“What if…?”

I’m warped.

And before someone shouts, “And all God’s children said…”, let me say that if you’re a writer, you’re warped also. Yes. You. Are.

Here’s the problem we have: I can’t look at life without wondering “what if?” It happens all the time. Like last night during the super bowl…and I wasn’t even watching it! I saw a tweet from someone who said that there’d been a power outage at the dome. Immediately I wondered, ‘What if…?”

• What if it was a complex plan to harm the NFL commissioner?
• What if a group of crazed music teachers did it so they could grab Beyoncé and teach her how to sing?
• What if it happened because some fanatics wanted to prolong the NFL season due to the fact that once it’s over all they’d have left is the baseball season, and since they’re from Kansas City that means that the Royals are all they have to look forward to…and that would drive any human being to the verge of insanity?
• What if it was Bush’s fault?
• What if a distraught man was going to hold the crowd hostage until one million Twinkies are sent to an offshore bank?
• What if a rogue herd of cattle did it as a protest over footballs being called “pigskin” but actually being made of leather?
• What if? What if? What if?

Maybe I’m not able to look at life through the same set of lenses that “normal” people use, but I that’s just fine with me. There’s a whole group of “not-so-normal” people who I’m honored to know…they’re called “writers.” And they’re not afraid to ask “what if?” and great stories are born!