Inspiration.

In the early morning quiet, enjoying my coffee, an idea for a column emerged. Yes!

So. I set about transferring the idea from my 80-year-old mind to paper. I wanted to get this down, like now.

Here was the general outline. I’d start with the opening lines of “What a Wonderful World,” then make an observation relative to “I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom, for me and you, and I think to myself — what a wonderful world.”

I would do this throughout the song. Words from the song expressing a powerful thought-emotion, then I’d offer my observations.

Some lyrics, then Bartow’s oh, so perceptive observations we might relate to today.

Well, now. It really didn’t take me too long to “git ‘er done.” It all just seemed to flow out of me. Not wishing to seem immodest, but I was rather pleased with the finished product. Rather pleased.

Then the part that can be a bit of a challenge, but fun: Giving it a title. After a bit, I settled on a partial line of the song that is repeated throughout: “I Think to Myself.”

And done.

I was then rather anxious for my Incomparable First Wife — who serves (free of charge) as typist-editor-censor — to read it.

Only a few lines in she said, “You’ve done this one.”

“What? No.”

“Yes, you have. Even the same title.”

“Really? Even the same song?”

“Yes. I’ll pull it up for you.”

(All columns are saved.)

Well, now. She did. And I had.

So much for my coffee-induced inspiration. I compared the two columns. Almost identical. Almost. The first one was a bit better, though, I felt.

Heck. I thought it was still pretty good — the not-really-original-one — and might be okay to run it anyway.

My IFW felt differently. So much for plagiarizing myself.

We quickly reached a “compromise.” That is, don’t run this latest “version.” Any husband recognizes the wisdom of such “compromises.”

But I really did have an inspiration that early morning.

Or maybe I should call it a “re-inspiration.”

Thanks for being one of my reader friends.

‘Til next week.