There Ya Go
I am an enigma. I have no problem waiting, but my patience is as thin as crepe paper.
I came to the realization in about one-half hour’s time last week that waiting and being patient are two very different things.
First, waiting. I know, waiting sucks for most people, whether it’s in a line or waiting area at a restaurant, or in front of your computer as the blue bar crawls across your screen.
I stopped at McDonald’s last Thursday after dropping papers at the post office. I put my order in at one of theose computerized ordering kiosks and began my wait.
Now, I can wait with the best of them. I typically leave to an away sporting event way too early and end up sitting in my Jeep for anywhere from 20 minuets to an hour. Yes, it’s happened. I always leave early because I drive slow and am always worried I’ll miss something.
As I was waiting, a woman ordered a refill of her Diet Coke. She ended up waiting about five minuntes for her pop. During that time, I heard a man to my right strike up a conversation with a lady about how many vehicles were going through the drive-thru at the time. He wasn’t a good waiter. In fact, about two minutes into his wait, he exclaimed — loud enough for the workers to hear, I’m sure : “This is bull----!”
Yes, it was bull----, but why get so worked up over it? The person he was talking to pretty much ignored him, but the half dozen other patrons didn’t. Neither did the employees, as most everyone gave him the old evil eye.
Anyway, the woman finally got her pop and went on her way, while I waited another few minutes before getting my grub.
So I wasn’t in-and-out, no big deal. Remember, I don’t mind waiting. I’m good at it.
Then it was on to my bank, and I waited there, too. Again, not a big deal.
Now, patience. As I approached the intersection of County Road 2 and County Road 11 on my way back to Tracy, I noticed a black car was sitting at the stop sign. I pulled up behind it, assuming I would be able to get through the intersection rather quickly, since the traffic out that way is never that heavy.
So, I waited. And waited. And waited.
The driver of the car just sat there. He wasn’t looking down at his phone, or reading a map. As far as I could tell, he was just sitting there for no good reason. For about 45 seconds. About 15 seconds in and not seeing a car in sight, I honked. He wasn’t phased. Didn’t even react.
I said to myself, “What the fudge is he doing?” You guessed it, I didn’t say “fudge.”
My patience was fleeing. Waiting for a burger at a fast food joint is much different than being patient as a motorist refuses to step on the gas in the middle of nowhere. There was no need for that, and I knew it. It’s one thing to wait in line for a processed meal, but to have to sit in an idling vehicle waiting for some idiot to pull onto another road is another.
While patience is a lost virtue these days, it’s OK to have to wait every now and then. Waiting isn’t that bad, really, and you don’t really need to have patience. You just have to realize that waiting is a part of life.
Waiting vs. patience — it’s a distinction without a difference.
