What
would happen if I delayed every deliberate action by exactly one
minute? How much of a difference would it make?
I
start out the day with the alarm ringing in my ear. I slap that
puppy until it quiets, and I wait. One minute. Now I can get up.
Of course I almost fell back to sleep in that one minute, but
I resisted.
Off
to walk the dogs. First I have to grab my morning glass of tea.
Should I use this opportunity to wait a minute? Think I'll pass
on this one. I open my jar of instant tea, dump a pile into my
mug, and run it under the faucet. I slurp the foam from the top
of the glass, nice and tart. I suck it down in a flash. The dogs
are staring up at me. Ok, time to get the leashes.
Ah,
but wait, right by the front door, we shall wait. One minute.
The dogs are at first excited, then they sit there pawing at my
legs. The last thirty seconds they just sit and stare at me. Time
to go!
I
unlock the door and proceed down the driveway. I can hear a car
screeching down the road. I look ahead and a deer lies in the
road, injured, still. My dogs are going crazy. I turn to walk
in the opposite direction.
I
finish my walk and proceed down the driveway to the front door.
I wait. One minute. I enter. The light on the answering machine
is flashing. I've missed a call. It is 8:36am. I listen to the
message. It's a call for an interview I have been waiting for
for weeks now. Eagerly I return the call. I am transferred to
voice-mail. I sigh.
The
weather has turned somewhat dark outside, looks like rain. I go
into the kitchen to make my breakfast. I get out the eggs, milk,
and bread. I scramble my eggs, make my toast and pour my milk.
Looks wonderful. Now I wait. One minute.
The
eggs are a little colder than I wish, but that's ok. I'm really
enjoying this breakfast after smelling it for all of this time.
Wonderful. Anticipation is a satisfying thing.
I
wash my dishes and head for the bathroom to jump in the shower.
As I grab my towel and stand there. I wait once again. One minute.
Thunder
claps, the power goes out, I'm in the dark. Shower delayed.
That's
ok. I'll go grab my book and read a while. I've been meaning to
finish up that last chapter anyway.
An
hour passes, the power is still out. I think I'll try that phone-call
again. I wait. One minute. The receptionist answers the phone.
"You just missed her," she replies. I leave a message.
Power
is back on, time to jump in the shower. The water is cold. I take
a quick one.
I
put on some comfortable clothes, sneakers, and dry my hair. I'm
thirsty, think I'll grab a glass of water. But I wait. One minute.
I just sit there, staring off into the room, staring at the walls,
wondering if I should paint, or change my curtains. That picture
is crooked, I straighten it. I start dusting and moving things
around on my dresser. A stack of pictures lies there waiting to
be shuffled through. I carefully place them in a box, in my drawer.
A
half an hour passes. I'm still thirsty.
I
head to the kitchen, pour myself a glass of water, and drink it
down. Think I'll run down the street to the newspaper stand and
grab a magazine. I grab my keys and run out the front door. I
cross the street abruptly, not looking.
A
truck hits me.
I
splatter on the ground...
I
should have waited...
One
minute.
