I called the man who will make my wrestling gear on the telephone today, and left a message identifying myself and my purpose for calling and how I got his number. Quite the journey it has been to get me to that phone call. I have been under increasing pressure to begin my career, either teaching or wrestling, putting to rest years of speculation and bold predictions, many completely absurd, some admittantly intentionally that way. Not a whole lot of folks think this will return anything special, and who can say? Many people are frustrated with me for seeming to pursue neither teaching nor wrestling for the past year, or so it seemed. It really is an oddity how many people do look up to me. I even had one fellow give me career criticism from somebody immediately after complaining about needing himself a vacation. ***** I got an email first thing on Monday morning. It was a forwarded letter written by a mother of an Algebra student I tutored this past spring. Her first quarter she received a 73. This last quarter a 96. I may only have tutored six or so students, but I made six impacts. That being said, two corollaries come to mind: One is that I didn't make too terribly much money last year. The other is that I enjoyed sleeping in every morning, setting my alarm so that I could open the window to hear the hustle and bustle of the morning traffic and have it lull me back to sleep. Sometimes there just may be a strange union between happiness and laziness. I also was able to fit in five weeks of basketball tournaments, then Wrestlemania, and a slew of random trips and such which for those of you keeping score at home, was the reason I stayed clear of a job that wouldn't allow such recreation. Plus, there's something to be said for having five spring breaks. ***** There is a pleasantness in pursuing happiness when it can be easily caught sometimes.
When I play, I play hard. And when I work, I... play hard. But there is nothing of future value in the distant past. Just dreams, most came true while a few were lies. What is inspiring is how much was accomplished, and how few wilted dreamscapes rotted unfulfilled. But there's another year and another task, another push to another last. The hardest thing is forgetting the people I loved so much. This was a funny lovesong. | 
