century cultural references? “Hey, that’s life, get over it.” 

Gee . . . that felt good. 

By the way, the brownies were excellent.

M. A. Duca is a resident of Twin Lakes narrowly focused on everyday life.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Barbara Meyers DelPrete

LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.

Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti

SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.

Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veronica Lee Silvernale

MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.

Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crescendo launches 22nd season
Christine Gevert, artistic director of Crescendo
Steve Potter

Christine Gevert, Crescendo’s artistic director, is delighted to announce the start of this musical organization’s 22nd year of operation. The group’s first concert of the season will feature Latin American early chamber music, performed Oct. 18 and 19, on indigenous Andean instruments as well as the virginal, flute, viola and percussion. Gevert will perform at the keyboard, joined by Chilean musicians Gonzalo Cortes and Carlos Boltes on wind and stringed instruments.

This concert, the first in a series of nine, will be held on Oct. 18 at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Lakeville.

Keep ReadingShow less