Pocketful

Twenty years ago I met a man through my work who said he had decided not to worry about anything anymore. This was a conscious decision on his part. He had decided. It was a decision. Simple as that.

I was young. I found him a bit odd. He carried a large satchel all the time.

“But what about — ?” I asked.

He shrugged. He decided not to worry about anything anymore. Simple. As that.

“But what about — ?” I persisted. “But what about — ?”

Shrugs. I even ran into him at a mall. He still carried that large satchel. No, I’m not going to say he carried his worries in the satchel; it was just part of what made him a little off, a little unbelievable.

I think about him once in a while, even after all these years. I think about the choice he had made and … yeah. Yeah, I see it now.

I still can’t do it myself, and I still think he was a little nuts — but he had made the right decision.