Webster’s
defines…
(Ok…
no… it doesn’t. At least not here. The entire “Webster’s defines”
concept has become a punchline. It now exists in a fashion where
even if well-intended, whatever follows that statement is either
completely blocked out (since the entire audience without exception
stops listening after hearing those words) or will be viewed as
a joke. Still… the general idea remains…)
Murphy’s
Law has become something that we all seem to know, all seem to
understand, and in many ways all seem to expect. It has been accepted
as a law, with a standardized definition. Here it is…
“Anything
that can go wrong, will go wrong.”
And
when fully considered, the concept becomes even more interesting.
Because when you invoke Murphy’s Law… while you are making a humorous
shoulder shrug toward “of course something went wrong, we should
have expected that”… you are pretty much placing in motion the
acceptance of a predetermined, fixed in time, fated event (or
set of events).
Last
Saturday night was celebrated for the gift of an extra hour of
sleep. Or, more to the point, the wonderful “fall back” joys of
resetting the clocks.
The
event itself technically happens at 2am on Sunday morning. However,
on principle, I don’t believe the day changes until you go to
sleep. So it was that early Saturday evening, I found myself sitting
at the computer. I was just about done with the work I intended
to wrap up for the day, and was going to watch some television
with Terry.
She
was working on something… and I knew we’d be headed off to sleep
after watching television… so while she finished her to-do items,
I decided to walk around the house and adjust all of the clocks
that needed to be manually corrected for the end of Daylight Savings
Time.
Our
phones change their settings automatically. Computer does the
same thing. Every clock that didn’t change on its own… including
the car… got my attention.
Or
so I thought.
On
Sunday morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee, headed to the computer
to do some work, and settled in. I had been debating heading out
in to the yard for a bit, but didn’t want to start up the lawn
mower early on a Sunday morning. I decided an hour or two (or
three) of writing would get us closer to noon and a more acceptable
don’t-disturb-the-neighbors hour for firing up the engine.
As
I finished the coffee, I looked off to the side at a clock showing
it was about 11:30. I was stunned. The morning had flown by. I
brought the coffee cup to the sink, grabbed my sneakers, put on
a sweatshirt, and got ready to head outside. As I did, I saw a
clock. A different clock.
10:30
Yeah…
somehow, a clock I usually don’t end up using for anything and
totally forgot about the evening before turned out to be the first
clock I looked at the next morning.
(Hi
Murphy! How are you?)
The
clock experience isn’t an example of anything major or life-altering
by any stretch of the imagination. It does highlight a very important
aspect about the law though.
The
humorous portions of Murphy’s Law are that things go wrong. They
have happened. They happen. And they will happen. Prepare for
the rain… actually, no, not just the rain… always hope
for the best, but prepare for the worst, because something will
go wrong.
But,
the most amazing portion of Murphy’s Law isn’t really the overwhelming
sense of inevitability. And it’s not laughing the wrong off when
the wrong happens. It is that “predetermined, fixed in time, fated”
aspect that springs from extends from the belief that it will
happen. That part saying you can take steps for prevention, and
it won’t matter.
If
it can go wrong, it will go wrong.
You
can lock the front door… predetermined arrives at the back.
You
can fill the car with gas… fixed in time arrives with a dead battery.
You
can bring an umbrella… fate arrives with wind sweeping rain drops
sideways or blowing the umbrella along into uselessness.
Anyone
with kids or pets can tell you all about Murphy and the switching
of clocks. Dogs wishing to go outside or for long walks do not
look over at the nightstand to check out the clock before waking
you in the morning. Unless it involves their own naps, dogs do
not appreciate the rare treat of sleeping a bit longer.
Funny
thing… I have a sister living in Australia. Guess what? In places
there where the hours are adjusted, clocks are moved in an opposite
direction and on different dates than those changes many of us
make in the United States.
In
a few months, the day will arrive when many of us lose an hour
of sleep where I live. Because that’s what happens… along with
everything that inevitably follows.