Read Between the Lines

It's been like this my entire life, it seems.

I'm a jokester. Funny, funny, ha, ha. I always have been. I laugh because I have to laugh. It sounds silly.

I think it was because I was born with only one kidney. I always wanted to play football, basketball, hit people.... I've always been aggressive... but I was never allowed to play contact sports as a child...

"You'll hurt your kidney..."
"You'll end up an invalid...."
"You'll die....."

So.... I receded. I listened to what I was told from an early age. Nevermind that this one kidney has withstood over thirty years of hard living that equates to a lifetime of NFL hits and I'm still kickin'.... I listened from an early age. I listened to those who thought they knew best but didn't know at all.

Life is funny that way. Ha ha.

I grew up shorter than the other kids. Then, I gained weight. So, I was fatter than the other kids. I was never popular. I was never taken seriously. So, I learned humor. I learner that in order to survive, you must laugh and make others laugh. So, I found humor. Not for others really, but for myself. It was, and is, my survival mechanism.

Oddly enough, I find myself in the same situation today. No one takes me seriously. Although I have an unusually high IQ, great ideas, a sense of humor, warm heart at times, ... there are people I work for and work with and those I know who see me as chaff. I pity them. Their worlds are so small.

My world....... Beaches.. nothing but beaches and clear waters lapping the shores of pristine sands where tradewinds blow the palms and paradise surrounds you ... Yeah, I chuckle as my shorts fill up with sand in the surf....

One day, someone will take me seriously and not regret it. The thing is, so far, no one has taken me seriously. And those who haven't, have regretted it.

The clock is ticking.