If I had a million dollars . . .

Some people say that a good way to choose your profession is to figure out what you would do if you didn't have to get paid to work. If you were independently wealthy, how would you spend your time? Here's what I'd do.

I'd never cook again. I would hire a cook and we would jointly plan meals, but most of the worry would be his/hers. I would also not do dishes.

I would buy a quiet bookstore with a coffee shop and not worry too much about profit. It would be sunny, have warm wood, and have resident cats. I would have book groups there. Adjoining would be Judson's yoga studio. He also would not have to worry about profit.

I would try to find ways of doing good. I would sponsor a school for girls in Afghanistan. I would offer my free proofreading services once a month at a library. I would start liberal ad campaigns.

Perhaps I would buy a publishing house. Or perhaps start a literary journal that specializes in longer stories with both plot and character (epiphany is sooo overdone) and poems in blank verse.

I would travel and birdwatch. I would have a nice house, but not a mansion. I would have a gardner and interior designer.

Basically, I wouldn't have a problem filling my time if I didn't have to work. A better question might be, if we lived in a socialist society and everyone were paid equally, what job would you have? In that case, my current job is almost ideal, except I'd like to teach more upper-level and graduate classes.