In the morning, we often visited the local pub to share our amazing victory of merely getting through another day. On this particular morning, I met a very tormented man. He was thrashing about in life and was very lost. He wanted to have a reason for why life hands some folks very complicated situations. The man’s name was Stewart and he was born and raised in Scotland. He had a very deep accent to prove this. Stewart was drinking too much alcohol in the cigar lounge and the bartender, Saleem, was arguing with him over his unpaid bill. Saleem and Stewart settled the argument by placing the bill against his hotel room.
I ordered a beer and lit a cigarette while waiting. I watched as Saleem refused or avoided serving Stewart

another mixed drink. This is when I became curious and introduced myself to Stewart. He was sloppy drunk but understandable. We talked for hours about dread, tragedy, and our experience.
Stewart told me that he was in a tragic accident a few years ago and both his wife and two children died in the car wreck. After feeling his absolute anguish and shedding a few tears of my own, I mentioned this to Saleem so she may understand the situation. Saleem served Stewart a few more drinks.

It appears that many of us are so very lost swimming in a sea of shipwrecks and our only salvation is relating to each other's pain. Empathy is our lifeboat in the sea of shipwrecks. We are Isolated Eccentrics and empathy is our happy ending.