Ted was atMelbourneAirportrecently, looking out of the window at his boarding gate.
He saw a team of people working on a wheel on one side of the plane. They’d taken a tyre off, and were banging and turning and pulling and pushing.
“This was the plane I was waiting to catch and, not being a good flyer, it wasn’t something I wanted to see.
“I tried to forget it, but I couldn’t and it worried me throughout the two-hour delay and until we landed eight hours later.”
This got us thinking about other things you wouldn’t want to see. Like half a worm sticking out of an apple you’d just bitten into.
And looking at an alarm clock and realising you hadn’t set it properly and you’ve just missed your grandson’s christening.
Or going to the back of the car to let the dog out and realising you’ve left him at the park.
•••
Caught ‘red’-handed
How unlucky was this chap?
During the recent Turkish Open golf event, a young man opted to dash off into the woods for a wee behind a tree. There he was, fairly deep in the woods, oblivious to the fact that tournament leader Justin Rose was on the 15th tee.
Rose’s ball sailed deep into the trees. The cameraman followed it as best he could. As ‘luck’ would have it, the ball fell a few metres away from this chap. Caught. The commentators turned off their microphones, but you could still hear them laughing.
As the chap tried to finish what he was doing, hundreds of people in the gallery rushed towards him, wanting to be close to Rose’s next shot.
He was last seen rushing off trying to zip up his trousers.
Talk about getting sprung.
•••
The lucky one
Ozirules shared a memory.
“My earliest memories are of waking before sunrise, slipping on a gumboot – I shared a pair with my brother – checking the rabbit traps to see if I had caught breakfast, then home to the family tent to light the stove.
“My sister and I then walked 15 kilometres through hail, rain or snow to reach school where we paid for our lessons by washing the windows and sweeping the playground with a toothbrush.
“I was reminding my sister about how tough our youth was and she laughed. Tough?” she said. “You were the lucky one. You were born after we got the tent.”
I believed all this until I got to wondering why anybody would clean a playground with a toothbrush!
•••
Turning back time
We wrote recently about changes to technology and how some things had become, or were becoming, redundant.
We mentioned VHS machines, and Andy emailed to say his friend still has one.
“He loves playing his wedding video in reverse.”
We’re not exactly sure whether that means he’s trying to turn back the clock to start all over again – or to do it differently.
•••
Routine matters
Are you a creature of habit? And if you are, is it a good or a bad thing?
I wondered this after talking to a friend. He has played squash with the same bloke, once a week, for 32 years. He ran with the same group of people every morning for 15 years. He has had the one job all his working life, and lived in the same house for 40 years.
I’ve got another friend who goes to the same coffee shop near his office every morning, sits in the same chair and drinks the same coffee – a flat white with one sugar.
Personally, I like to sit in the same chair and do The Age crossword every morning.
Such routine is comfortable, but does it limit life’s experiences? If it does, does that matter?
I asked my wife. “What if The Herald Sun crossword is better?” she replied. “You’ll never know.”
Do you like routine? Do you have a story, anecdote, memory or photo to share with other YourLifeChoices members? Do you know someone with a milestone birthday or anniversary coming up? Email steve@yourlifechoices.com.au.
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