Andrew Jackson and Me. Again.

Once upon a time, I took part in a Fairy Tale Experience. Really. Last year I received an invitation to the Royal Ball. I ventured out to the Royal Palace in my finest garments, taking care to wear a mask so my true identity would never be known.

Okay, it wasn't really like that. It was the Evening in the Stacks "Masquerade!" at the new Miller Branch Library, and an extra ticket was  kindly given me by a fellow blogger. So everyone was wearing masks, and I'm pretty sure mine didn't really obscure my identity. But the story just sounds better that way.

Back to the Fairy Tale. I had a wonderful time. And I said to myself, "If I just set aside a little money from each paycheck, I'll be able to buy a ticket next year. It's doable."

But I didn't. Time went by, and there was a bridal shower and a wedding to be planned, an elementary school promotion, new clothes for Middle School, Christmas, and birthdays, and a trip to San Antonio, and I didn't set aside the money for a ticket.

So last Saturday night, when Facebook was abuzz with friends getting their "Sparkle and Spurs" on, I was having a little pity party for myself. Poor me. Not invited to the Royal Ball.

In the past I would have said, "Oh, I don't go to those things. They're for the rich people." I could turn my back on them and dismiss them because they belonged to a realm of upper income folks to which I would never, ever belong. "I didn't want to go to your stupid rich people thing anyway, so there."

Well, last year I realized that this one was within reach, if I planned for it. It's true that I can't go to every one hundred dollar-plus ticketed event in Howard County. But I could choose just one, and plan for it. And this one, my friends, is really fun.

You know what happened: I didn't. I forgot, or I resisted. I put it off. And it was no fun having a pity party when I knew full well that I could have made things turn out differently.

So now we return to our mysterious twenty dollar bill. I get paid on Friday. Will I take out a twenty dollar bill, put it in a special place, and start saving for next year? Even allowing for no paychecks in the Summer months, I could still have at least three hundred dollars in advance of next year's event. It would be enough for a ticket, an outfit, and money for tips for the Celebrity Bartenders.Or, I could bring my husband and have a Celebrity Date.

Will I put my money where my mouth is? Time will tell. In the meantime, I wonder what next year's theme will be. An Evening in the Louvre? Bongos with the Beat Generation? A Downton Abbey Dinner Party? Fantasies of Symphony Woods?

Whatever it is, Christie Lassen and her team will make it wonderful. And this time, I'll be there.

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