Linda dared to invaded my little corner of the house this morning; it’s where you can find me most any time of the day when I’m not on the golf course or in front of the TV. It used to be Christy’s room but since she hasn’t lived here for 13 years, I decided, after retirement, to claim it for myself and turned it into Doug’s Den..a place where I can work and play on the computer to my heart’s content.
I didn’t pee on the floor or anything to mark it as my territory but I’d like to think it’s my private space and others should stay the heck out unless they’re invited in.Linda pays no attention, of course, and, even though I may have thought about growling like a bear when she came in with the grocery list this morning, I wisely kept my snout shut. (Yes, I’m the designated grocery shopper. It was either that or be the designated cleaner of toilets and bathroom fixtures.)
“Good grief, your computer desk is a dusty cluttered mess,” she said.
She’s right, as you can see, but as anyone who worked with me at Keloland over the years will tell you, mine was always..well, a bit unkempt.
I don’t trust people with spick and span workspaces.
I’ve always believed that those who worry about their desks being clean and tidy are way too uptight…too organized..too concerned about making an impression on others who are overly organized and uptight.
People with messy desks, on the other hand, don’t sweat the small stuff. They’re much too busy thinking deep and creative thoughts to be bothered by such trivial matters such as green fuzz growing in the bottom of a coffee cup or stale cookie crumbs all over the place or globs of dehydrated ketchup stuck next to a desktop calendar from 2004.
Linda was in medical for some 30 years and, almost without exception, the doctors she worked for had cluttered disgusting desks with papers and charts and moldy chunks of uneaten pizza crust piled high. Their priority was to figure out how to save lives not general housekeeping.
On our occasional visits to CBS in New York, Hemmingsen and I got a chance to walk by the offices of some of the network big shots. Inside we could see stacks and stacks of papers and books on and around their desk..some precariously teetering on the brink of collapse. Who cares? There is breaking news to report.
Of all the artists I’ve interviewed over the years, some of the best were some of the messiest. We often found them in their studio up to their armpits in oil paints or wood chips.
So, Lund..are you comparing yourself with physicians, network news stars and gifted members of the artistic community?
Well……actually no.
But if Linda finds out that my desk is a mess because I’m basically a lazy slob, she might insist I learn how to operate the washing machine and clean my own dirty underwear.