San Jose is West of Here...

And it is too far to walk unless you are into that sort of thing, which I am not, just like I am not into E-mail. So to respond to those tons of E-mails inquiring about the book, The Last Laugh, (both of you), I am forced to admit that The Last Laugh was a fantasy, too.

There were a couple of realities in the midst of the fantasies. Molly the dog is real as she appears in the homeless scene. And believe it or not, the handsome Prince was real in the out-of-this-world fantasy. Although handsome Princes can cause heartbreaks, I hope that most of you will someday meet up with one. For a while, life will be different than you ever thought it could be. For a while, you will walk on air. For a while, you will feel that quickening of heartbeat when you think about the two of you. It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all -- just as soon as you recover from the pain of rejection.

However, speaking about retribution, which we hope does not come after rejection, I do know how to cure the feeling of emptiness, and it is a four letter word. Now, before you stop reading because of your high standards (you are still reading this, aren't you?) let me rush to state that four letter words have been given a bum rap. Of course, there are vulgarities amongst them, just like some of our bankers, lawyers, and politicians are crooks. Perhaps the percentage (some) is understated.

However again, just think of all of the good four letter words we use every day without a hint of bad: like love, kiss, cash, kind, fair, shop! Play, life, pink, joke, Visa, tree, good, hope, cure, ease, fern, lace, warm, lake, snow, bean, idea (there's one for you, a four letter word with three syllables) -- but the finest of these is, WORK.

Work is a holy privilege. Are you mourning the loss of anything dear? A person, a job, a keepsake, a romance, a reputation? Work is the answer. Not all work entails performing something for someone else for pay. Work includes studying, thinking, sharing, cleaning, helping, practicing, planting, learning, and forgetting yourself and taking arms against a sea of troubles (thanks, Mr. Shakespeare). Work hard enough, and there won't be any room in your life for regrets or revenge, and you just may hit on something that will make the rest of your life just what you want it to be. Good luck!