Collateral Damage

A larger competitor is sniffing around, wondering if I'd be interested in selling. I'm torn from walking away from the past completely and staying in the business I had started and in the past, loved. I suspected the acquisition would likely result in the closure and consolidation of the business into one of their larger operations. The over one hundred and fifty employees would be abandoned and I wouldn't be able to live with that. I have contemplated putting a 'No Closure' clause in any sale agreement, but even if the buyer agreed, they would immediately look for ways to circumvent it.

I haven't decided what my life will look like tomorrow. I know that as a responsible adult, I am the author of my own misfortune. I alone assembled the bomb from the simple components; the report, the photographs and the audio tapes. I alone detonated the bomb when I chose to enter my home and confront the scene. I alone rode the shock wave as I sat at my kitchen table and cast the die of our inevitable future. And now I stand alone in this wasteland and look about me at the devastation. In the end, we have all become victims of collateral damage.