A long, long time ago when I was young and foolish I wanted to be smart like some of the adults I knew. They were quite educated and well versed about life and living. They read thought provoking books, deep profound literature and mimicked memorized lines from marvelous works of poetry. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. I was amazed and envious of their knowledge and wanted to be like them. One day I was in a used book store in my hometown I saw on the shelf, for the taking, Plato's Republic. It was one of the those books that all those smart and intelligent people had read. But I didn't have enough money with me to buy it and the bookstore was one that I had never been to before because it was far from where I lived. I might not be able to come back to buy it. So, I regret to say this, but it is the truth, I stole that book. Yes, I stole a used copy of Plato's Republic. I am probably the only teenager, in a city of over a million people that year that stole a copy of Plato's Republic. Most of my teenage peers, I would imagine, would have stolen a more spicy, ribald and sexy edition of some sort. But I stole an ancient philosopher's dissertation on reality. When I think back on what I did it makes me laugh at myself. How foolish, reckless and wrong it was. Yet, it says a lot about this young peripatetic artist's hopes and dreams back then. So here's my little painting. It's an amends to that bookstore and to Plato. I hope they will understand and forgive me for me being young and foolish. visionary imagist "Joey"