So how many of you have it in you?
I sat next to two VERY accomplished men while I was on a plane the other night that would have just flicked me across the seat with a snubbed up nose any other day of the week, but this time was different. When I say accomplished I mean by the run of the mill standard by which we Americans tend to measure success.
They are comedians and the one is topping the others jokes as fast as they can go. I find it funny and they make me laugh. I have had quite a week of joy and friendship and hell at levels I cannot even begin to explain nor do I care to. It is mine for today. Besides, I already spilt my guts to these accomplished men and well to say the least it was eye opening.
For some reason we got on the topic of life and family and such and I explained to them how my week had gone and they looked at me as if perhaps I had just said the most crazy thing. So I started to explain of course knowing I did not have to explain a thing to anyone...but I wanted to explain what I am doing and why. Maybe just to see if ever these two had ever thought about doing such a thing or had tried such a thing. Obviously they had gotten somewhere. They seemed to have what most people in this part of the world strive to have. (you could tell just by the way EVERYONE treated them and me just because I sat by them)
When I was done, the jokes had stopped by the men and pretty much we all were quite toasted because they had kept the drinks and peanuts coming for us and I am not even sure they had to pay. I know I was not asked for any money. That was pretty cool! The one man looked at me and started to tell me a tale. He told me he had a grandbaby and she was amazing! She was his world. She called him Poppy and if she ever learned to say Ferrari he is in trouble! He told me of his kids and about their jobs and how his child told them they were having a baby by wrapping a diamond box with a guilded pacifier in it for his wife. I laughed so hard to see this man light up. He agreed to let me take photos for advertizing in exchange for just the shoot. I think that is just a good contact to make. I agreed to be his eccentric person in their life so that the Dallas wives could have a great tale to speak of that would make such a cute tale back home. He busted a gut laughing because he knew exactly what I spoke of. Then he got serious.
He said that looking at me (and the other guy joined in at this point) he said that at this point in an old mans life...to which I have to say I did not see them as old... that if he thought about all of the would have, should have, and could have's, he wishes he had lived like which I am embarking upon. That truly, he wishes he had bucked the system and just did it. I could not believe it. He said that if you step out on a Dallas Street you see things to take photos of, yes, of course you do. But if you step out on a street from where we were flying and you see a world of tales, lives, stories, pictures and things so facinating you cannot take them all in (not in the one or two days he is given in a year). At any rate, he has offered help from afar here in Dallas and unbeknownst to me he had a part in some of the decisions that have had an effect on my life as of late and it felt pretty good to him and to me to see that it has been a fair trade. It was a pretty good feeling.
Funny thing I learned that eminant domain is coming soon enough if not enough people do as I have. Offers will be lowered as time goes by as I have assumed so I took the proactive approach and wrote my own script before it came to me.
Anyhow, as we parted, I saw the serious faces of successful businessmen come back on, and I for some reason I declined help as I carried my heavy assed bags across what seemed like Africa until we got to baggage pickup...where I picked up more heavy ass bags. The business men cought up to me and for a moment broke face and one leaned over and said, "subborn little fighter...your gonna go far!"
...OUTLAW