November can be a very cruel month

AN elderly man sat forlornly in the bar, occasionally biting his nails and shaking his head in a manner that showed he was in a state of mental anguish.

Pain was written all over his face and he could be seen wiping away tears while ensconced on his bar stool with nothing to drink. Before anyone could gather the courage to find out what was troubling the senior citizen, he rose from his stool, shook his grey-haired head once more and disappeared into the darkness.

Weird as this sounds, such occurrences are common during this time of the year.

November — this 11th month of the year that we are wading through — is full of drama, if truth be told.

It is considered a month for a “reality check,” a “progress report”, a “personal audit” and a “self-assessment”.

This period of introspection, through which one tries to examine whether or not one achieved one’s goals, can be cruel.

This is when people start adjusting their New Year resolutions to ease the pain associated with failure.

In all fairness, November, to most people, is the most painful month of the year because this is when they take stock of the progress they would have made during the course of the year.

It is the month in which chickens come home to roost.

“Of all the months on the calendar, November is the most painful one because it is in this month that one sees they have not made any progress this year and there will be no room to recover,” one guzzler told this writer.

“This is the month when cases of hypertension, depression and even suicide are more pronounced, because one will be able to reflect and see that, unlike their peers, they were actually going downhill.”

It is worse for those in business. November is the month in which audits often reveal that one would have actually accumulated more debts than in the previous year and is unable to meet statutory obligations, like paying taxes and salaries, let alone award bonuses to workers.

“People generally expect to be awarded bonuses in November.

“Both disciplined and undisciplined workers usually expect to be paid so that they can meet the needs of their families over the festive period. If you want war, just tell your workers that you did not perform well enough to award a bonus,” Mr Esau Makurumure of Domboshava said in a conversation recently.

Schoolchildren are also affected during this period.

“November is the month in which learners at all levels write exams to assess whether or not they mastered all they were taught throughout the year. This is the time of the year when learners burn the midnight oil trying to ensure they are prepared for examinations.

“But all that effort may be a little too