“I look forward to your paper each night,” she said. “And it takes only 10 minutes to read.”
No offense meant. Or taken.
But it harkened back to the days of raising a family and the inverse proportion of attention to detail and to what was received. The more pressed a Sunday shirt, the surer it would be stained and rumpled by church. The cleaner the kitchen floor, the quicker it was tracked with mud. The longer it took to prepare a meal, the quicker it was consumed. With three teenagers, why bother? Just stock the shelves and let them forage.
The same can be said for baking bread or knitting.
My finished products are a long stretch from those pictured, took precious time from what I probably should have been doing, and certainly were more expensive than had I purchased ready-made.
Which all goes to prove, it’s good, it’s fortunate, it’s crucial, to like what you do and let that be satisfaction enough.
I ONCE had a neighbor, a barber, who said the only difference between him and one of the town’s most successful businessmen, was a “few zeros” in annual income.
If he had wanted to sit behind a desk all day, he, too, could have been a big wheel.
Never mind that he didn’t have the education, or, more importantly, the drive. In his mind, he was every bit as competent as the CEO, and somewhat resented what he viewed as being dealt a “bad hand.”
Looking back, he was kind of an Archie Bunker, but, being a barber, way more affable. And don’t get me wrong; I’m in awe of how my hair stylist Jerrica Mueller can turn my mop into a do in a matter of minutes.
The reason the barber could put himself in league with the CEO was because of the effortless manner in which the CEO presented himself. He made success look easy, much like Roger Federer makes tennis look like “a game.”
In reality, my neighbor didn’t have a clue as to the long hours and the many years the businessman spent clawing up that ladder of success.
It doesn’t just happen. But on the other hand, you don’t belabor the effort required.
SO WHEN my friend says the Register is a quick read, I don’t take offense. I know the effort required. And we’re happy to be of service.
