Slight Detour: Monday Slow Mix

For some reason this morning, memories of this funny scene with Rev. Jim Ignatowski from "Taxi" occupied my mind.

Watch, enjoy, laugh, and then I'll tell you why below.

First, I think of the segment occasionally, not only because it ranks right up there in my mind with the "Soup Nazi" from "Seinfeld."

Secondly, those words "s-l-ooooooh-d-owwwn" seem to shout out more frequently these days from the inner voice in my head.

Why not, "s-l-oooooh-d-owwwn?"

You aren't going any place.

You aren't seeing any people 'cept for your husband and whoever brings you your groceries, thanks to curbside service at Yoke's.

And, you won't be doing much socializing of any kind for the next several months, so why not "s-looooh-d-owwwn?"

Well, one reason for me: I doubt there's a teacher on the planet or even a retired teacher who doesn't go through life guided by a meticulous schedule.

The people in this vocation have spent so much of their lives with virtually every minute scheduled 24-7 that when the yellow-light time of their lives ever comes, it seems like a "Mission Impossible" to act upon its guidance.

Never mind that there's no longer any classroom full of kids to educate along with no hours on en of lesson plans to complete or nights filled with worry anymore.

It's just not in a school teacher's constitution to "s-l-ooooh-d-owwwn," so after leaving the profession, they find a myriad of other things to fill up all those seconds, hours and minutes----things that must be done precisely on time.

Eighteen years after retiring from teaching, I can attest to the fact that my day remains tightly structured.

For example, in the early mornings, when my computer clock tells me it's 5:59 a.m., I virtually lurch into action, shutting down programs, grabbing my cup of coffee and heading downstairs, knowing that those horses (who must have a little school-teacher blood in their veins) are waiting for their breakfast.

I keep telling myself that I really don't need to hurry through every single task to be ready for the next, but years and years of practice makes it difficult.

And, so, as we face the next few months, with little or no human interaction from the outside world with the exception of that via virtual or, telephone or TV, I am telling myself that this signals a good time to see those yellow lights in my life and respond accordingly.

There's a caveat that goes along with my plan: when the world goes into action again, speed up because there will be unfinished business to do and people to see and places to go.

The upcoming dark ages of 2020, though, give us all that time to change our ways, get lazy and maybe even enjoy it.

I had some practice this morning when it was time for CB to go to the pasture where his two buddies were already eating the hay I had put out on the snow.

With Lily and Lefty, I simply throw a rope over their necks and lead them back and forth. CB, though, is still an unpredictable kid, and with a clutzy old lady at the helm, it's a good idea to use a halter and lead rope.

So, this morning when I began the process of putting on his halter, he did the usual: grabbing part of the halter between his teeth. He's done that since he was a baby.

I told him to let go, so he did and walked away. After urging him to come back, I again attempted to place the halter on his head. This time he immediately pulled up his head and walked away again.

Here's where my personal training session kicked in.

"I've got all day to wait for you," I said, as he moseyed around about five feet away. CB thought this over. Then, I repeated again that I had all day (chuckling to myself that, indeed, I did).

A few seconds later, he gave in, knowing that she probably did have all day and that breakfast was over across the lawn in the field and the only way he was gonna get a bite to eat was to cooperate with the halter, so he did.

Once I shut the gate, the scene of Jim taking his drivers test popped into my mind. I'll probably think of it a time or two over the next few months, as I catch myself getting back to the "school teacher in a hurry" mode and see that yellow light.

There's definitely plenty of time and not a whole lot of distractions as we proceed into the darkness of winter and the Pandemic.

And, it seems to me, that there might even be extra time to go revisit those hilarious segments of "Taxi," "Seinfeld" and a few others.

For sure, feeding our need for humor is definitely an essential business during the winter months of a Pandemic.

And, we do need to stay on schedule with plugging in plenty of laughter as we "s-l-oooow d-owwwn."

Enjoy the photos.

Happy Monday.

It's okay if the next 8 days speed up just a bit.