Have a Great Day!

I'm a curmudgeon at times. Especially when things aren't going well in my life. Then as I leave the drive-up window at the bank, or check out at the grocery store, and I hear from the person waiting on me, "Have a great day!" I almost puke on them. Instead, I simply comment that I'll be satisfied with a plain old mediocre day. Usually, the look I receive is one of blank incomprehension. The last time I pulled that, I started pushing my cart toward the door. "Have a great day!" called out the check-out clerk.

So what would a "great day" be like for me? It's hard to imagine, since they seldom arrive, but I think it would be to be convinced I am part of the bigger picture -- that my words and actions hold meaning for at least one person -- that I make a difference somehow -- for the good, of course. At my age, 75, it would be gratifying to believe that such is really really true.

Another criteria might be to know that a poem, a book, an essay that I have written will be published or win a prize or be recognized in some way. I have several books published online at lulu.com (just click my name and you'll find them) and it would really be exciting to find out that there are readers out there who want to read what I've written.

A great day might also include the possibility of bringing in at least a slight income these days of economic crashes and uncertainties. Or a great day might be one in which I finish a sermon with several days to spare before Sunday, in order to have time for revisions or even total rewrites.

A great day could possibly include the fact that someone reads this, my first blog other than what I do for our church website . . . So I'll close this with the hope that any readers of this will have a Great Day -- today or tomorrow . . .