Suspension of Timing
(I… Crap. You didn't sleep last night,
did you? )
Nope! And awaaaaaaaaay we go!
(I'm gonna need more coffee….)
There are so many phrases related to
timing – "Timing is everything." "Right place at the right
time." "Wrong place at the wrong time." "Timing Belt."
(That last one is a car part!)
True, but if that belt didn't regulate
the timing of your engine firing, you'd be sputtering along at best. Proving
the point that timing is everything when it comes to automotive function.
(Grrr. I hate it when you're right.)
I know. You should be used to it by now
though. And how come they have timing belts, but they don't have timing
suspenders? I mean, time can be suspended, right?
(*smacking head*)
Can I continue? Good. So, timing is
everything. Except when it's not. And I'm not sure I can tell the difference.
Sure, there are certainly some things that occur because of timing. Like that
guy in front of you in the grocery line that becomes the millionth customer,
when it should have been you had you not forgotten the dryer sheets and had to
go back and get them. But think about that for a second…. Is that really a
timing issue? Not really. It's a memory issue. It had nothing to do with your
timing, it had to do with you being a forgetful nitwit or being distracted by
the blonde with the big boobs in the cereal aisle.
(Or the hot guy in produce….)
Exactly. Your misfortune was not the
result of bad timing, simply of distraction. Granted, that's only one example,
But I truly wonder if timing is really just a notion of excuse upon which we
rely to explain the unexpected. And if we're not sure the reason for the
happening, we often say that the timing wasn't right.
Imagine, if you will, that you get in a
car accident. Wrong place at the wrong time, right? But what if you are a
doctor and the other driver needed immediate medical attention that only you
could provide? Is the timing then right? Or is it some cosmic happenstance?
Of course, there are those times when
timing is just that, timing. Say, when you're playing Frogger of Pitfall, for
example, and you're trying to jump on the alligator before it dives or eats
you.
(Frogger? Pitfall??)
Oh shut up. I know you've heard of those
games. And Pitfall was, is and forever will remain one of the greatest video
games EVER.
(Ok, ok, jeez….)
I honestly don't know how I feel about
"timing." As in the car accident above, depending on how you look at
it, the timing was either so terribly wrong, or so luckily right. Who's to say?
(Just putting this out there, but… Why are
we talking about this?)
Funny you should ask… My life has
changed dramatically in the past couple of years. Up became sideways, down
became turned around. My mind has been filled with "what if's" and
"I wonder" and "I really want some garlic parm wings right
now."
(Umm….)
I know. I'm rambling. I guess I just
don't get timing. Why is it so important, anyway? If something bad happens,
chalk it up to something bad happening. If something good happens, embrace it.
Why analyze the timing of it? It happened. Or it didn't happen. And it still
might happen. It's life. Life happens. Let it.
As Forrest Gump said, "that's all I
have to say about that."
©
J.J. Goodman 2014. All rights reserved.