I wanted to do a few articles on the word “truth” starting this week.
That research has been quite eye opening.
But life, like “sin crouching at the door”, has stuck it’s clawed paw out and has helped to hinder me from reaching my weekly (self imposed) ‘deadline’ of Thursday at 1pm.
I had a window of time to get my first “truth” article completed, or at least started, a few days ago.
That window was at 1a.m., after a long day of painting and getting a room ready for my youngest daughter to move back in to.
I was able to meet “that” deadline by throwing all of my available “non-work” hours at it on my days off… each day working well into the wee hours of the night/morning.
Writing is my side hustle; my enjoyment; and my sanity… but I’ve long discovered when my kids need something… I’m all Dad.
I may not be the best husband; the best friend; or sibling; painter or carpenter, (for sure) but I’m a good dad, and have hit that deadline repeatedly.
So instead of an in depth article on “truth”… the truth of the matter is, I’m offering up this “life snippet” as an atonement to my readers… who as a group, are growing little by little everyday.
The truth there is, I just received my first check from across the pond… from the U.K..
I wonder if The Queen picked up a copy of “When We Were Lions”?? (That’s a joke, the Queen part, not the check part)
So here’s to writing deadlines; quotas; production schedules; and babies being born in the fall, “I’ll be there… don’t worry.” Maybe a tad late, but I’ll be there. (usually early though, I subscribe to Lombardi time)
Can’t leave you this week without a word though… take a look at “deadline” once. I don’t think me missing my mark today is as egregious as one of the first usages of the word would have made it out to be.
“time limit,” 1920, American English newspaper jargon, from dead (adj.) + line (n.). Perhaps influenced by earlier use (1864) to mean the “do-not-cross” line in Civil War prisons, which figured in the trial of Henry Wirz, commander of the notorious Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
And he, the said Wirz, still wickedly pursuing his evil purpose, did establish and cause to be designated within the prison enclosure containing said prisoners a “dead line,” being a line around the inner face of the stockade or wall enclosing said prison and about twenty feet distant from and within said stockade; and so established said dead line, which was in many places an imaginary line, in many other places marked by insecure and shifting strips of [boards nailed] upon the tops of small and insecure stakes or posts, he, the said Wirz, instructed the prison guard stationed around the top of said stockade to fire upon and kill any of the prisoners aforesaid who might touch, fall upon, pass over or under [or] across the said “dead line” …. [“Trial of Henry Wirz,” Report of the Secretary of War, Oct. 31, 1865]
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=deadline
Some may call it “excuse making”, I call it “life”… and would rather ENCOURAGE, EQUIP & ENGAGE with you, so we both can learn how to paddle through those waves of life!
“Positivity w/ Work Gloves”! Sleep be damned!
theemergingman.com 