Success

One of Dorothy's friends called me last night and asked me for a favor. It seems her little granddaughter has an assignment in school that requires her to interview a local citizen on the subject of success. The young girl for some reason thought of me. I reckon that should make me proud but it left me curious as to why she would think of me as successful. Anyway I thought about it and came up with a little talk to give my views on the subject. This is what I used in my little interview:

When I think of success two stories come to mind. In the first story we find a man sitting in the back of a limousine wearing a three thousand dollar suit. He has a Rolex watch on his wrist and is sipping a martini. This entrepreneur is on his way to a banquet to receive an award. The alarm on his iphone sounds reminding him to take the medicine for his blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and also a couple of pills for a nervous condition brought on by the stress of the day. He smiles and thinks of how far he has come.

At the same exact moment in time a man sits beside his hut in the South American jungle. He is naked. Within in his reach there is a berry bush and when hunger calls he picks food for his sustenance. He bathes in the river and hunts with a spear and knife he has made from stone. If he becomes ill there is no modern medicine to save him. But he does not know this and is content with his world.

When I think of success I imagine a man or woman who lives their life somewhere between these two individuals.  They don’t have everything they want, but have everything they need. The important thing is that they understand the difference.

I hope I didn't let the little girl down.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle

Coming soon: More Tales of Harper (an ebook on Amazon)