Small Things in a Big World

Today, I noticed another small thing that makes a big difference: one minute. Not long, right? barely long enough to post a sentence on facebook. Yet this past week of my life has been dominated by the actions a friend of mine did in a minute. He and his girlfriend had a wonderful relationship, marred only by the fact that they usually went weeks without seeing each other. But they loved each other, so it was alright. Then, in the space of a minute, he and a few comrades decided to walk to the local "party place." Needless to say, because of that minut, he got wasted. And, ah, did unmentionable deeds with a hitherto unnamed woman. Suprisingly, his girlfriend would have forgiven him, if he had not put on a "woe is me, I am unworthy" act that lasts to this day. I am unfortunately left to console the girl, berate the man, and in general, try to put Humpty back together again. Please, if you have a decision to make that could potentially lead to all the kings horses and all the kings men being dragged into it, take more than a minute to think on it. A permanent decision made in the blink of an eye, ridiculous as this may sound, is not well thought out.


On a more positive note, a minute can also lead to a particularly interesting game of chess. Yesterday, me and a friend were playing chess. He was new, so I went easy on him. Sadly, he hadn't told me that he was also an expert at checkers. It's not the same game, but there are several identical elements involved. I went easy for just a moment too long, and suddenly, almost all of my pieces were gone. I was distraught, but my moment of glory was nigh. Another person walked up, and asked my friend a few questions regarding a class that they were both in. In the moments that he was distracted, I rearanged several peices slightly. When he turned back, he discovered, to his dismay, that one of my pawns was a single turn from becoming queen, his king would soon be in check, and he had accidentally placed his queen in an area where it was almost certain to be caught by either my one remaining rook, or my king. I won spectacularly, and he never caught on. I proudly admitted that I cheated outrageously, just as he proudly taunted me with my perdicament.


Just remember, a single moment can lead to success or failure.