The father had two sons
Of whom he was so proud.
One son was too quiet.
The other one too loud.

The quiet one from birth
Was real pessimistic.
But the happy loud boy
Was too optimistic.

Billy, the optimist,
Saw each day as a game.
Joey, the pessimist,
Thought all days were the same.

Billy saw only good
In his life’s every call.
But Joey couldn’t see
One bit of good at all.

Now old Dad had a plan
In hopes his sons would see
That life isn’t always
What one thinks it to be.

For Christmas the dad knew
Joey wanted a bike
And Billy had pictures
Of the pony he’d like.

So he’d buy Joey gifts
And a new bike for sure.
But he would get Billy
Only horse manure.

When Christmas morning came
Both Boys ran to the tree.
Each one was wondering
“What did Santa bring me?”

Father too went along
To make sure of the plan
That he thought would make each
Become a better man.

The floor was soon covered
With ribbons and wrapping
Lots of cardboard boxes
And pieces of strapping.

Joey, with his new bike
Looked unhappy and sad
He just knew he’d fall off
And would hurt himself bad.

Bill with his manure,
Not unhappy one bit.
Yelled, “You got me my horse,
Now where did you hide it?”

I’m sure that you’ve heard this story before, it’s an old one. But, as you know by now, it has the kind of ending that really appeals to me. It is very difficult for anyone to change his or her nature.

It is said that the nice thing about being a pessimist is that you are never disappointed. Joey probably really will fall off of his bike and hurt himself. People become pessimists because their fears come true and their fears come true because they believe that they will. It’s a vicious circle.

It’s a lot easier to cure an optimist then it is to change a pessimist. With those words of wisdom, I will let you get on with reading Nice Try.