If nothing else gets done around here today (a very
good possibility), we’re going to make sure you enjoy
a handful of haiku from DeVar Dahl.
scotch mints —
the squeak of my walking stick
in packed snow
heavy clouds
the snowplows’ rumble
drifts into town
a silent magpie
flies across the valley
leafless wonders
snowmelt
he changes into play clothes
after school
snowy day
she paints the poppies
a deeper red
“empty swallows nest” from A Piece of Egg Shell (2004)
“heavy clouds” from HSA Members’ Anthology (2003)
“snowmelt” – Walking the Same Path: HSA Mem Anthology 2004
“snowy day” – the shiki haiku prize contest
“scotch mints” – The Heron’s Nest (June 2005)
potluck
Jacob A. Stein’s column in the newest Washington Lawyer “eMC2G”
(“E=procrastination=mc2,” Jan. 2006) sure rings a bell with this old
lawyer. While trying to understand Einstein’s famous equation, Stein
had a great insight:
“Was the discovery of E=mc2 Einstein’s way of avoiding the things
he should have done? That would be an interesting discovery. I
would have liked to cross-examine him on that point. He might be
a genius in quantum physics, time, light, and gravity, but no match
for me concerning procrastination. I would force him to concede that
anyone can do any amount of work provided it’s not work he is
supposed to do. My credentials for this assignment are the best.
I learned the art of procrastination in the best school there is—
practicing law. There is no better place. Lawyers do it. Judges do it.
Even law professors up at Yale do it.
“The best lawyers I have known are the best at contriving ways to
delay making a decision. Experience has taught them not to be in a
rush to do anything that can be put off.
“One of the causes of procrastination is the deadline. . . .
“Let me close with some advice. When you realize you are getting
caught in a procrastination mental block, you must immediately turn
the assignment over to someone else. The person you give the
assignment to will do it right away. He has his own mental blocks,
and he will welcome an assignment that distracts him from what he
should be doing, which for some reason he cannot do. Give me a
call and we will work a trade.”
Go, read the whole column. It’s sure better than doing whatever you’re
supposed to be doing right now.
“snowflakeS”
