At some important moment in my life, which is and will remain unmapped in my memory, I made a firm resolution--unqualified, unapologetic, distilled from questions and uncertainties that usually dance around even my firmest conclusions.
That resolution: I will never allow anyone to waste my time.

So today, when Alexandria Toyota decided to impose its hosptality on me for some nine hours, I suppressed annoyance and anxiousness, and all the schemes deferred and compressed. Part of not wasting any time is not being distracted by what else you could be doing with your time, or by what else you will eventually be doing with your time. Another part is refusing to wait. Waiting, to me, entails trashing valuable minutes, days, on hours and getting nothing in return. So instead of waiting, I had my day, rereading From Beirut to Jerusalem.

Tomorrow I set out on a great journey, whose beautiful form has been no more than sketched with the lightest charcoal. Am I ready? Be prepared, the boyscouts say. The readiness is all, says Hamlet.