Live To Fight Another Day

Sometimes it’s best to just keep driving.

Earlier today

I was on my way to see Jared. His office is 34 miles from my house but it’s worth the drive. I had a legitimate need for his services and, of course, an ulterior motive.

Read more: Live To Fight Another Day

I love Jon Walczak’s podcasts. There’s Missing in Alaska, Missing on 9/11 and the one I’m listening to now: Missing in Arizona. I’ve been on the road for 40 minutes and am almost to my exit when the search for Robert Fisher is interrupted by a phone call. Jared’s company name on the caller ID and he tells me in our secret code not to show up. Secret code not only means don’t show up but that he is surveilled. Sometimes his wife likes to “surprise” him with lunch at inopportune times. We both wonder if this is actually a coincidence.

If it’s not a coincidence, she is really bad at catching him. Like, comically bad. She monitors his whereabouts every second of every day. She probably crouches down to look for his feet under the bathroom door just to make sure he hasn’t climbed out the window. She’s also a scientist. Surely she realizes that he can see her location as well? The electronic leash works both ways. You’d think so, but one time she actually did try to stage an ambush after I was already there. He told me, “her car is two blocks away”, and when she arrived there was absolutely nothing out of sorts. Normal clients having normal treatments and she was all in a dither about nothing at all.

I don’t want to make fun of her for being a dumb warden, or say anything like, “if she was smart, she would do this or that”. The last thing I want is for her to try harder or to up her game. Remember this kids, it’s always best not to disrupt predictable behavior.

Predictable = good. Unpredictable = dangerous.

I would’ve arrived about 20 minutes early because I was meeting a friend of mine in the parking lot so she could retrieve some equipment that was accidentally left in my car.

Well, fuck.

Not only can I not show up for my appointment but I can’t be seen loitering in the parking lot either.

In a panic, I call Marie with a bogus story and tell her I’ll bring the gear to her house. I know she didn’t actually want me to do that but I played dumb and said I was already on my way.

A mindset tip

I might have been annoyed about making a really long drive for no particular reason when I had a bunch of work I could’ve been doing.

It would’ve been a totally valid point.

But my life is governed by rules. The rule for this situation is: live to fight another day. A minor inconvenience is far better than a life altering catastrophe. So what if I made an unnecessary trip? No harm, no foul. Everyone makes it home safe and we reschedule for another time.

And because I’m a responsible adult, on the way home I stopped at the UPS store and bought some Hello Kitty pens. $30 worth to be exact.

I feel better now.