Yesterday right about noon, I found on the ground a shiny penny, tails-up. Having heard from a fishy friend of mine that those coins are specially lucky, but only if you give them away, I collected it and formed a plan.

Yesterday right about midnight, I found the wishing fountain at the end of my night's pilgrimage. I tossed that coin high to give it away, with winos as my witnesses. It splashed at a spot where I know the water's precise depth. It comes up to right about here, just a little too deep for comfort, not quite deep enough to be tragic.

The wish that I made was for good fortune to follow you all, all of you darling souls who have read me here. Really, my writings here have turned into my cryptic notes for my old age, lest I forget the finer things that transpired. I'm personally complimented to the extent that anyone has bothered to read, and it's just the sort of flattery that will get you anywhere - so hey, a penny's worth of good fortune to you.

Somewhere between noon and midnight yesterday, I did alter my plan slightly, for the best of reasons. I was informed that I had a new reader, as deserving as anyone of good fortune, and with as compelling an interest as anyone in knowing my mind. She found me disturbingly cryptic, and that saddens me.

I have to say, I'm not surprised - I've wandered a bit from my purpose here, and am giving less of a damn all the time about being clear. (For the record, nobody else got the apple, either. Not a big seller these days, apples, I think they must be a bit off. See, that made no sense either, right?)

This lack of clarity is a surefire sign that it's time to hang this up for a while again. I'm going to have to go wander the earth again a bit before I return, let some brilliancies accumulate. Stop feeling like I have to force them. After all, I knew they'd get scarcer about now - I should have been better prepared.

I have no doubt that they will accumulate.

I got a shiny penny's worth of brilliancies comin' to me as well, and I shall watch for them with tireless attention from whatever new vantage point I find.