Thursday, October 21, 2004
The Little Miracle
by James Bassett
The following article is a story about the author of this piece. It is about a little miracle that was performed and of which, at the time, the author was completely unaware. Little miracles happen all the time and I, like most people, am not aware of the miracle when it occurs. Still, I have time to ruminate and when I'm reviewing events from the past, I discover that I have benefited from little things that logically should not have happened.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jim's mind was in turmoil. This Labor Day weekend was supposed to have been a time for relaxation, but it had turned into a time of mixed emotions and no solutions. Jim had played golf with his brother-in-law that morning and things seemed to be OK. After the barbecue lunch, while the others were cleaning up and playing board games, Jim went off by himself to consider the plot in the western novel he was writing. As he was reading the last few pages he had written, there it was: THE PROBLEM. The problem was that the hero had fallen in love with the heroine, an event he had not planned to put into the book. When the book ended, the hero was supposed to get on his horse and ride off into the sunset.
Of course, on the surface, it wasn't really a problem. It was what was behind the scenes that created the problem. Jim identified very closely with the hero and the heroine was, of course, created in the story as the perfect woman for Jim. Still, in and of itself, that didn't create the problem. The real problem was that Jim had used his secretary as the model for the heroine. The real problem was that now he realized he was in love with Hank.
He had given her the nickname as a joke when he first met her. He had told her at that time she was a good-looking hunk of woman. She admonished him, saying, "Men are hunks. Women are not."
"OK. Then you are a good looking hank." He responded.
"And where did you get that?"
"From the Jimmy Rogers song about a hank of hair and a piece of bone."
"I guess that's acceptable," she said.
And she became Hank to him and to all the people in the office with whom he dealt on a regular basis. Her real name was Helen, but then his wife and mother were also named Helen and he did need something to discriminate between them when talking to or about them.
He hadn't even started writing the book when she came into his life. It was a couple of months later when he asked her if he could use her as the model for the heroine in the western novel he was about to try writing. And just to make a connection, he used the name Henrietta for his heroine since he was calling her Hank. He promised her first reading of the manuscript when it was finished so that she could recommend edits about the heroine if she felt the reference was unflattering.
So now, fifteen months later, he was in love with her simply because he had written descriptions of her in the book. With the realization that he had fallen in love with this other woman, he was in turmoil. It was against his personal code of honor for him to be in love with another woman. He had taken his marriage vows twenty-three years earlier and he was committed to honoring them. It simply wasn't allowable in his frame of reference for him to be in love with another woman.
For the next four days, Jim was in constant anguish over this turn of events. He did his job like an automaton and took care of his home duties just as mechanically. At night, he tossed and turned, but slept very little. For him, this was a major crisis and he couldn't see any way to change the situation. Hank was at work everyday, so he was constantly reminded of his feelings for this enigmatic woman. Hank was an attractive person who kept herself well groomed and who had a personality that attracted men from all over the office. Everyone in the office knew Hank as a lovely person with whom they enjoyed even casual associations. She was just that way.
On Friday, Jim went to work bleary eyed and weary from lack of sleep. He started the day just as he had the previous three and was going mechanically through the motions of reviewing and signing paperwork without really being aware of what he was signing. Just before ten, Hank came to the door of his office and said, "You have a visitor."
She escorted Jim's older sister into the office and then went on about her duties.
Jim was surprised, "Hi Susie. What are you doing here?"
"I'm not sure. I was driving by here on my way to see a client and I got the oddest feeling that you needed to see me."
Jim and his sister were not close. He hadn't really had much contact with her since she had married when he was eighteen and moved to another city. Now they both lived in the same city but they seldom saw each other. They really had nothing in common except that they shared the same set of parents. She had divorced her first husband after twenty years and remarried. With her new husband's support, she started her own business selling hearing aids and was doing fairly well. Jim had gotten his college education including a Master's degree and had followed the corporate path to a management position in the corporate offices. With their separate interests, they had no reason to interact and, when they did, it was usually at a family gathering. But here she was because she had a feeling that he needed to see her.
"OK," Jim said. "Let's go up to the cafeteria and I'll tell you my story over a cup of coffee."
They rode the elevator up to the sixth floor and Jim outlined his problem in cursory terms that gave her an idea of what he was facing. When they were seated with their drinks, he finished the tale of his predicament and then she said,
"Well stupid. You have to detach. Get out of the damn book. You are not the hero and Hank is not the heroine. In books, the hero is supposed to fall in love with the heroine. But you are the author and Hank is a girl who works in the office where you do. Reason it out. Detach. Get out of the book and wake up to the real world."
There it was. The answer. Get out of the book. That was all he had to do. It really was OK if the hero fell in love with the heroine. He hadn't broken his marriage vows so things were wonderful. After his sister left, he was back in his office when Hank came in and announced that there was to be a happy hour this evening at a bar with a dance floor on the other side of town. She was trying to find out how many would attend. Jim said he would go, but that she would have to drive him to the place and his wife would meet him there and drive him home.
He called his wife, told her of the plans and she agreed to meet him at the bar since it was just a short distance from where she worked. He told her that he was going to get drunk and she would have to drive him home. He didn't tell her why. He didn't tell her that he needed to let go of all the stress he had built up during the past week and that was now ready for full release. He hadn't told anyone of the problem he was facing until Susie showed up today.
At the happy hour, Jim got himself high with three drinks and then he released all the pent up energy he had bottled up inside. He was dancing with anyone who would dance and was generally the life of the party. It was so unlike him that all the girls wanted to dance with him and all the guys wanted to know what he was on. He couldn't tell them. What he said was, "I'm just happy."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Why did Susie show up? She drove by his office twice each week. She had been doing so for several years and had never found any need to go and see him before. Why did she get that feeling that he needed to see her on this particular day? The only answer is that God provided one of life's little miracles.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Copyright © 2004, by James Bassett. All Rights Reserved.
James Bassett: After spending the majority of my life trying to be a success as defined by society, I finally achieved a measure of that success. Then I found that it wasn't what I expected and began to look elsewhere. Now, at 65, after twenty years of looking, I think I have discovered what success is. Now I just strive to be happy with who I am and where I am. As a writer, my main focus is western fiction, but I stop occasionally to jot down a few spiritual notes.
Jim's mind was in turmoil. This Labor Day weekend was supposed to have been a time for relaxation, but it had turned into a time of mixed emotions and no solutions. Jim had played golf with his brother-in-law that morning and things seemed to be OK. After the barbecue lunch, while the others were cleaning up and playing board games, Jim went off by himself to consider the plot in the western novel he was writing. As he was reading the last few pages he had written, there it was: THE PROBLEM. The problem was that the hero had fallen in love with the heroine, an event he had not planned to put into the book. When the book ended, the hero was supposed to get on his horse and ride off into the sunset.
Of course, on the surface, it wasn't really a problem. It was what was behind the scenes that created the problem. Jim identified very closely with the hero and the heroine was, of course, created in the story as the perfect woman for Jim. Still, in and of itself, that didn't create the problem. The real problem was that Jim had used his secretary as the model for the heroine. The real problem was that now he realized he was in love with Hank.
He had given her the nickname as a joke when he first met her. He had told her at that time she was a good-looking hunk of woman. She admonished him, saying, "Men are hunks. Women are not."
"OK. Then you are a good looking hank." He responded.
"And where did you get that?"
"From the Jimmy Rogers song about a hank of hair and a piece of bone."
"I guess that's acceptable," she said.
And she became Hank to him and to all the people in the office with whom he dealt on a regular basis. Her real name was Helen, but then his wife and mother were also named Helen and he did need something to discriminate between them when talking to or about them.
He hadn't even started writing the book when she came into his life. It was a couple of months later when he asked her if he could use her as the model for the heroine in the western novel he was about to try writing. And just to make a connection, he used the name Henrietta for his heroine since he was calling her Hank. He promised her first reading of the manuscript when it was finished so that she could recommend edits about the heroine if she felt the reference was unflattering.
So now, fifteen months later, he was in love with her simply because he had written descriptions of her in the book. With the realization that he had fallen in love with this other woman, he was in turmoil. It was against his personal code of honor for him to be in love with another woman. He had taken his marriage vows twenty-three years earlier and he was committed to honoring them. It simply wasn't allowable in his frame of reference for him to be in love with another woman.
For the next four days, Jim was in constant anguish over this turn of events. He did his job like an automaton and took care of his home duties just as mechanically. At night, he tossed and turned, but slept very little. For him, this was a major crisis and he couldn't see any way to change the situation. Hank was at work everyday, so he was constantly reminded of his feelings for this enigmatic woman. Hank was an attractive person who kept herself well groomed and who had a personality that attracted men from all over the office. Everyone in the office knew Hank as a lovely person with whom they enjoyed even casual associations. She was just that way.
On Friday, Jim went to work bleary eyed and weary from lack of sleep. He started the day just as he had the previous three and was going mechanically through the motions of reviewing and signing paperwork without really being aware of what he was signing. Just before ten, Hank came to the door of his office and said, "You have a visitor."
She escorted Jim's older sister into the office and then went on about her duties.
Jim was surprised, "Hi Susie. What are you doing here?"
"I'm not sure. I was driving by here on my way to see a client and I got the oddest feeling that you needed to see me."
Jim and his sister were not close. He hadn't really had much contact with her since she had married when he was eighteen and moved to another city. Now they both lived in the same city but they seldom saw each other. They really had nothing in common except that they shared the same set of parents. She had divorced her first husband after twenty years and remarried. With her new husband's support, she started her own business selling hearing aids and was doing fairly well. Jim had gotten his college education including a Master's degree and had followed the corporate path to a management position in the corporate offices. With their separate interests, they had no reason to interact and, when they did, it was usually at a family gathering. But here she was because she had a feeling that he needed to see her.
"OK," Jim said. "Let's go up to the cafeteria and I'll tell you my story over a cup of coffee."
They rode the elevator up to the sixth floor and Jim outlined his problem in cursory terms that gave her an idea of what he was facing. When they were seated with their drinks, he finished the tale of his predicament and then she said,
"Well stupid. You have to detach. Get out of the damn book. You are not the hero and Hank is not the heroine. In books, the hero is supposed to fall in love with the heroine. But you are the author and Hank is a girl who works in the office where you do. Reason it out. Detach. Get out of the book and wake up to the real world."
There it was. The answer. Get out of the book. That was all he had to do. It really was OK if the hero fell in love with the heroine. He hadn't broken his marriage vows so things were wonderful. After his sister left, he was back in his office when Hank came in and announced that there was to be a happy hour this evening at a bar with a dance floor on the other side of town. She was trying to find out how many would attend. Jim said he would go, but that she would have to drive him to the place and his wife would meet him there and drive him home.
He called his wife, told her of the plans and she agreed to meet him at the bar since it was just a short distance from where she worked. He told her that he was going to get drunk and she would have to drive him home. He didn't tell her why. He didn't tell her that he needed to let go of all the stress he had built up during the past week and that was now ready for full release. He hadn't told anyone of the problem he was facing until Susie showed up today.
At the happy hour, Jim got himself high with three drinks and then he released all the pent up energy he had bottled up inside. He was dancing with anyone who would dance and was generally the life of the party. It was so unlike him that all the girls wanted to dance with him and all the guys wanted to know what he was on. He couldn't tell them. What he said was, "I'm just happy."
Why did Susie show up? She drove by his office twice each week. She had been doing so for several years and had never found any need to go and see him before. Why did she get that feeling that he needed to see her on this particular day? The only answer is that God provided one of life's little miracles.
Copyright © 2004, by James Bassett. All Rights Reserved.
James Bassett: After spending the majority of my life trying to be a success as defined by society, I finally achieved a measure of that success. Then I found that it wasn't what I expected and began to look elsewhere. Now, at 65, after twenty years of looking, I think I have discovered what success is. Now I just strive to be happy with who I am and where I am. As a writer, my main focus is western fiction, but I stop occasionally to jot down a few spiritual notes.
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