Did you think this would work?

Wasn’t sure. Nobody ever is. We take chances. That’s what people do. There’s always a risk involved, he told him. Can’t fault a guy for trying. I mean, we all fall short the first time. And the second and the third. We take these chances. If you’re smart. You’ll see it through. Dumb. Weak. You’ll give up. No confidence in yourself, he smiled.

This is true. These things you’re saying are true. Makes me wonder who the brave ones are? The smart ones, as you say. You can only bang your head against a wall so many times, he lit a cigarette. And then you give up.

Not me. I’ll try a million times and never give up. That’s just what I do, he laughed. I fall off the ledge too many times. I never learn.

Was life ever normal?

What do you call normal?

Wife. Kids. A car. A home. Mom and dad. These normal things. Things people take for granted. Did you ever have that? The good life?

I’m living it now, he took a book out of his backpack. It was Moby Dick. He tossed Melville to his young friend.

What’s this?

Here’s to never giving up.