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Mistaking The Good For The Best
Herman closed the front door gently, took off his coat,
and hung it in the closet. He unzipped his overshoes, first one
and then the other, slid them off, and bent down to put them in
the closet. There a wild jumble of boots and rubbers confronted
him. Muttering under his breath, he began to sort them out and
arrange them two by two. Then he carefully placed his own side
by side in the last square inch of space and tried to close the
door. It would not close. A parka that had been jammed in
hurriedly was blocking the door. Herman methodically rearranged
the coats and jackets and sweaters. Then he closed the door
gently.
For one flashing second he thought, “Why didn’t I just slam that
door? Why didn’t I just throw my overshoes in on top of the heap
like everybody else does?” But it was only a momentary spasm.
“One just does not do things that way,” he said to himself.
The house was strangely quiet. The cat meowed plaintively and
rubbed against his leg. He stooped over and patted her.
“Hello, Mrs. Beasley.”
Funny name for a cat, but Tammy had insisted on calling her Mrs.
Beasley after she’d seen a television doll commercial. A
ridiculous name for a cat really.
“I wanted to call her Whiskers or Tabby, but Tammy insisted on
Mrs. Beasley,” Herman recalled, smiling to himself. “Mrs.
Beasley.”
The cat followed him to the refrigerator. He poured some milk
into her dish and opened a new can of cat food.
“Where is everybody?” he asked the cat as he spooned out food
into her dish. Then Herman closed the refrigerator door gently.
“Last minute shopping, I guess.”
He mused about it as he went upstairs to take off his clothes.
“Lorraine is always shopping at the last minute. Well, not
always, but a good bit of the time. Probably wieners and beans
for dinner tonight.”
He was mildly irritated. The bedroom was a shambles. Lorraine’s
slacks and blouse were thrown on the bed. The closet doors were
flung open. A dress hung askew on a crooked hanger. Her shoes had
obviously been quickly rummaged through. He sighed and opened
the closet door gently. He hung his suit away, then carried his
shirt to the clothes hamper in the bathroom. He had to push
Tammy’s sneakers off the mat as he hung up her towel. He scooped
up her play clothes and crammed them together with his shirt
into the hamper.
“Life would be so much easier if people would just take a little
time to be more tidy. It would make my job easier too,” he
thought as he ran water into the sink.
He had to plan his day. This was Herman’s way—the only way he
could manage to retain any semblance of sanity. Then inevitably
somebody came along and disrupted his plans. Suddenly a great
weariness came over him. As he leaned on his hands in the water,
random thoughts begin to flicker through his mind like fragments
of a ragged film running through a broken projector. Would the
company expand or relocate? Maybe we will have to move. Jennings
would sure like my job—he is a manipulator. The house needs
painting. The living room rug is pretty worn. Has the washing
machine been repaired? Wonder how much it was? Tammy’s tooth is
loose; maybe it will drop out. Jennings has just built a new
house. His payments must be very steep—no wonder he wants my
job. At least Lorraine sews her own clothes; that is a help. We
have got to throw a party soon—there are lots of invitations to
pay back. Oh, the pledge card from the church, it has just come.
Got to get the car winterized; should have it sanded and painted
if l am going to drive it another year. I wonder if we will get
any tax breaks this year? Didn’t get anything done today like I
planned. That dumb Jennings—he messed up my whole afternoon—had
to drop everything and go to a special session to consider his
harebrained plans. He seems to think he is the only idea man in
the company. How do they expect me to get my work done with all
these interruptions?
He dressed and closed his closet door gently. He picked up
Lorraine’s slacks and blouse and hung them away. “Poor girl! I
know she gets fed up with her daily routines. Breakfast,
cleaning, getting Tammy off to kindergarten, cooking, washing,
ironing. I know she would like to get out. At least I see grown
people every day. This house must be like a prison to her.” He
closed her closet door gently and went downstairs. Mrs. Beasley
rubbed his leg and he picked her up.
“Six o’clock—wherever could they be?”
He started to sort through the mail, and it was then that he saw
the note. ”
“Herman, we waited until almost five for you and then just
had to leave. Please get a cab and join us. You missed Tammy’s
birthday party last year: Try not to miss it again this year.
Lorraine! ”
Tammy’s birthday party. At a restaurant that caters such things.
They had planned it together. He had been a little reluctant at
first, but okay, the sixth birthday is a milestone, and he could
see Tammy that very morning saying, “Daddy, you’ll be there,
won’t you?” and he had given her a big hug.
He looked at the clock, and it said 6:15. Somewhere in his soul,
Herman heard a door slam shut. The kingdom of heaven, so it is
said, is like the time a man received an invitation—even
conscientious Hermans can miss the party because they mistake
the good for the best.
Source: Stories Jesus Still Tells
The Human Odyssey...
The earliest remains of the Homo
sapiens yet discovered dates back to 300,000 years.
We probably evolved in the
African region,
but then migrated to the rest of the world. Although our
physical appearance changed over time, our race didn't: we
remained human beings.
Remains of the world's
earliest religious worship site
have been discovered in Botswana, where our ancestors performed
advanced rituals, worshipping the python some 70,000 years ago.
So many religions have emerged and disappeared that no religion
can claim superiority over other religions.
The central problem facing our planet is human overpopulation.
Today there are over
8 billion beings on Earth and the
population is still growing. There are too many people and
not enough resources for all of us. Yet,
we are not addressing this
problem responsibly. Do you really think your life will be
better if there are more people of your colour or your creed on
Earth?
Initially used as fire for light, heat, cooking and for safety,
energy has been harnessed by humans for millennia. Today, fossil
fuels have become our main energy sources. This is leading to
climate change and global warming.
The Earth has entered a new era called
anthropocene, which marks
the beginning of the
sixth mass extinction. Many species have already disappeared
from the planet and our own days, as a species, are numbered.
Artificial intelligence has surpassed human intelligence. While
humans think they will be using
AI to win wars against other
nations, AI itself has outwitted human psychology to make us
lose each and every war. Warfare has never been a solution to
human problems...