Artistic Greeting From A Chap Maturing Into A Man

Peering down the boardwalk and seeing the sign tenth avenue a lost boy who was now at a mature age acknowledged the broken notation “Casino.” Never understanding the meaning Chapman only knew the artistic abandoned and abused fixture as a festive area where horses went around in a circle dancing to a musical beat. Putting his hands back into the Salvation Army donated leather jacket he knew the ocean neighboring amusement complex was never a palace despite one gigantic building’s clown laughing at the commentary.

To find some warmth from the wintry weather the person who just retired from the military entered a small building that was open and saw the Saltwater Taffy calendar announcing Christmas was only a few days away.

“Excuse me,” Chapman wondered if anyone existed inside the red velvet setting, “madam, anyone home?’

“Yes,” an elderly person appeared, “I am Mary, and this is my place.”

“Well, Madam Mary, how much does it cost to find out what my future holds?”

“Only a couple pences maybe a pound,”

Removing a pound from his pocket followed by placing it on the table Chapman never played over his head, “here now what do you see?”

“Well, first off I see a mood that is very blue, right now,” Mary started her act, “but if you go across the street where they dance in the dark you may find some happiness.”

“But across the street is just a fantasy not the real thing, just a cheap thrill like what goes on inside the Palace building,” Chapman challenged the soothsayers advice.

“You’ve got a point there” Mary retreated, pulling out a snow globe featuring one horse jumping off a pier, “Every time I shake this thing, I see visions now let me see what it says?”

“Oh, do you know someone named,” Mary paused, “Sandy?”

Being confused Chapman shook his head ‘no,’ “what about Rosalita?”

For a second time Chapman gave a negative response, “well the horse landed safely so you are going to come into a nice fortune,” Mary interpreted, “a leprechaun will come to you, and”

“And what?” Chapman wanted to know more.

“Present you with something very valuable,”

Spring months approached and Chapman found a bench on the boardwalk, a perfect place to watch the waves come in only to leave. During the cold months he waited for the leprechaun, Valentine’s Day, President's Day and not even St. Patrick’s Day conjured the image up. Suddenly, the Irish based legend approached him dressed in a black suit donning sox that were white, “so, you are Chapman who before Christmas was freezing on tenth street.”

“That I was,” Chapman replied, “are you the leprechaun who has something valuable for me?”

“Yes, I am a leprechaun, but I do not have golden riches, just some advice,” the elderly man using a cane mentioned, “do not go changing to please me, I like you just the way you are,”

A few hours later while the surf safari that would lure any boy wonder to the beach entertained the sun starting to set, Chapman reflected upon what was told to him. And it was then he figured out the answer “do not get caught up in brand names, discard them,” he shouted watching seagulls coincidently evacuate the area, “I am not going to be a big shot; I am going to clean my dirty laundry and fight the angry young man attitude.”

Only a few feet away the black suited white sox leprechaun heard the commitment and smiled, “honesty, my dear boy, it is that simple,” he chuckled sitting on a single chair, “all you have to be is honest.”