Smart Charlie couldn’t help but notice the well-heeled customers passing him by. Passing his friends by. They had set up by the waterfront, at the end of the street fair. Someone even remembered to bring a clean towel so that they could display their wares with a bit of jazz. They were proud of their beaded necklaces, carefully tooled leather belts and colorful crocheted bags suitable for small change. Smart Charlie even got his hands on an adapter to his iPhone so that he could swipe a credit card as he had seen the other merchants do with ease. And while people glanced at their offerings, no one stopped, let alone actually bought something. Baffled, he toured the rest of the market. Between the eastern most aisle and the wall, he noticed a booth filled with lit rocks. Later, when he relayed the incident to his crew, he realized that a picture or two would have been helpful to convey what he believed to be the singular lack of talent on display. He followed the Owner of the booth into the sunlight with two potential customers trailing in his wake. All the while the Owner murmured words of encouragement to stoke their enthusiasm. Finally, standing in a shaft of light, the Owner pointed out the rock’s many fine features and told the couple that they must love their rock as if he were finessing an arranged marriage. The young couple, eager to seal the deal, whipped out their wallets and purchased their lit rock right then and there. Smart Charlie realized that he had witnessed what his Mom would have called “a teachable moment”. Similar to other moments in his long and strange childhood, the lesson, what he was supposed to have gleaned from this seemingly arbitrary dance of attraction and luck, proved illusive.