I HAVE A CHRISTMAS WISH TOO

Yesterday, having made an apple pie and working on my quilt, I listened to a motivational CD as I stitched, like any reasonable all-american housewife should on christmas eve.  Even if they are a mean old man like me.  One thing about quilting is that you think about other things as you do it, and the years drifted away as they seem to like to do in this joyous time of year.  I found myself recalling the days when I sat around the coffee table with my friend Torger, smoking pot, making art, and listening to the craziest records we could find at the Fort Collins Colorado Salvation Army store.  We often listened to preachin' records like Jimmy Swaggart or Jim Bakker, enjoying the music of their voices and the unintentional hilarity of their words, or motivational and success records with deep manly voices instilling us with the urge to at least wish we felt like achieving great things maybe someday.  One of the finest treasures we enjoyed was Earl Nightingale's phonograph recording of his essay "The Strangest Secret."  The best moment of the recording, and possibly the best moment of all the time we spent together, was when Mr. Nightingale said to us in his luscious announcer voice, "The SUCCESSFUL MAN, is the one who is DOING WHAT HE WANTS TO DO, BECAUSE HE WANTS TO DO IT."  We sat on the ratty carpet around a table full of art supplies, with a wall of art books on one side and a wall of science fiction magazines on the other side, high on dope, and looked at each other and said, well okay, we made it!  That is the day I truly gave up trying. Now I come to think of it I don't really have a Christmas wish after all.  It's a good story though.  Just remember to give up early enough in life that you can enjoy it.