The Journey

This seemed to be my next stop. I had been walking for quite a while, looking for accomplishment and success. It sounded like there was a town over the next hill. They sounded very busy. I saw a sign and ran up to it to see where I was. It was a very well constructed sign, limestone, like you see on those fancy houses. "Welcome to the Land of “ The sign itself was beautiful, but it looked like no one had taken care of it. I suppose they were just busy doing other things. Too busy to put the name on it.

I kept on walking up the hill and as I came to the top I saw the most beautiful city I had ever seen. The fence was gorgeous, built to keep the lazy out, and the hardworking city people in. The Cathedral in the middle of town was the most ornate building I had seen in a long time, with flying buttresses galore. Yes, there it was in that nice neat little display case that architects use to show off their models.

I then raised my eyes, and I saw the most beautiful gate I had ever seen, with no fence around it. Just one gate. Interesting. I suppose they must have just started the construction. As I went through the gate, I was stopped by a woman selling shoes from a vendors cart. "Do you need new shoes?" she asked. I stopped to look, and all that she had were right footed shoes. "Where are the left shoes?" I asked "Well," she said " the man who makes the left shoes died a while back, and we haven't got anyone to replace him yet. Just haven't gotten around to it. Everyone seems okay wearing two right shoes. " "Doesn't that hurt your feet?" 'A liitle bit, but you get used to working around it and the tendency to walk in circles."

I looked around, and sure enough, everyone I saw had on two right shoes. Strange. As I walked further past the gate, I saw more strange things. Almost all of the buildings were half finished. Many of them had exposed beams, and in some the plumbing was not finished, so there were quite a few port a pottys around town.

I stopped and asked someone what the deal was with the construction, and I was told that they were in the middle of working on it, and just hadn't gotten to finish it yet. They meant to, but never found the time. I wandered around time some more, and saw more of the same. Lot’s of unfinished construction and people sitting around. I walked past the cathedral I saw in the model. The buttresses were beautiful, except they weren’t flying yet. Just sitting on the ground.

Gates with no fence, signs with no names, right shoes with no left shoes. This was the strangest place that I had ever been. I had traveled all over on my journeys it seemed, but never had I seen somewhere like this. I grabbed a newspaper from the trash can to see exactly where I was, and it said there right at the top. “Land of Good Intentions” Except it was misspelled. I guess they meant to spell check it, but didn’t get to.

My head was still reeling and it was getting dark, so I went and found a place to stay, and got a room, it was very nice with a 3 poster bed. Didn’t have time for the fourth I guess. I slept okay, and went downstairs to eat breakfast. I stopped to talk with the owner, and he asked me where I from and where I was headed.

“I used to be lazy, just doing enough to get by. I had no plans or anything. I got tired of the way I was living, and decided if I was going to be succesfull, I would have to get up off the couch. So I guess I am on my way to find success.”

“I was like you once.” The owner said. “I passed through here looking for success and accomplishment.”

“What stopped you from going on?” I asked, already thinking I knew the answer.

“I meant to, I meant well, I just never did. Success is just over the next hill, you know.”

I paid my bill and walked into the street. At the nearest intersection, I saw a bank with no doors or locks. They meant to I suppose. Then there was a man trying to get the horse to pull his carriage. Except they weren’t hooked togther. The man said, “Giddyup”, and the horse ran down the street by himself, the man left holding the reigns. The roads were only half finished. He meant well too, I guessed, without even asking.

I started down the road. It was all I could do to avoid all the hustle and bustle. I had never seen so many people busy not really doing anything. People running around with plans and ideas and all these thing to make the city great. While the buildings sat half finshed. I left the gate on the other side (still no fence) and started up the hill, I could still see it as I came up to the rise, a great city waiting to be finished. I topped the hill and saw the next city. I could already see the gleaming buildings and beautiful fence and gates. And they weren’t in a glass case.

I was glad I did not settle for the land of good intentions.

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