Here is how judgement day will go for me.
I find myself in huge room. It’s a lot like customs at a large airport. I’m in a long line of strangers. They are all tired and strangely quiet. They are all shuffling forward. After what seems like hours, I reach the front of the line.
There is an old guy sitting on a stool behind a tall desk. It looks like something Bob Cratchet would have used. There is a very old, very large book on the desk. The book looks heavy. The old guy looks tired… it must be the end of a long shift. He’s not smiling……..come to think of it, neither is anybody in the room.
He opens the book and turns a couple of pages. He reads for what seems like a long time, then he looks up at me. He says, “would you care to explain this?” ………..as he gestures at the book. He’s still not smiling. This is not going well.
I try to assemble the stack of justifications, rationalizations, and excuses that I have used for a lifetime. I’m trying to find the one that will work……in this situation……in this place……with this man.
Then, I hear a voice behind me…….the voice says “It’s OK Peter……..he’s with me.”
The old guy gets a little half grin, and he motions me through.
As I walk past, he flips to the next page in the book……looks past me and says. …..”next”.
The little half grin is gone.
I worry a little about the next tired traveller in the line behind me….. and that is the reason for this blog.
