But in my heart I knew that just like the new grass, I wasn't strong enough yet to be walked on

As much as thinking this upsets me, I'm starting to see that I need the merry-go-round much more than it needs me, and in the end my choice is to hop back on or get left in the dust.

It's easy to look back and see it, and it's easy to give the advice. But the sad fact is, most people don't look beneath the surface until it's too late.

(Actually now I’m remembering that the goodbye chow isn’t spelled that way. It’s ciao or something weird like that. It’s Italian, right? But I’m not an Italian gypsy, I’m a hungry gypsy. So spelling it chow makes total sense.)

It was beyond embarrassing or humiliating or even mortifying. It was ego-slaying!

Okay that’s it. Now I’m torching this. I just need to score a match.

...and I realized that Garrett was right about one thing- I had flipped. Completely.