Photography is a lot like life...

We've all heard a million of them. They're on bumper stickers, pins, and lots of articles:

Photography is a lot like life—

...being at the right place at the right time,

...it has its ups and downs,

...mistakes happen,

...half of it's negative,

...you wait and see what develops.

I guess photography is also a lot like a box of chocolates. And a box of chocolates is a lot like a speckled pup, and a specked pup is a lot like a Buick floating on the ocean, and the ocean is a lot like photography, and photography is a lot like life....

HEY, WAIT! No it's not.

I saw a show on TV yesterday, and this gal was riding a horse in some deep snow. She said, "This snow is like an ocean." I heard her say it.
Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy simile and metaphor as much or more as the next guy, but here's my point --
When she compares the snow to an ocean, her mind works to find equivalency. What is lost in the effort? The true nature of the snow.
While she's "finding" comparisons, she's losing the truth, missing the true nature, skipping right past the real thing. All in an effort to find connections. No connections were necessary.
Yes, but you say that's how the human mind works. Fine.
I will agree that's how most minds work, and if you want to settle in with the most, allow me to join you for a moment. I can play that game of muddled thinking. Let me see...let me see.... AH! Elvis is a lot like an Elvis impersonator.... No wait, I've got it! Photography is a lot like pizza.... No, wait, even better! Photography is a lot like Elvis eating pizza.
Oh what the hell: A pizza is a lot like a photograph of a pizza, until you try to eat it.