ONCE UPON A LIE

As a kid I always enjoyed reading stories that began with once upon a time. That was a big hint to me that the tale was going to end with a happy ending and have some cute or loveable characters.

Call me a sap for the predictable when it is upbeat, but no matter how many times I read or watch one of those stories mentally I end up being prepared to come to the end with a smile. Sorry, but that really works for me.

Then one day I grew up. It was nice to be old enough to drink without getting carded and I’ll admit that adult forms of entertainment do certainly top my list of choices of things to do rather than the board games I played as a kid.

But sometimes I do miss the fantasy. There was just something more fun living life when you believed in magic and wishes coming true.

Which is part of the reason I suppose that I’ll always have this need in my political life to weave the concept of once upon a time into my speeches and meetings. Only since once upon a time in real life suck way too often I end up having to fabricating the once upon part.

Let me tell you the people eat it up too. I’m not suggesting that everyone is gullible and stupid. What I am suggesting is there are simply a lot of people out there like myself that enjoy having a taste of smiles instead of frowns.

I have noticed that the ones that don’t also seem not to smile or laugh that much. They seem to derive their biggest happiness over complaining and anytime they get around to the once upon a time part it is a downer. Something more suitable for a nightmare and a dream.

Frankly I do my best to avoid those folks. And that can be hard if they are a prominent businessman or someone with power and money in my city. I have found that while lots of people enjoy the once upon a time mode of thinking not all of them are successful.

In either case with both groups I ended still following he once upon a lie approach. Believe it or not the downer folks still need a little creative help making the once upon a time sound miserable enough. I’m not crazy about that kind of once upon a lie. However if the need arises I can summon the imagination enough to lie for the occasion.

However as soon as possible I escape and retreat to my own little world of denial where the once upon a lie is more fun. And I don’t even mind when somebody joins me as long as they join in on the lying part. Misery may love company, but so does denial. Only you don’t have to talk about it, just pretend a lot more.

Meanwhile I’m off for a once upon a lie speech. This time to a women’s group. And since this one composed primarily of woman over the age of fifty let me tell you that the subject of beauty will get the biggest lie workout of the meeting. Ah it is to smile and savor the joy of making dreams more fun than reality.