writing on his well-worn pad
then guessing out loud all day
birthdays, weights, ages
at 10 dollars – 40 dollars to play
he was a winner each and every time
amazing and flattering his crowd
even when he gave away a toy
what did the guesser have to lose?
“guessing a thing ain’t knowing a thing.”
-patrick ness
(supposed to be here)
back in the day
when i was a waitress
going to school
training to be in the travel industry
i was on call for my restaurant in michigan
but i also had to be at an airline travel class in dallas
my restaurant had very recently said
absolutely no more days off for anyone
too many people were calling in sick or with excuses
so
according to my optimistic rationalization style math and logic
knowing the staff
having no other plan
odds were 50/50 at best
i said nothing to my restaurant
crossed my fingers
flew to dallas
made the fateful call-in from the lone star state
amazingly
the staff had all shown up that day
for the win!
p.s. don’t try this if you are a doctor
(actually was here)
—
“never tell me the odds.”
-han solo
—
when the mega millions jackpot
hit 1 billion dollars tonight
i decided to take my chances
shell out 2 dollars
buy a lucky ticket
and imagine for at least 12 hours
what i would do with my billion
not a bad price for half a day of creative fun.
the winning ticket?
what would you do with a billion dollars if you won?
—
‘a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’
-everett dirksen
we went to
one of my grandie’s soccer games
his day to bring the snack
a variety pack
filled with all things crunchy and wonderful
he was really excited to share the treats
but worried
that his favorites would all be gone
i told him that it was important to offer them all
and then to eat whatever was left
but
he might be able to up the odds a little bit
by putting his favorites at the bottom of the box
that way he was more likely to have them left over
and he didn’t have to feel bad
because he had offered all of them to his team
if he was meant to have them
they would still be there
if not
it was nice of him to have shared them
i watched as he thought it over
and
carefully put his ‘puffy cheetos’ on the bottom.
after the game he shared the snacks
and was delighted to see
that amazingly
his favorites were still there.
my daughter said that this was probably
the advice he would remember most from me
not to be kind, to be fair, or to take turns
but rather,
to put your favorites in the bottom of the box,
offer them to your friends
cross your fingers
and
hope for the best.
nothing wrong with hoping for the best.
grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief
they haven’t thought of yet.
~ gene perret
I didn't have my glasses on.... 