Warp Four
When we get into trouble, procrastination is almost never a good way to get out of it.
My best friends growing up were Ron and Dave Smith. They were identical twins. In fact, they looked so much alike that even “they” couldn’t tell each other apart. More about that later.
There was a time in my early teens that I was a keen scouter. I enjoyed collecting merit badges and was ultimately honoured as a Queen Scout by Hon. J. Percy Page, lieutenant-governor of Alberta in Medicine Hat. Dr. Alan Van Orman, my scoutmaster, is behind us in the photo above.
One of the badges I received was for cooking a wilderness meal. I made a portable BBQ by cutting the side out of a 1-gallon rectangular R-M paint thinner can, added some charcoal briquettes and covered the opening with wire mesh.
The Smith twins joined me on my adventure and together we hiked northeast of Cardston to the confluence of Lee Creek and the St Mary River. To gain some respite from the strong west wind I set up my BBQ at the bottom of a cut bank near Lee Creek. It took forever to get enough heat out of the briquettes to begin cooking the steak I brought. I don’t recall bringing any other food. The wind dumped a shower of dust and grit on my undertaking.
The twins quickly grew bored with my project. Ron amused himself not far away on the banks of Lee Creek and Dave headed to the grassland above us. When Dave crested the ridge of the cut bank he surprised a curious young badger that immediately began digging a hole for protection. Dave watched with interest then for some reason not known to man or beast he ran over and grabbed the badger by the hind leg and pulled him out of the burrow.
Badgers are cousins to wolverines and are known to have a mean disposition. Having been dragged from the safety of his hole the badger immediately swung around and went for Dave’s throat. Dave had only two options, hold on, in which case the badger would certainly have him by the throat, or let go, but even then it was unlikely the badger would break off the attack. Dave’s quick thinking saved him from a disastrous outcome. He did both. As near as I can remember this is how Dave recounted the experience many years later. “I grabbed the badger’s hind leg with both hands and began spinning, swinging the badger in a big circle. When I got up to about warp four I let go.”
The first Ron and I knew of the incident was when a dizzy badger came flying over the cut bank.
When you do something foolish it is best to fix the problem immediately. Procrastination is usually not a good solution.
Oh. You may be wondering why I would say the twins couldn’t tell each other apart. When Sue Smith, their mother, passed away, Ron was living in New Orleans. He flew to Great Falls and Dave drove from Cardston to pick him up. Along the way Dave stopped for something to eat in Choteau or Valier Montana. Dave was distracted with funeral arrangements and when he was walking to the front to pay his bill he glanced up and saw his brother Ron walking toward him. Dave was just about to shout “Ron what on earth are you doing here” when he realized that he was looking at himself being reflected in a full-length mirror mounted to the wall by the cash register.
Ron on the left, Dave on the right, me in the middle, in our band uniforms.
Application
We can learn a lot from our mistakes – the ones that don’t kill us.
Procrastination is rarely a good way to get out of the trouble we get ourselves into. Dealing decisively with mistakes, though sometimes painful or embarrassing, will usually mitigate the negative consequences.
This week
Own up to a mistake and take steps immediately to make things right.
Do something you have been putting off for a long time.
Write about it in your journal.