Timing is everything

April 18, 2011

They say that “timing is everything”, and whoever “they” are, are right most of the time, or at least with an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20 or something. Sorry about that, it seems I’ve been keeping my eye on too many polls lately.
The old timing issue was put to the test last week when I received a phone call from the O/R Surgical Scheduling Department at the Regina General Hospital a mere 22 hours after the paper’s deadline to submit my last whiny column about waiting times being too long. No, I hadn’t even sent them a copy of the article either, although I guess I should have, so the timing was purely coincidental.
Turns out that the timing was pretty good, in this particular instance, for a couple of reasons, one: after waiting for eight months, I was getting kind of anxious to get something done about this discomfort, if you hadn’t noticed, and two: I had already finished and submitted the aforementioned column so then I didn’t even have to write a whole new one for the paper.
But the bad timing was also evident when my scheduled surgery, for those of you keeping score at home, was scheduled for the 21st of April, which is the day of our Grandson’s second birthday, the day before Good Friday and the beginning of the Easter Weekend when a bunch of our family members were going to be gathering at our house for a weekend of celebration.
Typical, eh? Something you’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for, and you whine and cry about how long it takes, and when they finally call you start going, “Oh, ah, really? The 21st, eh? Hmmm. I guess I’ve got to go, don’t I?” Damn. Eight freakin’ months and you couldn’t have waited another four days? But enough of the “glass is half-empty” thinking. I’m lucky I got called in at all, I guess. Others have been waiting longer than me to get things fixed so I’m going to go when I’m called, regardless of the timing.
Sticking with the “timing” theme, I suppose if one would have to choose an April, with way below seasonal averages in temperature, April 2011is the one to choose. With this spring runoff being higher than anything we’ve seen since the middle 1970’s the recent slow melt has probably helped ease some of the flooding tension a bit. Even so, there are road and highway closures all over the province but “they” think that many area’s runoff levels have peaked already, so that’s good news.
If “timing is everything” then “location, location, location” is a close second. As unusually high as Saskatchewan’s flood waters have recently been our flood damage doesn’t come close to the ravages of Japan’s tsunami or the recent tornadoes in the United States. I can debate whether my timing is good or bad but I know that my location is perfect.
“Life is about timing”- Carl Lewis (Olympic Champion-1961-).

Writer’s note: comments and questions regarding this column may be addressed to hubbar@sasktel.net. Also, previous “In My Humble Opinion” and “Random Thoughts” columns can be found on the following website: http://pnhubbard.blogspot.com/.