“Taos: Take Three”
5/19/17, “Short Cuts Make Long Delays”
John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York
This is the fifth time I have done this. Flight B6 65 to ABQ is matched only by Flight
AM 401 to MEX in the number of times I have departed on that flight. Five times over slightly more than two
years. Hopefully it will be the
last. Of those five trips, one of them
had nothing to do with visiting Taos Pueblo.
The first, I had planned with visiting Taos in mind, but it happened to
be seasonally closed when I had planned the trip, and I didn’t realize until it
was too late. Later that year, two years
ago this weekend, in fact, I flew to ABQ with my friend Connor, where he would
spending the summer with his family, and we did go to Taos, but the Plaque was
not up, and they stamp was broken. I
knew I would need to return. We did
return, at the beginning of this year, and, it was closed for an unannounced
festival the day we went. Now, as my
five-year mission comes to an end, I am hoping that the third time’s the charm
and that I can finally get that stamp at Taos.
This is take three.
Traditionally,
I would write a little exposition on the title of the entry at this point, but
it will actually be more profitable to discuss it later in the entry. It is also my tradition to begin these
entries with Night -1, since I went out for another epic feast with the
K-Man. We went to a Brazilian
steakhouse, Fogo de Chao, and we were determined to eat as much meat as we
could and leave nothing on our plate uneaten.
The movie was secondary, if we even went (spoiler alert: we
didn’t). The meat kept coming and
coming, and we had a bottle of Brazilian wine to go with it, and then the meat
sweats started, and it was epic.
Once we
were full, we told them to stop bringing any more meat, but we still had to
finish the meat on our plates. We were
seriously struggling. Then I saw lamb
chops, and I couldn’t pass on that. We
did it. We finished every last bite of
meat on our plates and the bottle of wine.
We were both ready to die. There
would be no movie. We just wanted, nay,
needed cigars. I had some spicy maduro
cigars, and they fit the bill. We walked
down Fifth Avenue, and we just needed to keep walking, less the lethargy
overtake us. It was one of our most epic
feasts yet. After we said our goodbyes,
I went home to play Zelda. I had beaten
the game a week ago, so I was now just looking for shrines and performing other
quests. For that reason, I did not bring
my unit with me for this trip.
I felt
dead when I woke up in the morning, and I felt dead all day. I got to the office, and I was still drained
from last night. Further, I hadn’t
booked my rental car or car to the airport, and Hertz was sold out. I also couldn’t get a standard car from
either of the car services I usually use.
That stressed me out and further contributed to my mood. I got a car from Enterprise, which turned out
to be very cheap. Eventually, at around
1:30 PM, without having had breakfast, my appetite started to return. I went to Hop Won for a light pre-departure
lunch and then went back to my apartment, as I had forgotten to pack
Cubans. When I got back to the office, I
had trouble breathing.
A few minutes
before 5 PM, I left the office, and immediately got a taxi. As soon as I got in the taxi, my breathing
became less labored, and my stress dissipated until I realized how long it
would take for us to get to the airport, well over an hour. I looked at Google Maps, and told him to take
what they said was the fastest route. He
was annoyed, since he thought he knew a short cut. “Short cuts make long delays,” I thought,
recalling the pithy words from “Lord of the Rings.” I wanted to go with the route I trusted. No short cuts, no delays.
It is so true that short cuts make long
delays, both in travel, and in life. We
are all familiar with the delays that we have experienced when trying to a take
a short cut to a destination, but what about short cuts in life? Truly, there are no short cuts in life, only
long delays. We may think we have found
a short cut, but, all-too-often, it will lead to a longer delay later in
life. Sure, there are more efficient
ways of performing tasks, but the knowledge required to determine those
efficient ways, there are no short cuts.
Figuring out those efficiencies is a direct result of man’s capacity to
think. That is how wealth is created, by
figuring out more efficient ways of undertaking existing processes. I do not just mean rewriting a computer
script or process, but I mean figuring out how to use an electric lightbulb to
replace a kerosene lamp or how to use wires to transmit a message faster than
an envelope can travel on horseback.
Those are the type of efficiencies that create wealth, but there are no
short cuts to success, only long delays.
We suffered the shorter delay, and I was at the airport an hour-and-a-half
before my flight, plenty of time. I had
my TSA PreCheck, so I breezed through security, and I picked up very
Italian-themed dinner (sandwich, chips, and sparkling water) at a shop as I
walked to my gate. I sat down at the
gate, where I scarfed down my dinner and proceeded to write this entry, which I
will now close, as we will soon be boarding.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Short cuts make long delays, but bad weather makes even
longer delays. Our flight was delayed an
hour leaving the airport, and that hour was spent taxiing, which meant I
couldn’t use my computer. That was the
annoying. We got on board almost right
away, but first there was a delay in catering the plane, then they shutdown
departures due to the weather, and we also learned that we would have to take a
circuitous route to avoid bad weather over Texas. I sat in my assigned seat, next to a couple,
who suggested I move to one of the other rows that had more empty seats so that
we could both be more comfortable, an offer I gladly accepted.
I listened to Fox News until we took off, an
hour later. Once we took off, I got
started on my school work. I first had
to perform my peer review on two of my classmates’ essays, which I did as
sharply as I could manage, and then I had to revise my essay to incorporate
their comments, and those of the professor.
That whole process took about two hour, and I enjoyed the snacks served,
before I passed out and got three hours of sleep.
When we landed, it was after midnight, and I
was concerned because Enterprise closed at midnight. I called, but no one picked up, so I made a
reservation at Budget, though I figured Enterprise would stay open late for the
delayed flight. I stepped into the
familiar airport, landing there for the fifth time now, and headed to the
rental car shuttle. Fortunately,
Enterprise was, in fact, still open, so I cancelled my reservation with
Budget.
I got GPS and SiriusXM, so they
upgraded me to a premium car, which had it built. That was that, and I was on my way to the Con
Man’s house. I lit up a Carrillo, and I
was soon there. We greeted each other,
and then I got situated upstairs before heading back down, where I sat down,
resumed my cigar, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, so
that I can publish and get a few more hours of sleep before getting on the
road.
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