A Magazine was named after it.
It is fleeting, yet infinite. We tap fingers, looking at a watch, sitting in the Doctor's waiting room, willing it to go faster. We gaze at the clock on the wall, hoping it will slow down when we're sitting in the principals outer office.
We either have too much of it on our hands... or not enough at all.
It can be our enemy, or it can be our friend.
Then there is the subject of "timing". Related but different. You are gazing at your watch, when you should be 'watching', and you step off the curb. Today the 10:15 bus is right on time, and whammo! You're done for.
No matter how you look at it, time is our friend or it is not.
Take for example, this whole thing about 'till death do us part', a popular marriage vow. Where did that come from anyway? It's been around since the days we were hiding in caves I'm sure, but in those days, death may have been the next buffalo, woolly mammoth, rampaging Celt or earthquake. Certainly it wasn't the 10:15 smashing you into oblivion.
Makes me wonder (yes I do think of such things) how it even applies in our married life today. Back when a reasonable life span was measured in 2 decades, and hazards to simply surviving the day were numerous, there may have been relevance to such a promise. I know what you're thinking... your aunt Mary and uncle Bill have been married for 99 years, but aren't they the exception? Then of course there is the question of; were/are they actually happily married or just putting in time?!
I myself have had several relationships that have lasted for years. In some cases, it was like a prison cell in Iran. Infinite, dark and torturous. Yes of course, it would have been better off to split, get outa Dodge, hit the road...
Then of course there is the timing thing. This week already, I have been reminded completely of how incredibly sensitive our timing is to matters that are of import in our lives. This week I was out riding. Not to any particular place, just here and there. At one point I crossed from the 1A at Morley and was going to take the Trans Canada east back to Calgary. For whatever reason I changed my mind and went the other way.
As I approached the Kananaski's highway 40, to my right, off the road in a slight meadow, very difficult to see if you were making time in your Bimmer at 140 kph, stood a large black bear. No more than 200 yards/199 meters from the road. Being on a bike, I pulled over and U turned, riding the shoulder back a quarter mile. From here I got several decent pics.
Luck? or timing?
In another instance, we got word from the school that Anna had walked off the school grounds at lunch. A frantic search by the principal, Brenda, the police department and even the chopper had come up empty after several hours. When I went looking, Mom stayed back manning the phone,s and the house in case she turned up, my hour search retracing her steps as best I thought, going to this mall, or that park, following slowly along the path I thought she may have taken, yielded nothing. Nada. I will say that in a city as large as this one, with well over a million people, this was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
As I approached home, for some reason I detoured and headed out highway 1. Just as people are accelerating for their weekend adventure... there she was! A diminutive 11 year old, back pack on her shoulder, feet clad in flip flops, sweater stuffed in her bag, sun shining... I pulled off, parked the car and went to fetch her. She was not happy to have her 'adventure' interrupted by moi!
She did not understand why anyone would be worried. After all, she knew where she was, where she was going (Bragg Creek 50 km distant) and she had in fact walked nearly 10 km by my reckoning already. She had stopped and eaten her lunch, had water to drink and in her own words, "I know my way around the city!"
There you have it.
So... if you are looking for you're 'lost' child, time and timing, is both your friend and enemy. If you have just lost a partner/husband or a friend or relative... likewise.
It is fleeting, yet infinite. We tap fingers, looking at a watch, sitting in the Doctor's waiting room, willing it to go faster. We gaze at the clock on the wall, hoping it will slow down when we're sitting in the principals outer office.
We either have too much of it on our hands... or not enough at all.
It can be our enemy, or it can be our friend.
Then there is the subject of "timing". Related but different. You are gazing at your watch, when you should be 'watching', and you step off the curb. Today the 10:15 bus is right on time, and whammo! You're done for.
 |
| right place... right time |
No matter how you look at it, time is our friend or it is not.
Take for example, this whole thing about 'till death do us part', a popular marriage vow. Where did that come from anyway? It's been around since the days we were hiding in caves I'm sure, but in those days, death may have been the next buffalo, woolly mammoth, rampaging Celt or earthquake. Certainly it wasn't the 10:15 smashing you into oblivion.
Makes me wonder (yes I do think of such things) how it even applies in our married life today. Back when a reasonable life span was measured in 2 decades, and hazards to simply surviving the day were numerous, there may have been relevance to such a promise. I know what you're thinking... your aunt Mary and uncle Bill have been married for 99 years, but aren't they the exception? Then of course there is the question of; were/are they actually happily married or just putting in time?!
I myself have had several relationships that have lasted for years. In some cases, it was like a prison cell in Iran. Infinite, dark and torturous. Yes of course, it would have been better off to split, get outa Dodge, hit the road...
 |
| right place... right time |
Then of course there is the timing thing. This week already, I have been reminded completely of how incredibly sensitive our timing is to matters that are of import in our lives. This week I was out riding. Not to any particular place, just here and there. At one point I crossed from the 1A at Morley and was going to take the Trans Canada east back to Calgary. For whatever reason I changed my mind and went the other way.
As I approached the Kananaski's highway 40, to my right, off the road in a slight meadow, very difficult to see if you were making time in your Bimmer at 140 kph, stood a large black bear. No more than 200 yards/199 meters from the road. Being on a bike, I pulled over and U turned, riding the shoulder back a quarter mile. From here I got several decent pics.
Luck? or timing?
 |
| right place... right time |
In another instance, we got word from the school that Anna had walked off the school grounds at lunch. A frantic search by the principal, Brenda, the police department and even the chopper had come up empty after several hours. When I went looking, Mom stayed back manning the phone,s and the house in case she turned up, my hour search retracing her steps as best I thought, going to this mall, or that park, following slowly along the path I thought she may have taken, yielded nothing. Nada. I will say that in a city as large as this one, with well over a million people, this was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
 |
| definitely right place... right time |
As I approached home, for some reason I detoured and headed out highway 1. Just as people are accelerating for their weekend adventure... there she was! A diminutive 11 year old, back pack on her shoulder, feet clad in flip flops, sweater stuffed in her bag, sun shining... I pulled off, parked the car and went to fetch her. She was not happy to have her 'adventure' interrupted by moi!
She did not understand why anyone would be worried. After all, she knew where she was, where she was going (Bragg Creek 50 km distant) and she had in fact walked nearly 10 km by my reckoning already. She had stopped and eaten her lunch, had water to drink and in her own words, "I know my way around the city!"
There you have it.
So... if you are looking for you're 'lost' child, time and timing, is both your friend and enemy. If you have just lost a partner/husband or a friend or relative... likewise.
No comments:
Post a Comment