The Education of Johnnie Peel

It was an ordinary day. Then most days were ordinary for Johnnie Peel. On most of those ordinary days, he dreamed about having some not so ordinary days. But that always seemed to be a project for tomorrow so those days stayed in his dreams.

He worked at an ordinary job, in a cube at a large corporation. His job was to pay bills, not just any bills, only those with the letters R, S, and T beginning their names. At first he'd gotten a lot of companies starting with The ---, until management wised up and distributed them by the second word. After that there weren't so many companies with those starting letters.

Johnnie paid his bills and he did a great job of it. He got awards for excellence at writing checks and he'd done it so many times he really was good at it.

And driving home each evening he sometimes thought about that book he wanted to write some day. He didn't have a title and he hadn't thought much about the theme and he wasn't sure what he wanted to say to the world. But that wouldn't matter. The dream was what was important.

By the time he got home, he'd left his dream on the freeway and was ready to deal with the realities of home, family and kids. The dream would have to wait. After the kids went to bed there was television, more bills to pay, personal this time, wife to deal with, his time just wasn't his own.

But that dream continued to ache in the back of his mind. It would jump out at the oddest times, when nothing had happened to provoke it. When things got better, when he had more time, he told himself. Then we'll do the dream.

One day he got a phone call from his friend Paul. "There's a great seminar I want to take you to next week. And don't tell me you can't go!"

Johnnie said, "I can't go. The kids, you know. They need me."

Paul said, "I'll pick you up Thursday at 6 p.m. Be ready." He hung up.

So Johnnie was ready at 6 p.m. Thursday. Damn seminar, he thought. Can't be much. He didn't want to go but he was committed.

He didn't say much as Paul drove him to the meeting room. The sat down among about 50 other people. He just listened.

On the way home, Paul asked, "What did you think?"

Johnnie was silent for a long time. "I've had this dream. Never even talked about it. Someday ... I want to write a book. Before you talk, yes, I don't know how, or what or anything, it's just a stupid dream and that's why I never told anyone."

"You did tell me," Paul said. "Two years ago. Tell me what you learned at the seminar."

Johnnie said, "There was a time when I might have written my book. But time gets away, the kids, the wife, all take time. I don't have any."

"Stephen King got up at 5 a.m. to write, every day and then went to work. He didn't have much time either," Paul said.

"Yeah, I know. It's just an excuse, lame one at that. The speaker hit it right, there is no tomorrow. If I don't start now, I'll never do it. Ever." Johnnie paused a few seconds. "I've been lying to myself. Paul, I learned more in that two hours than in the previous 40 years."

Paul said, "Join me at my writing group next week. Might not be the right fit but you'll get a feel for how it's done."

Johnnie's first instinct was to say, "No, I'll wait." He swallowed the words with a sigh. "Okay, I'll go. I just don't know how much good it will do."

"It's the first step," Paul said. "And that's the hardest one of all to take."