Sick and Tired
When I was young I sometimes pretended to be sick to get out of going to school. Don’t act surprised. We’ve all done it before. You remember waking up one lovely spring morning, rolling out of bed, walking up to your mother, bent over and grimacing, and saying, “Mom, I don’t think I can go to school today. My stomach hurts.” You where sure to make your voice sound weak and pitiful. When you remembered you added a cough. Usually, it wouldn’t work, but it was worth a try.
I ‘m thinking about the old days of faking illness and playing hooky because today I’m sick. Faking sick is a lot better than being sick. Missing school is a lot better than missing work, especially when you don’t get sick pay.
One of my friends told me that when he was in grade school, he won a contest. As one of the contest winners, he would get the chance to stand in a box in which money was being blown all around him for one minute. Any money he could grab during that minute he could keep. He was a faking sick expert as a child. He unknowingly faked sick on the day the money box was in school. The other contest winners got there chances to grab the money, but he missed his. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. There were no second chances. The box didn’t hang around school for a couple of days. While he was in bed eating chicken noodle soup and watching cartoons, he was missing the chance to grab as many one dollar bills as possible. He was missing the money box!
As I spend the day alternating between sleeping and watching archived episodes of Frontline on the internet, I wonder what I’m missing. The world outside my apartment keeps going, while I slip in and out of sleep. I hope today wasn’t the day. I hope I haven’t missed my only chance to be in the money box.
