I once heard stories about a man ..
Who lived down the street ..
About 5 houses down from where I used to live ..
I don't live there any more, but ..
I still remember the stories.
I definitely remember those stories.
My neighbors used to talk about him all day ..
And all night as well, but that's not really important.
Not important, yet I felt like it should be said ..
Because that is what caused me to remember the stories ..
After so many years.
After so many tears.
After so many .. well fuck it, I think you get the point.
Anyway, this man ..
He was a wealthy man, had everything you could dream of.
A nice house, big back yard, a great wife, two children ..
And a yacht.
Yea I remember that yacht.
I used to sneak into his backyard when I was a kid ..
And pretend I was lost somewhere out in the deep blue.
I always dreamed about the deep blue.
I've never seen it, but I felt like I knew it so well.
Anyway, one day I was caught playin' on this fellow's yacht.
Man, I was so scared, I thought he was gonna call the cops ..
My parents, basically I thought I was up shit's creek.
But to my surprise the man invited me into his house.
We had some tea, sat down and talked ..
And amongst our conversation he offered ..
To take me out on his yacht.
Boy, I was so happy, sorta like ..
A child getting allowance for the first time in his life.
You know that feeling you had, you thought you were the shit ..
Like 'Yea I got my own money, I can get watever I want with it' ..
Well I was happy my first time getting allowance ..
Maybe you weren't, but that doesn't really matter.
What matters is the man's offer to take me out on his yacht ..
I can remember that day like it was yesterday.
I remember runnin' home all excited ..
Calling out for my mom and telling her wat the man had said.
Yea I remember that day, Heh, I remember getting ..
A whipping for leaving the door wide open ..
But man I was so excited, I didn't much care.
Well, eventually my mom decided to let me ..
Go along with the fellow when he went out on his yacht.
We were gone for a whole weekend one time ..
It was alright with my mom of course ..
She liked seeing me happy.
And boy was I happy, it was everything I had dreamed of.
Looking around you all you could see was ..
The vast open ocean, no land around for miles ..
It was beautiful.
The most beautiful thing I ever seen in my life up to that point.
I remember thinking, 'Damn this guy hit the jackpot ..
A perfect life, perfect family, perfect everything'.
I used to pray at night, 'God, let me be like him when I grow up ..
Let me live his perfect life'.
I called it the jackpot back then cause to live like him ..
You had to have been lucky in life.
Man, I wanted to hit that jackpot.
Well, that was when I was a child, Im a grown man now ..
I never did hit that jackpot.
I have a job workin' at a Mc Donald's down the street.
What I call home is a one bedroom apartment.
But Im happy, not as happy I was when ..
That man first offered to take me out on his yacht ..
But Im happy.
I never hit that jackpot, I guess it's okay tho.
I mean not like I didn't want the life he had ..
But hell, Im doin' alright for myself.
I've got friends, lots of friends.
They're doin' better in life than I am.
But i have fun with them, we hang out, play cards ..
Share stories.
Actually the other day one of them told me a story ..
About a rich man that used to live down the street from them.
He said this man had the perfect life, or so it seemed.
He said he had everything you could dream of ..
A nice house, big back yard, a great wife, two children.
A yacht.
He said a lot of other things too, but wat stuck out to me most ..
Was in the end of the story the man died of AIDS a few years back.
Nobody knew how he got the disease, but everyone knew ..
He died from it.
And he had left a will, but not anything was left to his family ..
He had left all of his money and possessions ..
To a little boy he had once caught playin' out back on his yacht.
I thought the story was cool.
I wonder who that little boy was.
Whoever he is he's gotta be happy, cuz he was lucky enough ..
To hit the jackpot.