The Maze

THE MAZE

I was walking along the beach one day when I saw an old man approaching.  He looked like the typical beach-bum we get around here a lot.  He just walked right up to me and started talking.  I'm interested in language - accents and dialects - so I recorded the old man.  I'm glad I did - I was able to transcribe this story accurately - to duplicate his speach phonetically.  For me the sound of his voice added to the story.  We walked along the beach as he talked.  I was tempted to poetically say that I could hear the voice of God in the waves.  After you hear the story you'll know why I didn't.  It was the old mans voice I heard.

"A old man wancit told me a story - there aint no God he said.  Aint no shiney old feller what's tellin' us what we gotta do.  Go right ahead - do whatever ya want, he tell me.  Hard ta decide what'n ya wanter do though.  Usley not a and, or a or kinda thing - usley ya got lotsa differnt ways ya kin look at what ya wanna do.  Kinda like a maze a choices.  Ya pick some an yur a little happier than ya wur, feel a bit better bout yurself - an then there's  other choices - Ifn ya  makes em ya feel wurs.  Ever blamed instant ya gotta keep on a choosen - and ya aint got no help!  You on yur own!  Guessin some folks think they git lucky makin choices - able to sleep of a nite cuz they feelin' good bout theyselves cuz theys lucky.  Or mebe they think they just doin' what some god be a tellin' em ta do.  Well me, I knows it aint no god - an purty sure it aint luck.  Seemin' ta me that ifn' a man gits all the way through that maze - to tha very end - an still kin sleep real good ofa nite, he musta been makin' some mighty good choices - all on his own.  An that feller should feel real good 'bout takin' the credit for the life he done lived - cuz he done it all by hiself.  No hep to be had."