Chance -- Writer's Poke #140

For Writers:

I didn't know how to use the telephone. It never occurred to me that I could invite friends over to my house. Instead, I would stay home on Friday nights, wondering what other kids were doing. Why didn't they call me? Why didn't they invite me over to their house? Once in a while somebody did, but more often than not, I spent the night at home alone, reading a magazine. Wondering.

When I was old enough to drive a car, I would sometimes drive around town, sometimes aimlessly, but sometimes purposely. I would drive past the houses of people I knew, hoping that someone might be outside. That would give me the excuse to stop. Then I could say, "Hey, I was just driving by, and I happened to see you." But I almost never saw anyone, and the idea of stopping to knock on somebody's door was much too forward for my taste.

For the longest time I lived by the philosophy of: If it happens, it happens. Unfortunately, even when I tried to increase my odds of making something happen by driving around, nothing happened the majority of the time.

What does "chance" mean to you?

"I will prepare and one day my chance will come." -- Abraham Lincoln

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