Photo by Freddie Marriage

When you go to places like a doctor’s office, an airport or a tire shop, chances are you’re going to do some waiting. I have found waiting to be much more tolerable if I have a book with me. The other day, the air conditioner in my car wasn’t working. My plan was to drive my car to an auto repair shop to get it fixed. I didn’t know how long the wait would be, so I took two books with me plus a note pad. As I was about to pull onto the freeway, my car started jerking and I could smell that the engine was hot. I stayed on the frontage road, put the car in neutral and coasted for as long as I could and then nursed the car into a parking lot. I called for a tow truck and was told it would be at least an hour. Because I had those books with me, the hour passed quickly. When I got to the repair place, I was told the wait would be three or four hours. During that time, I finished one book, started another and wrote an issue of my Weekly Reminder. In the middle of all this, my wife called and asked how I was holding up. I told her that I was making believe that I was on a mini vacation at an exotic venue. Yes, it wasn’t the day I had planned, but because I had those books and note pad, the time passed quickly and I was relaxed in what could have been a stressful day.