Reply

ByHal Hammons

Do you ever text or Facebook message and wait around for an hour or two for a reply?  I like to think of myself as being rather secure with myself, but I have to admit — that messes with my head.  I’m not talking about waiting for their take on the meaning of life or the status of their dad’s cancer treatment, mind you.  I’m talking about questions I have asked that require a yes/no answer.  Of course, if I just got a yes or a no, I’d probably think that was rude.  But at least I would have a reply.  That’s something.

Sitting around waiting for a reply is better than talking to a brick wall, I suppose.  But not by much.  It’s emasculating.  I’ve surrendered all the power.  He’s seen my message; it says so right there on the screen.  All I know is, I am not worth ten seconds of my friend’s time.

That’s when I have to pursue patience and brotherly love.   He may be in the middle of something.  He may have a specific time of day during which he responds to messages and emails.  Or he may just not be in as big a hurry as me.  Those are not hanging offenses.  If I want people to be patient with me when I have my hands full, I should offer them the same consideration.  At the same time, I should remember my sense of frustration the next time I get a message that I am not particularly inclined to answer right away.  Perhaps I can avoid putting them through the same difficulty.

That’s the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) from both sides of the issue.  Two lessons in one. 

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A couple in Mongolia recently ate raw marmot meat, which is apparently a thing in Mongolia.  It is believed to be a health boost by the locals.  (A marmot is a rodent, sort of like a woodchuck or large squirrel.  I prefer them braised or fricasseed, but that’s just me.)  The couple contracted bubonic plague and died — which I think we can all agree is pretty much the opposite of “a health boost.”

The resulting quarantine held up the lives of 118 locals and tourists for six days.  The danger appears to be over now, so our family vacation to Mongolia is back on.  Get back to packing, girls.

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The punctuation Nazis (generally indistinguishable from grammar Nazis and syntax Nazis) come out from under their rocks and rail about the Oxford comma every few months.  This, unfortunately, was one of those months.