Keno Pencils

So it's a new year! And this is a new blog! Are you excited yet? I am.

As part of my new routine for the new year, I've taken to carrying a $.97 throwaway notebook in my bag at all times, in order to scribble a little of the story currently gnawing the lower left portion of my brain, just behind my ear. I do this every weekday on my lunch hour, for as long as it takes my hand to cramp unmercifully. 

The first two days went smoothly. I packed lunch and a pen, I prepared, I thought ahead. And then I reverted to being my usual slapdash, Jesus-I'm-gonna-be-late self. 

High noon came. Lunchless, I set out to forage in the wide wide world for sustenance and a pen. I hightailed it to the nearest convenience store, to get a gulpable protein drink and a cheap writing utensil. I snatched the last protein drink from the shelf, feeling lucky, and got a miniscule bag of chips for good measure. I hustled over to the checkout to pay, and get on with creating.

The clerk and I moved fast and flawlessly through the Debit Card Dance. I had my chips and drink in my bag before my receipt was done printing. Pushing the door open, I realized I had forgotten a vital part of this excursion - the pen.

Need I say I was low on cash? Low, of course, means I had none. A pen might not cost enough to allow me to once again wield the mighty bank card. The electronic doorbell chimed over and over again while I stood there, asking "what-now, what-now?"

Scratch-off lottery tickets are my limit when it comes to gambling, so I didn't notice the Keno station right beside me for a few (very long) moments. The Keno slips stood at attention in their plastic holder, and a handful of eraserless pencils slouched beside them.

The clerk, who knows me by my ridiculous plaid coat and the drinkable lunch I regularly buy, was helping someone else. "Hey, man, if I 'borrow' one of these pencils, will you hate me forever?" He waved his hand and shook his head. I had triumphed!

It wasn't until a week later, when the words left by the pencil were faint as whispers, that I noticed the writing on the pencil itself. White letters on the dark green pencil read "Someone has to win. Why not you?"

Why not me, indeed?

When the Keno pencil is beyond sharpening, I'm going back to get another.