Dear TC Students, Vol. 14:

The other day I had a brilliant idea. At least, I thought it was a brilliant idea. It was yet to be determined if anyone else thought it would be brilliant. Unfortunately, or more properly, regrettably, now no one else will be able to verify whether or not it was brilliant, though I am fairly confident it was. The idea that I had the other day was to create a post with all kinds of crazy predictions for the year 2007--such as the fact that this year a total of 28 people, not including myself, would care about the NHL Finals, and that some black guy named Kristopher from Ohio would win American Idol, and that Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson would resign because of a Teapot-Dome-ish scandal and would be replaced by Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi, and that on the new season of 24 unflappable Jack Bauer would get a cold and be unable to save the world from certain destruction, and that Brittney Spears new marriage to Ryan Seacrest would case such a stir that Google would overload with searches for "Spear-crest." The other day I had all these great ideas that would completely change the lives of my dear readers. Unfortunately, like Jake Plummer, I held on to these ideas too long. Unable to survive within the womb of my mind, they died. When I finally gave birth to these ideas on cyber-paper, they were still born. Ideas without life are like Barry Bonds without steroids, completely useless. The moral of this experience, and the life lesson that I would want you my dear reader to embrace, is that procrastination never pays. An idea is like a match, it burns brightest as first strike. Yet, like a match, it can quickly burn out. Unless we use that quickly-burning flame to ignite the kindling of expression, it will be as though the flame never burnt. What good is a burnt-out match? All of us have ideas. More broadly, all us of have opportunities. Yesterday's opportunities do us no good. They are about has helpful as Rosie O'Donnell to your flag-football team. Use your ideas when they come. Take advantage of the opportunities when they arrive. Many times we only get one chance.