Last night's X-Files episode (Yes I'm a bit of a 'File-o-phile') featured a genie. The gist of the episode was that when someone made a wish, they had to be very specific. E.g.: Mulder wished for "peace on Earth"; the planet then became very quiet, as he was the only one left in existence. Before that, a guy wished to bring his recently deceased brother, who was hit by a truck, back from the dead. He neglected to specify that he wanted him like he was *before*. "D'OH!" Anyway, I enjoyed the idea of the three wishes with the stipulation of being very specific as to not allow for unplanned consequences.

I think my first wish would be for financial freedom; not to have billions of dollars, but enough to be free enough to spend time with my family, to be able to give my kids any opportunities without financial constraint, to be able to get a great big house with plenty of space, and to be able to buy something if we want/need it. Oh, and to travel anywhere we'd like to. Of course the means to this fortune would have to not attract the attention of authorities, so I think winning a huge lottery would fulfill that. Another option might be having the ability to be very lucky when necessary. This could last my whole life and could be used in Vegas, or the NYSE, and even extend into such things as not being hit in the head by an I-beam as I walk through a construction site.

I think "Peace on Earth" might be too extreme. So, perhaps a wish for a world wide greater respect for the value of Human lives, or even just a higher awareness of the feelings of other people might suffice. Although something more specific than just "higher" would require some elaboration. It should be specific to Human lives, too, otherwise we might starve to death with a respect for the life of a cow, chicken, or even a vegetable.

The third might be the ability to retain knowledge, not to be a know-it-all smarty-pants, but to be able to learn about a great many things and be able to reflect upon and share the knowledge without that annoying strain to recall details that I'm often plagued with, or the all-to-frequent: "What is that word I'm thinking of but just can't seem to remember?".

Anyone else have a good wish?

Tra "The guy got hit by a truck because the driver couldn't see him, ... because he was invisible, ... because he wished for it, ... because he thought he could become a valuable spy like James Bond." nio