![\"Procrastination-procrastination-263974_423_300\"](\"http:\/\/blog.keloland.com\/lund\/files\/2013\/12\/Procrastination-procrastination-263974_423_300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI have a rich history of stories involving \u00a0the use of \u00a0short cuts in order to cover my procrastinating tendencies. \u00a0My kids don’t mind sharing those stories at family gatherings which always brings loads of laughter and,I admit, a smile from me too..even though they were not all that funny at the time. Like when I brought home a bunch of dried corn on the cob to feed the squirrels in our backyard. I needed to drill a hole through the middle of each cob in order to attach them to the tree for \u00a0maximum viewing enjoyment. \u00a0Rather than take the time to set up a vice, I held the corn in my left hand banking on my reflexes to avoid any mishaps. But one ear was a little flimsy and I would have crucified myself had my leather glove not tangled up the power drill bit long enough for me to let go. There was also the time I didn\u2019t figure it necessary to turn off the electricity to the whole house in order to free a broken plug from a kitchen wall socket with a screwdriver. \u00a0Whenever we watch the movie “A Christmas Story” together on TV and they come to the scene where the old man overloads the outlet while plugging in the Christmas tree sending sparks flying and the \u00a0smell of ozone into the air..my kids, who witnessed my own close call with electrocution, look at me and smile.<\/p>\n
And so, it came to pass, that when it snowed earlier this week, I was not going to be the last guy in the neighborhood to fire up the blower. No sir..as soon as there was a break on the weather radar screen..I was heading out. \u00a0Now, \u00a0I had meant to change the oil in my now aging snow thrower before winter but put it off. I hope it\u2019s not dangerously low. It seemed fine; a little dark but fine. \u00a0I meant to fill the gas can after the last mowing too. Oops. \u00a0There\u2019s still some in the snow blower from last winter maybe it\u2019ll be enough to get me through.\u00a0 Now, this is the part where everything is supposed to…and usually does..go haywire. .but nothing did! \u00a0Thanks to the electric starter, it took off like a champ and I finished in less than an hour..even did my next door neighbor’s. So, it was with a bit of a swagger in my step that I entered the back door and with a manly satisfied lion-like roar demanded \u00a0\u201ccoffee woman.\u201d \u00a0I think Linda said something like \u201cSettle down there Simba. I just did the kitchen floor so please leave your parka and wet shoes in the garage.\u201d Okay, so my pride was a bit shaken but I could find solace in my man cave where the computer and window to the outside world live. Big disappointment, though. \u00a0It had started snowing again..even heavier than before and the Keloland Radar showed a new swath of white moving into Sioux Falls.<\/p>\n
See, I thought, being the early bird is for the birds. You won\u2019t see me out there again until the snow is done and the street is cleared. If I need to get out, I can easily use the big red Lincoln to \u00a0blast my way through the winrow left by the city plow; one withOut a snow gate, which is exactly what I did.. making trips to the barber, grocery store and gas station..including fuel for the snowblower. But that\u2019s when the temperature dropped like the Times Square ball on New Year\u2019s Eve. There was no way I was going outside to finish the snowblowing when there was a good chance of me perishing..frozen solid..right in the middle of an auger spout crank.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s supposed to warm up some on Sunday, I said to Linda, I\u2019ll finish then.<\/p>\n
That was Saturday. \u201cDon\u2019t we have tickets for that Gordon Mote concert tonight?\u201d she asked. Since It\u2019s a Christian show, I refrained from saying the word that first came into my brain, the one that seems most satisfying. \u00a0So, when 5:30 rolled around, we were bundled up and ready. I\u2019ll go warm up Big Red, I said. But when I opened Red\u2019s door, my heart sank. No Interior Lights..which can only mean one thing; someone left a light on and the battery was \u00a0as dead as Paula Deen\u2019s TV cooking career. Oh, man what now? Well, the Camaro is sitting over there.It hasn’t been run in a while..sure hope she starts. I hate driving her in the wintertime because she doesn\u2019t handle snow well. But she roared to life and I cranked the heater on full.\u00a0 Linda had to carry a flashlight into the garage because..well, I still haven\u2019t replaced those burned out bulbs in the ceiling . Procrastination penance. As she got into the Camaro, I decided I better hook Big Red\u2019s battery up to the charger. But when I opened the car door to release the hood\u2026POP..the interior lights came on big and bright. The battery wasn\u2019t dead after all. The cold must have caused the switch that controls the inside lights to stick. \u00a0Well, that\u2019s a relief, I guess. Oh, well, the Camaro\u2019s \u00a0all warmed up so we might as well take it and go. \u00a0As I\u2019m backing out Linda says, careful a car is coming . So i stopped on the driveway but after it passed, I’d forgotten about the big snowbank behind me and had zero momentum to break through. \u00a0With my little car\u2019s extreme low clearance I came to a crunching halt totally hung up. \u00a0 Snow had gotten so deep under the axle that the rear tires were clear off the ground. The only thing they grabbed when I revved the engine was air. \u00a0Once again, my vocabulary was hardly fitting for a man headed to a Christian concert. We left the Camaro sitting there like a lump jumped in Big Red and high tailed it to the show in time to find somebody else in our assigned seats.<\/p>\n
The seating issue was quickly resolved without any punches thrown..even though I\u2019m sure I could have taken that seven year old kid. The concert was..well, just great and worth the headaches to get there.<\/p>\n
Sunday morning it did warm up above zero and, determined to procrastinate no more, I was among the early ones in the neighborhood out there directing cascades of snow into proper piles with my machine; first doing the walks then the driveway carefully working around the Camaro which was still sitting there; a cruel reminder of my stupidity from the night before.<\/p>\n