an old writer and his words

  • ALL BETS ARE ON

    It is a game, of course, and one you cannot win. The question is how much will you lose if you buy into the game. The odds favor the house. There would not be a house if the odds did not favor it. But you know you must play the game. There is no other…

    Lou Faber

  • TO BE

    He had wondered what it would be liketo be a Buddha, I mean, he thought, doBuddhas know they are Buddhas ordoes someone have to tell them, andif so, how does that person knowthat this person must be a Buddha?He wasn’t sure he wanted to becomea Buddha since no one could explainwhat possible benefit there would…

    Lou Faber

  • THE PAPER

    He was 11 when he first discovered it. Jimmy knew immediately that (1) it was something remarkable, (2) he didn’t understand it at all, and (3) he dare not let his parents know he had it. It was (3) that gave him the most worry. Not what they would do to him if they discovered…

    Lou Faber

  • OCULUS

    I avoid telling people that Iam going blind in my right eyefor they always seem surprisedas if it should look differentor worse, they say “but it mightnot happen,” when I knowthe only way that is truehis if I die sooner, not somethingI want and if I told them thatwould be something for which theywould fumble…

    Lou Faber

  • SOONER OR LATER

    He is cornered and knows itso he responds as honestlyas he knows how withoutturning away his questioner. “You have a basic choice, “he says, “most likely,and that is do you want itto look like this now, or do you want it to looklike this in say thirty years.If you want it looking likethis in thirty…

    Lou Faber

  • JACKPOT

    I’m not a gambler,never have been, knowingthe house always had the oddsand every play wasa sucker’s bet for sure.I might kill an houron a business tripto Las Vegas going throughfour dollars at the nickel slots,one play for eachoriginal nickel, winningsset aside for rolling. Twenty-one years agotoday I hit the grand jackpotstanding nervously on the stepsof…

    Lou Faber

  • AMD ODE

    You didn’t have to go, you knowI did enjoy having you around,and I am sorely missing you now. They said the odds of youleaving, of even planning a departurewere small, but what did they know. They didn’t know that Ihad traits that would makeyour departure more likely. They didn’t say that oncethe word was uttered,…

    Lou Faber

  • PICTURE THIS

    Words failed him again. They did so ever more often it seemed, but it was possible it was merely that he was trying to express ever more complex ideas ideas in terms others would comprehend. A picture might not be worth a thousand words, but if you had that many, odds are some would be…

    Lou Faber

  • BLUES

    He is for it or he isagainst it, and if you couldpredict the vacillations youcould develop the meansof measuring the flux of sanity. You could as easily graspthe water flowing downriverand by asking select questionsdetermine the next heavy rain, but the odds are goodyou will be outside whenthe deluge begins, andonly its ultimate weightand duration…

    Lou Faber

  • PALETTE

    He is for it or he is against it, and if you could predict the vacillations you could develop the means of measuring the flux of sanity. You could as easily grasp the water flowing downriver and by asking select questions determine the next heavy rain, but the odds are good you will be outside…

    Lou Faber