Perspective...

A few minutes ago, I was on my knees, clenching both fists against the ripping pain in my chest, choking up blood and hovering near death over a bed of urine soaked cardboard. The cancer had almost won. At age 89, it was amazing that I had survived that long. Being homeless, disabled, and sick, I shared a moldy back alley with an overflowing dumpster that was like me, oozing decay and long forgotten.

I just wanted to die, to finally end the misery that my life had always been.

That’s when I saw her, a mirage. Walking, gliding really, coming down the alley toward me. A pre-death hallucination of some kind.

Stopping at my feet, she simply looked down and said: “I’m your fairy Godmother. I’ll grant you any wish you want.”

Knowing it couldn’t be real, I played along, as it briefly took my mind off the pain. “OK, I want to be young and healthy again. Make me sober too with an education and a good job. Give me real friends and a wife and family that love me. I want a house in Florida, I hear it’s warm there. I’m so tired of being cold.”

My fairy Godmother replied: “I’ll grand your wish and give you all of those things. But life isn’t perfect so I’m only turning back the clock 20 years and many of your friends will actually be on Facebook.”

“You make me 69 again and I’ll be happy forever, but Facebook, what the hell is that?” I asked.

“You’ll figure it out. “She replied. “And you’ll have no memory of your current life.”

Incredulous, I croaked back: “My current life? I’m dying! My life always sucked. Never married, no kids, drunk, sick, poor. I don’t want to remember any of this!”

“You won’t” She said. “And just in case you’re hungry, I’m going to seat you at a beautiful marsh-side table at a popular seafood restaurant where you’ll be sitting with your wife. I’ll give you a wallet full of cash and credit cards. Order anything you like!”

With a slight smile of skepticism and lost in the dream she had painted, I closed my eyes for just a second and…

BAM! I just got my wish!

Sitting on the deck with Carla, deciding what to order, I couldn’t help but think about what a lucky guy I am. It felt like there was something I was supposed to remember, but frankly, everything was too perfect for me to worry about it.

Turning toward Carla I said: “Lean into me and let’s take a selfie. I’m going to post it on Facebook...”

As I double checked my wallet, I realized that I had more cash than I remembered, and lots of credit cards if we wanted to use them instead.

I told Carla: "Order whatever you like, Honey. We're in good shape." 

Carla got the fried shrimp, I went with the oysters. 

For a split second I thought I caught the scent of garbage, maybe the restaurant's dumpster, but it was gone in an instant with the breeze that blew fresh and salty off the marsh.