The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 69

“I apologize for my tardiness,” he said. “I was delayed.”

“Traffic?” she asked.

“No.”

“Family matter? I hope everything is alright.”

“No, no, nothing like that. It was a critical essay on some far-reaching ideas.”

“Aaaand this required your immediate attention.”

He nodded and took a seat. “It demanded to be read.”

She squinted. “I think we need to discuss the notion of urgency.”

“A favorite topic.”

“For example, a critical essay on far-reaching ideas sounds wonderful. Not urgent.”

“Heavens, no. It’s far more important than the urgent matters with which we so readily occupy ourselves.”

“But you understand that important matters and urgent matters are different things.”

“Agreed. Absolutely. One hundred percent.”

Her lips grew thin. “As long as we have our priorities straight.”

“A most important concern.” He winked and touched his nose.

“Moving on then.”

He smiled. “I’m glad we had this chat.”

The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 68

Turn the dial, push the button, pull the lever.

Turn the dial, push the button, pull the lever.

“Whatcha doin’?” she asked.

“I’m turning the dial, pushing the button, pulling the lever.”

She nodded encouragingly.

“The order is very-”

Turn the dial.

“Important. It’s the only way-”

Push the button.

“To keep it working.”

“That’s not technically true. I mean push the button, pull the lever, turn the dial would work too right?”

He looked at her.

“Or pull, turn, push. Just depends where you left off.”

“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful. Good day.”

“You’re welcome!” she said and moved along.

Buoyed by the exhilaration of positive contribution, she spared no thought to the venting pressure valves and the blaring alarms behind her. She smiled warmly at the emergency detail as they rushed past and leaned into the day.

If only everyone focused more on helping others, she thought.