Grocery List
Hi everyone
The Lightfoot Band has now performed six shows. Things are going well, in fact, great. The audiences are very receptive, and the band is tightening up. My big sausage fingers are even hitting most of the right notes.
Everyone is rising to the occasion.
Story Time
We do this thing where Rick introduces each member separately, and we tell stories about our collective 150 years of working with Gord.
With all the things I need to think about (it’s a crap shoot every night whether my complicated equipment is even going to work), the story thing doesn’t get much priority.
Until, with terror, I realize it’s coming up.
To be fair, I usually have a few ideas to go with, but I don’t decide until the last minute. Stressful? Yes, however, I remember taking someone’s advice years ago when I was required to speak.
“Make a list of the main points; don’t be afraid to consult it. Nobody will mind.”
Well, I got up in front of a hundred or so people, pulled out the list, and this is what it said:
Loaf of whole wheat bread
Litre of milk
Eggs
Paper towels
Our Duty To God And The Queen
I was a reluctant Boy Scout back when giant lizards roamed the earth. The Scout’s motto is “Be Prepared.”
“FOR WHAT?”
What did they know that I didn’t?
With Khrushchev and Kennedy playing nuclear chess, did I need any more scary shit?
It occurred to me that “being prepared” meant constantly being aware of the “worst-case scenario.” I’m an Irish Catholic. Gloom and doom are already encoded in my DNA. I needed grown men in shorts and funny hats to remind me?
I just wanted to have some fun.
That Explains A Lot
Thus, my life-long rocky relationship with preparation and organization began.
To be sure, there has to be some structure in life: mortgages, saving for retirement, buying beer before the store closes, medical check-ups…..
But a whole lot of “ad-lib”, can definitely make things interesting and more flexible.
Not only that, it avoids stressing about things I have no control over. That is, until:
STORY TIME