To Catch the Horse

Those of us with rural roots have learned the hard way the truth of the expression: “It’s too late to close the door when the horse has left the barn.” Same applies to cows, pigs, sheep, chickens…..

There are similar expressions involving umbrellas and leaky roofs. You know them, I know them. All of these apply equally to COVID, and most other important things. There’s a time for preparation and prevention, or else there’s a time for regret and excuses.

Now to be fair to the majority of legislators, they all are exhausted by now. This COVID thing was only supposed to last six months or so, and now we’re going into our third year. On top of that, every politician is faced with the troublesome (and baffling) problem of the boo-birds and the anti-vaxxers. Many politicos depend on the grumpus crowd for votes. It’s a tough balancing act, especially in an age where courage is not a prerequisite for leadership.

Most of our leaders think they can leave the door open enough to let out the barn cats, but not the horse. The horse doesn’t understand the sophistry and pushes through.

This is not to take a position on COVID closures (don’t get me started!) but to take a position on all the barn doors of our lives. Either they’re open, or they’re not.

Take my approach to timeliness. I’m the guy who traditionally is thrown out of the stores late on Christmas Eve, desperately trying to get my shopping finished.* I’m also the guy who has to get someone else to drive me to the license bureau to renew my permit after it has expired. So, I’m not here to point fingers.

What I am saying, more to myself than anyone else, is that we all know we have barn doors, the horse has his eye on the distant green pasture, but we think that “almost closed” actually works. The horses in our lives know differently.

Smart people don’t let the horse escape through carelessness, nor do they put on a show of half closing the door. If it doesn’t matter, they leave the door fully open, if it does matter, they fully close the door. But they don’t do one and pretend the other.

Me? I have a bit to learn, yet.

* To be fair to myself, though, I have been given some screaming good deals at store closing time on December 24. “What have you got, sir? Fifty? Yeah, that’s good, that’s good! Now go! Go! Go!”