The Judge

Every day of his life, Rick has regretted not following a business education and work. The judge said, in essence, that he was cut out for that kind of work. That was the judge’s sage advice, which Rick should have followed. Still, Rick found himself haunted by the words of an ancient novelist, Bulwer Lyten: “The saddest words of tongue or pen are these few words: It might have been.” Later in life, Rick pondered the words of his stepfather: “You are not cut out for the life of a doctor of medicine.” That is it. No ifs, ands, or buts. This was the final naked truth that Rick had to live with, but it seemed so arbitrary, so man-made, so unreal; yet it was the god-awful truth. He would have to adjust and prepare himself for a commercial education, as he had already begun while working for the judge. On the plus side, Rick had inherited a fine library with a variety of books dealing with many subjects, including medical ones, such as anatomy and physiology. He shared many of them with his half brother, Martin (Calvin Appleby). As of this writing, one year after the funeral of the judge, the Applebys are still going strong in their three-story mansion. They always invite Rick to their parties, and he usually attends. He has met and courted his future wife and will be attending one of the Appleby parties where he shall announce our future engagement.