Wishes

It’s tradition in fairy tale-land for good fairies or good witches to bestow wishes, gifts, on significant newborns. Each grants a blessing to that special wee bairn before the child must be spirited away, into hiding. That's always the case, in'it,

In folklorist Charles Perrault’s version of Sleeping Beauty, the infant receives beauty, grace, dance, song, goodness and an enchanted 100 year sleep.

Beauty, grace and the ability to sing and dance? What – the fairies were hoping she’d grow up to be a star on America’s Got Talent?

Mind you, these are all lovely prezzies BUT why didn’t they bless her with a keen intellect or the emotional and physical strength to combat and endure life’s reversals of fortune. Ya know, something a little more useful.

I’m reading Terry Pratchett’s  The Wyrd Sisters now. These witches are far more practical.

They endow the kid with “a bloody good memory,”" the ability to make friend’s easily" and, the third witches most interesting wish “let him be whoever he thinks he is.”

That last is an astoundingly awesome gift. I wish I had the wish/gift chops so's I could give such a brill prezzie.

I’d give this to the woman I know who thinks she’s truly gifted at understanding humanity – a real wizard of awareness and insight. Reality? I often wonder if she’s ever met, let spoken, in depth, with other people, ones not carbon copies of herself. Her instincts are consistently so far off base that, if she recommended I follow a particular course of action, I’d do the exact opposite. And this woman is a therapist, fer fucks sake!

The good witch’s gift, to be whoever you think you are, would be wasted on yurs truly. I’m cursed/blessed with self awareness. I know that I’m a decent painter and wordsmith but not an abso-brill one. I know that I’m a reasobaly nice and giving person  I know that I'm no-one’s doormat or sucker (‘cept Coco’s). I’m no Einstein but the old bean’s in good shape. I’ve been told I'm brave but I’m no Malala Yousafzai.

If I thought I was the second coming of Klimt, a Margaret Atwood or Hunter Thompson for our time, another Marie Curie or an astoungingly courageous Greta Thunberg, that last fairy’s gift would  be JUST the thing.

The wish that would've totally come in handy? Let her have the time, skills and interest in marketing her creative efforts. OR, let’s cut right to the chase, let her be wealthy beyond imagination. Yup, that way I could be an Oprah. I could be a J.K. Rowling or a William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. I could do some serious good.