Everything is surreal, part IV

Well, I am listening to Mahler.  Even I am impressed.  I have successfully poopooed him all my 70 years, but I decided that if I am going to be an art music afficionado, I need to broaden my taste.  So I ordered a set of all the symphonies minus one.  I guess he wrote on stinker in ten.  Pretty good batting average, Gustav.  And in spite of some rather abrupt volume shifts, I find his music really romantic.  If he hadn't written such looooooonnnnnng works, longer than the staying power of the average human bladder, he might actually be popular.  Or maybe he is, and I just didn't know it.  Nevertheless, here I am, steeped in culture.  Other jarring things happened today, too.  Big bang not too long ago announce yet another collision on the very busy cross-street to my halcyon little neighborhood.  I trooped down to get a gander.  Sweet little old lady was being trundled away in the ambulance.  Little dear was just planning on some shopping at the market, and out of nowhere, a pickup slammed into her.  There are a couple of these dustups a year.  I am really careful when turning out of my country lane onto this thoroughfare.  It is a war zone.  And then, oh, this is the worst.  My favorite character on Days of Our Lives got snuffed out.  Just like that.  No warning, and really, folks, this is just too much.  I have been watching faithfully since 1997.  I am breaking up with you!  No more DVRed episodes to faithfully attend to.  Done.