Once upon a time there was a man named Will Folley. He lived in a town called Choices in the land of Kanseckwencess. Will did not like Choices or Kanseckwencess so he packed his bags and left everything and every one that he knew and journeyed long and far in search of something better. He did not know where he was going and he had no idea where he wanted to go; he had never been out of Choices before, but he knew he didn't want to be anywhere near Kanseckwencess.After a few very long days of trekking and climbing he came upon what seemed to be a hiking path going into the wilderness, but there was a wooden sign on a tree that said Needle's Eye St. He thought maybe it would take him out of the familiar land of Kanseckwencess and somewhere better! He journeyed a few more days and felt like he was going nowhere. He stopped to rest under a great Oak tree and saw a little wooden sign on the ground with an arrow that said, "This way to Haven".
After resting, he followed the path that the sign led to and within hours he came upon a very small town called Grace. Grace was in a whole new land called Love. Will immediately thought that the town looked inviting and decided to stop, at least to get a night's rest and satisfy his growing hunger.
There was only this one street in this town of Grace. The street (if you can call it that) had started in the valley and ended at the peak of Mount Haven. Grace seemed very small, nothing significant, with it's one little diner called Bread and Water, one hotel, one small church and one coal mine where all the men worked.
Will plunked himself down in a booth at Bread and Water eager to quench his thirst and feed his hunger. As he was getting himself settled, a crowd of men came pouring in for it was lunch time for all the coal miners. Will felt uneasy and thought maybe he should leave, surely if he kept going there would be another town nearby. He did not feel like being with people, let alone people he didn't know and who all knew he each other. He was sure that he stuck out like a sore thumb and was not in the mood to be eye-balled and judged. He stood up to gather his things, but as he did so, a man greeted him with a large pitcher of water filled to the brim and overflowing. The man gave the pitcher of water to Will and sat down in the booth while Will stood and downed the water to the very last drop. "Wow," said Will, "that's so refreshing!". "More where that came from," the man said. He told Will to sit down and asked him where he was from. Will told him that he had left Choices in Kanseckwencess. The man nodded knowingly, paused and asked, "Do you know where you are going?" Will laughed. "Can't say, I don't really know." "Well," said the man, "You should stay here in Grace until you know, until you know for sure. No sense in going somewhere if you don't know where you're going."
Before long, the other men crowded around and eagerly introduced themselves. They welcomed Will and showed him great hospitality. After being filled by Bread and Water alone, he decided he would at least stay for the night. A shower and a good night's sleep sounded pretty good.
He checked into the hotel, and just as he was preparing to take his anticipated shower, there was a knock at his door. He cautiously looked into the peep hole and was surprised to see all the men he had met earlier at the diner. He opened the door and greeted them, happy to see them which surprised him. They told Will that they had a surprise for him and asked him if they could take him somewhere. They took him to a beautiful piece of land surrounded by trees and gardens with a stream running through it.
"We all have our homes and families. This here land is the only unclaimed property and it's free to whomever wants it and takes it for their own. If you want to stay in Grace, take this land and we'll help you build your home. We know how hard Choices and Kanseckwencess are and we'd like to help you start a new life in Grace. We can get you all the lumber and tools and nails and paint and wood - anything you need - and we'll all chip in and do the work with you. Won't cost you a thing but time and sweat." Will could not believe what he was hearing. This was unbelievable! He answered their offer emphatically, "Yea, of course! I'd be a fool to turn down an offer like this!" "Ok!" that man said, "we'll see you at the crack of dawn and get started!" They talked a while about what Will envisioned his dream house to be and each of the men offered what they could bring. Will quietly excused himself, eager to take that shower and get some rest.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, all the men gathered on the property with all the tools and equipment they needed. Will was not there. Will was sound asleep. The men worked so hard getting the field tilled and cleared for the foundation to be laid that they did not even notice Will's absence.
After a few more days of more work, the home was nearly complete requiring only a few finishing touches. The men needed to return to their work at the coal mine and their families were also eager to have them home in the evenings. The found Will at his hotel and told him he would need to finish the job on his own. They told him everything he needed was already there and if he had any questions, they were just a few blocks away. Will was grateful for all they'd done and could not wait to move into his new home.
Will worked a few hours a day for about a week until he became very bored with the slow progress. He was frustrated because he felt like he didn't know what he was doing and needed more direction. He burned inside and started to feel angry that those men had left him with all this responsibility to handle on his own. The work was just too hard and he would call on the men, but they were always too busy. Either they were at work, at that church or with their families. The more he thought about the position they put him in the more angry he became. He grew depressed and discouraged and finally decided to move on. "After all", he thought, "it's not like I'm losing out on anything but time and something I never had anyway." So Will packed his bags and left Grace in the middle of the night.
Will walked Needle's Eye until he came to a road called If Only. He thought it would take him to the point of Mount Haven...but he was very wrong.
Will walked and traveled far. He seemed to have more energy as he thought about how those men had completely set him up to fail. He burned and burned and thought "if only they had shown me how to use those tools or helped me one more day, I'd have that house. That beautiful land and that home would be mine!" Yes, his thoughts were definitely fueling him to keep on going - as far away as he could get from those horrible men. He walked and walked and stumbled a lot. Will was even more frustrated because it seemed that no light shone through on If Only.
Finally he came to a clearing and saw an intersection. He knew these streets, just not from this direction. But there they were, Compromise, Complacent and Comfortable street. He knew those three streets led back to Choices and Kanseckwencess, but he was way too tired to backtrack all the way through that town of Grace and Needle's Eye to find the way to Mount Haven. So, Will hiked his backpack up and sadly, Folley made his way back to bad Choices and awful Kanseckwencess.
After resting, he followed the path that the sign led to and within hours he came upon a very small town called Grace. Grace was in a whole new land called Love. Will immediately thought that the town looked inviting and decided to stop, at least to get a night's rest and satisfy his growing hunger.
There was only this one street in this town of Grace. The street (if you can call it that) had started in the valley and ended at the peak of Mount Haven. Grace seemed very small, nothing significant, with it's one little diner called Bread and Water, one hotel, one small church and one coal mine where all the men worked.
Will plunked himself down in a booth at Bread and Water eager to quench his thirst and feed his hunger. As he was getting himself settled, a crowd of men came pouring in for it was lunch time for all the coal miners. Will felt uneasy and thought maybe he should leave, surely if he kept going there would be another town nearby. He did not feel like being with people, let alone people he didn't know and who all knew he each other. He was sure that he stuck out like a sore thumb and was not in the mood to be eye-balled and judged. He stood up to gather his things, but as he did so, a man greeted him with a large pitcher of water filled to the brim and overflowing. The man gave the pitcher of water to Will and sat down in the booth while Will stood and downed the water to the very last drop. "Wow," said Will, "that's so refreshing!". "More where that came from," the man said. He told Will to sit down and asked him where he was from. Will told him that he had left Choices in Kanseckwencess. The man nodded knowingly, paused and asked, "Do you know where you are going?" Will laughed. "Can't say, I don't really know." "Well," said the man, "You should stay here in Grace until you know, until you know for sure. No sense in going somewhere if you don't know where you're going."
Before long, the other men crowded around and eagerly introduced themselves. They welcomed Will and showed him great hospitality. After being filled by Bread and Water alone, he decided he would at least stay for the night. A shower and a good night's sleep sounded pretty good.
He checked into the hotel, and just as he was preparing to take his anticipated shower, there was a knock at his door. He cautiously looked into the peep hole and was surprised to see all the men he had met earlier at the diner. He opened the door and greeted them, happy to see them which surprised him. They told Will that they had a surprise for him and asked him if they could take him somewhere. They took him to a beautiful piece of land surrounded by trees and gardens with a stream running through it.
"We all have our homes and families. This here land is the only unclaimed property and it's free to whomever wants it and takes it for their own. If you want to stay in Grace, take this land and we'll help you build your home. We know how hard Choices and Kanseckwencess are and we'd like to help you start a new life in Grace. We can get you all the lumber and tools and nails and paint and wood - anything you need - and we'll all chip in and do the work with you. Won't cost you a thing but time and sweat." Will could not believe what he was hearing. This was unbelievable! He answered their offer emphatically, "Yea, of course! I'd be a fool to turn down an offer like this!" "Ok!" that man said, "we'll see you at the crack of dawn and get started!" They talked a while about what Will envisioned his dream house to be and each of the men offered what they could bring. Will quietly excused himself, eager to take that shower and get some rest.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, all the men gathered on the property with all the tools and equipment they needed. Will was not there. Will was sound asleep. The men worked so hard getting the field tilled and cleared for the foundation to be laid that they did not even notice Will's absence.
After a few more days of more work, the home was nearly complete requiring only a few finishing touches. The men needed to return to their work at the coal mine and their families were also eager to have them home in the evenings. The found Will at his hotel and told him he would need to finish the job on his own. They told him everything he needed was already there and if he had any questions, they were just a few blocks away. Will was grateful for all they'd done and could not wait to move into his new home.
Will worked a few hours a day for about a week until he became very bored with the slow progress. He was frustrated because he felt like he didn't know what he was doing and needed more direction. He burned inside and started to feel angry that those men had left him with all this responsibility to handle on his own. The work was just too hard and he would call on the men, but they were always too busy. Either they were at work, at that church or with their families. The more he thought about the position they put him in the more angry he became. He grew depressed and discouraged and finally decided to move on. "After all", he thought, "it's not like I'm losing out on anything but time and something I never had anyway." So Will packed his bags and left Grace in the middle of the night.
Will walked Needle's Eye until he came to a road called If Only. He thought it would take him to the point of Mount Haven...but he was very wrong.
Will walked and traveled far. He seemed to have more energy as he thought about how those men had completely set him up to fail. He burned and burned and thought "if only they had shown me how to use those tools or helped me one more day, I'd have that house. That beautiful land and that home would be mine!" Yes, his thoughts were definitely fueling him to keep on going - as far away as he could get from those horrible men. He walked and walked and stumbled a lot. Will was even more frustrated because it seemed that no light shone through on If Only.
Finally he came to a clearing and saw an intersection. He knew these streets, just not from this direction. But there they were, Compromise, Complacent and Comfortable street. He knew those three streets led back to Choices and Kanseckwencess, but he was way too tired to backtrack all the way through that town of Grace and Needle's Eye to find the way to Mount Haven. So, Will hiked his backpack up and sadly, Folley made his way back to bad Choices and awful Kanseckwencess.
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