[Critique Group 1] reminder and sbmission

[tuchyner5 at aol.com]

Hi group1,
This is to remind you that tomorrow your submissions are due. Plus  my piece is below.--------

Mr.Morgenstern Meets Lady Luck




 


 



Mr.Morgenstern walked home from a day at Moe’s Textiles. He was contemplating thepoor state of affairs of his life.  A stone suddenly punctured thetissue-thin layer of leather that was left on his right shoe.  Oh,no, more bad luck. Now I’ll have to buy a new pair of shoes or probably gettetanus from a nail in my foot. Maybe I should just get a tetanus shot, then Iwon’t have to get new shoes. So, I’ll catch something else besides tetanus.



 



Mr.  Morgensternwas so intent on feeling sorry for himself that he didn’t notice a child’sskate on the sidewalk he was walking on.  When he did, he was alreadyon his way to a harsh landing on his rump. Just my luck, I’ll probably break mytail bone when I hit the hard pavement.  However, all he sufferedfrom was a badly bruised left cheek. 



 



“Just myluck,” he though, as he slowly picked himself off the sidewalk and stumbled outinto the street, where an automobile knocked him down on the other side of hisrear end.



 



“I’ve hadit,” he shouted at the driver, who was picking him up. “Why don’t you watchwhere you’re driving? I can’t stand it.”



 



The driversaid, “What is this ‘it’? Don’t you know that it shows poor communicationskills to use the word ‘it’, when there are always so many other words youcould use?”



 



That gotMr. Morgenstern’s attention. He stopped and looked at the driver as she wasgetting him to his feet. He was stunned to see how well she was dressed, andall the jewelry that adorned her curvaceous figure.



 



“Who areyou?” he demanded. The question started as a demand but ended with a sense ofawe.



 



“LadyLuck,” she said with little inflection in her voice. “You’re lucky I wasdriving. You only got bruised. You should have been killed.”



 



“You’re kidding,right?”



 



She justcontinued to look at him, holding his gaze with a hypnotic glare.



 



“Oh, myGod,” he uttered.



 



“Not God.Just little old Lady Luck. You look like you could use some of what I have tooffer.”



 



Mr.Morgenstern was awestruck, but he still managed to muster some cynicism,“What’s it going to cost me?”



 



“Absolutelynothing. This one is on me.”



 



“Are yousure there are no strings attached?”



 



“Would Ilie to you?”



 



“Okay, howdo I get some of this luck?”



 



“Just ask forsomething to happen, and it will.”



 



“All right.What can I lose? I want to win the lottery.”



 



“Not veryoriginal, but it’s yours,” she said, without batting an eye. Then she got backin her car and drove away.



 



Mr.Morgenstern watched her drive through another vehicle. He flinched as heexpected to see carnage, but there wasn’t anything.  Lady Luck’s carjust drove through the other vehicle.



 



On his wayhome, he stopped at the corner store and bought a lottery ticket. When theticket was drawn later in the week, it was the exact number that he hadpurchased.  Also, several weeks had gone by without a winner. It wasworth several million dollars.



 



The nextday, he was beset upon by all manner of relatives, panhandlers, sales agentsand other vermin, too many to name. At work, he was fired.



 



“What areyou firing me for?” he asked, astonished.



 



“You’re amillionaire now. It’s ridiculous for you to be operating a sewing machine. Ineed my workers to be desperate. That way they do what I want them to do.”



 



“But Mr.Brooks, I need my job.”



 



“Why?”



 



Morgensternthought about it, and couldn’t think of anything, so he walked away from hisstation without anywhere to go.



 



He walkedaround town and curiously watched a car drive around the block he was walking.He walked several blocks, and the car seemed to be going around the same blockshe was traversing.  Finally, the car stopped, and a big man got outof it.



 



“Hello. DoI know you?” Mr. Morgenstern asked.



 



“Aren’t youthe man who won the lottery?” the man said, in a voice which seemed all used uptelling people what to do.



 



“Yes?”



 



“I thoughtso.” Then he put a beefy arm around his shoulders and said, “I’m going to makeyou an offer. You’ll need protection. I’m in the business.  Give meall the money you are carrying with you as a down payment for my services.”



 



“Are youcrazy? I’m not giving you a cent. Why should I?”



 



“Because ifyou don’t, I’ll break your leg. Every time you miss a payment, I’ll breaksomething else. Any questions?”



 



“Go to hell,”Morgenstern said in an offensive manner.



 



“That’s thefirst installment you’ve missed,” the man said. “By the way, you can call meMr. Gambino. All my friends call me that.” Then he took his beefy arm fromaround Morgenstern’s shoulder and delivered an excellently aimed hammer striketo his knee.



 



As Mr.Gambino left Morgenstern writhing in pain on the pavement, he said, “I’ll seeyou next month. The first of the month.”



 



“But that’snext week,” Morgenstern gasped in pain.



 



“You’reright. See you then.”



 



WhenMorgenstern left the hospital on crutches a day later, he called a taxi and wasdelivered at his home. There he found a message from his wife on a piece ofpaper taped to the refrigerator. “The children and me are moving out of town.Address unknown. I don’t want anyone following me. The phone has been ringingall day with people I never heard from before asking for money. I think I’llleave the state. Or maybe the country. Money is no longer an object. Oh yes,the children said to tell you they love you and wish you a good life.”



 



Morgensterncollapsed into a beat-up old easy chair and began to cry. He thought of all hewas losing. His family. His devoted, he thought, wife. His loving, he thought,children. His solid, he thought, job.  His losses went on an on inhis mind. It was like counting his blessings when he no longer had them. He hada good life. He had never appreciated it. But he did now. Now that it was toolate.



 



Mr.  Morgensternwent for a walk to further consider his present life, which was no pleasure atall. He made a pitiful sight, hobbling along on crutches. He was so preoccupiedhe didn’t notice the automobile that knocked him down. He started to laughhilariously. Why couldn’t the car have delivered a fatal blow?



 



Lady Luckgot out of the offending automobile and started to pull him up again. “You lookthe worst for wear. What have you been up to?”



 



“LadyLuck,” he said in astonishment. Then, “I don’t want to talk to you.”



 



“You don’twant to talk to me. Very well, I’ll leave you here.”



 



“No, no,no. I do want to talk to you.”



 



“Oh, whatdo you want to talk about?”



 



“Please,please, please grant me one more wish.”



 



“Haven’t Ialready given you enough? You are now a millionaire. Oh, well. I guess I can atleast find out What wish would you like me to bestow upon you?”



 



“I wish mylife would go back to that last time I left my job to go home. “




“That would mean we never met. You wouldn’t get to be a millionaire. Don’t youwant to be something other than a sad sack?”



 



“No, Idon’t. I won’t feel that way. I never appreciated what I had. I will now. Iwill.”



 



“I supposeyou also want to remember what you are giving up. Millions of dollars arenothing to sneeze at.”



 



“Iespecially want to remember what having millions of dollars meant.”



 



“I see.You’ll remember everything. Here goes.” Then she caught him up in her hypnoticstare. When he came out of his altered state, she was no longer there. His bodywas whole, and he was walking home from his job, whistling a happy tune. Hisfamily was waiting for him.



 



 



 




 


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