Odysseus was a powerful man of European descent. He held hard stances on hard issues. Holding back his views for fear of judgement was not something that ever occurred to him. This left him with few, but true, friends. Like his father before him, Odysseus was a mariner. For the most part, Odysseus admired his father; as a child they would read Greek lore together. He was proud of the name his father bestowed up him; always imagining that he would grow up to be a great hero like in the old stories. A loud horn shook him out of these memories. "And look how that turned out," he thought, sitting on his weather-beaten vessel *Elanor*. "My father's flaw is that he was content with never making a change. Oh, how he'd bitch and moan, but he'd never do anything about it," he chuckled. "I miss him." It wasn't until recently Odysseus realized his father's flaw. He had read a story of a prince named Rasselas, who searched for happiness, yet never found it. Ironically, Odysseus, through this story, was able to define happiness for himself: self-improvement. "But, perhaps this was the purpose of that story," he contemplated, as a cold breeze shook his spine. "And my father's flaw *was* my flaw, too," he grimaced, "until I met the prince. Now, self-improvement and doing something about my problems is what I've committed my life to." How he wished he could have read that story when his father was still alive. "Jesus Christ, Odie, what the hell are you always thinking about?" Laughed Odysseu's first mate, Sam. Odysseus laughed in return. "Sam, my friend, for the life of me, I cannot shake the desire to make a lasting change." Sam sighed, "I think everyone wants to do this, don't they?" "Well, sure they say they want to, but why do so few people ever actually do so?" Odysseus returned, though half to Sam and half to the memory of his father. "My guess," Sam began, "is the sacrifice change involves. People are unwilling to sacrifice the comforts of everyday life in order to achieve real change." The skipper stared at his first mate in genuine shock. "Sam, I've never regretted making you my first mate. Even after all these years that we've known each other, you still surprise me." "Geez, Captain, that's a little gay." "God dammit, Sam." They both laughed.