Jerry is at his usual table this morning
with his cup of coffee and his laptop,
working on his science fiction/fantasy novel.

In every café in America 
men and women are hard at work
on their science fiction/fantasy novels.
Perhaps you are one of them. If so,
I salute you; it’s a very competitive field.

Forty years, says Jerry, I sold life insurance.
Now I can do what I really want to do.

The planet where his story takes place
has three suns, and the problem he’s working on
is how do the people there tell time.

I suggest having everyone wear three watches,
which Jerry doesn’t think is funny.
This is a serious novel, he’s taking it seriously,
and he wants to get everything just right.

Forty years I sold life insurance, he says.
Now I can do what I really want to do.