falling in love, just a little bit, if...

this is a tale told to me by a young man whose heart has been broken

maybe the heart is mending, just a little bit, if...

So, the young man said, I want to tell you about how I could have fallen in love, just a little bit, IF I were open to that.

He said, I was on the train in Chicago, going from where I had been to where I would be next, when I saw this girl.

She was pretty, a very pretty girl and I thought, wow, what a pretty girl. That is nice.

Then I noticed her dress. It was a white dress with green piping. It was a nice dress, and it looked good on her. I thought, wow, what a nice dress on such a pretty girl.

Then I noticed that she was reading-- which is a great thing to do on the train. Even better, she was reading Catch 22. You either get Catch 22, or you don't. I love Catch 22.

Wow! I thought, Amazing! Here is a pretty girl, a very pretty girl, in a nice dress, who reads, AND who has GREAT taste in literature.

At that moment, he said, I thought I might fall in love with this girl, just a little bit. IF, he said, I had been open to that.

The train traveled, he said, getting closer to my stop, and I wondered if I should say something to the pretty girl in the nice white dress with green piping who was reading one of the great books of all time.

I wondered, and wondered, and got closer and closer to my stop, and finally, I said to her:

"Catch 22! That's a great book!"

She looked up at me, this pretty girl in the nice white dress, and said: "I know! It's just amazing!"

And she smiled.

And her smile was beautiful. And I thought, I might fall in love, just a little bit, with this pretty girl in the nice white dress reading Catch 22, who has a beautiful smile-- IF, he added, I were open to that.

But then, he continued, my stop came up and I grinned at the girl as I left. I'm sure she thought I was some crazy guy on the train. But I could almost have fallen in love, just a little bit, with this girl on the train. IF I were open to that.

And the young man concluded his tale.

And I, dear reader, thought to myself, how appropriate that the book was Catch 22.