CARPE DIEM By Michael A. Black

I must admit I never studied Latin in school. Back when I was in high school the foreign language you signed up for was kind of a big deal. My father, who was born in France and spoke that language as a young boy, urged me to take Spanish. My buddy Rick, however, took French, and my cousin Roger chose Latin. Rog took a lot of heat for studying what was termed “a dead language,” but that was what all the top students were told to do. I kind of wondered about Latin being given that particular designation, but I guess it was called “dead” because nobody spoke it anymore. I’ve since come to realize that this is not totally the case. People do use certain Latin phrases from time to time, like carpe diem, which is roughly translated into “seize the day.”

Roman poet Horace wrote a bit of verse about seizing the day, and Saul Bellow used the phrase as the title for one of his novels. I also must confess I never got around to reading either one of them. Maybe it was the Latin or the metaphor, but “seizing the day” never seemed to be something solid enough to grab onto. I mean, I’ve seized a lot of things in my life, including unauthorized weapons, illegal drugs, cars, money, stolen property . . . But seizing a day always seemed a bit elusive.

I suppose one might say the phrase is a metaphor for making the most of an opportunity or for having fun while you can. “Gather your rosebuds while ye may,” another poet once wrote. There’s a lot to be said for embracing that type of philosophy, especially in this age of instant gratification. Still, I think a bit of circumspection might be in order before going whole hog and trying to do that. But it’s also been said that he who hesitates, has lost.

How can we put this into perspective? Well, it’s common knowledge that a first strike is usually definitive. The guy who lands the first blow in a street fight has the advantage, at least initially. But sometimes this can backfire and the guy who was struck first can sometimes open up a can of whoop-ass and do some rosebud gathering of his own. So some thought should go in to any of these proposed seizures. But I also know the value of decisive action and response. Sometimes you have to act and act quickly.

One time on a nightshift I got dispatched to a neighboring police station. They had an unruly drunk in the lobby who was ranting and raving about his friend being arrested. One officer went out to speak to the man, and the guy picked up a chair and threw it at a glass display case. Luckily, it didn’t break because Those Who Knew Best at the police department had put a lot of the weapons they’d confiscated in this glass case for the public to see when they came into the lobby. I mean, there were all sorts of neat things like brass knuckles, knives, clubs, and even a few guns, although I’m sure they weren’t loaded. Those Who Knew Best probably felt they were seizing a great public relations opportunity by doing this, but I’m sure the drunk had something else in mind. The officer who’d gone out to try to reason with the drunk stood there in shock for a moment, then began yelling at him. But he just stood there, hesitating to get too close to the guy who was still flexing his beer muscles. Now, the last thing I wanted was to give this intoxicated joker another swing at the glass encased piñata, but that was how things seemed to be moving. I’d seen enough so I walked over and decked him. I used a body punch to his liver, which put him on his knees, then I cuffed his hands behind his back and went to get another cup of coffee. I guess it was one of my moments of carpe deim. Well in this case I guess it was more carpe noctem because it was about three in the morning.

So in the final analysis, I guess I would agree with old Horace and Saul. Sometimes you just have to take advantage of the moment and seize the day, or risk the chance that those rosebuds you’ve been admiring will blow away.

De todos modos, no lamento estudiar español.

 

Comments

[Liz]

A reflection of age difference, no doubt, but in my youth Latin was in active use in the Roman Catholic Church.

Carpe diem always reminds me of The Dead Poets Society.

[Susan C Shea]

Good story, Michael. I could almost hear you brushing your hands off as you sauntered out of the lobby! The only thing that made me wince was the blow to his liver - sounds dangerous (to him). Do livers bleed? (Do I want to know?)

[Ann Parker]

Great story, Michael! I'll bet the other officers present were grateful that you "seized the day!" :-)

[Michael A. Black]

Isn't Latin making a comeback in the Catholic Church, Liz? I thought I heard something about that on the news. And, Sue, as far as the liver bleeding, if it does it's usually pretty serious. The liver is pretty hard to perforate with a punch to the right side (usually done with a left hook), it can put you on your knees. It has a few second delay, then your legs just give out. And, Ann, that incident happened back before we had pepper spray and tasers. The guy would have been lit up like a Christmas tree now days.