I started this morning like I do most, saying my prayers with the names of the people I love, some here, some up in heaven. It's my way of anchoring the day. The sun was just starting to rise as I drove Francine the Ford Flex out to the Oakbrook Board of Trade. I grabbed a couple of Egg McMuffins on the way out, It’s Friday, after all.
It is National Cooler Day and I’ve carried a few in my days.
Never the small kind that had wheels and long handles. I cut my teeth with heavy coolers made with metal, aluminum and hard plastic that were made in the U.S.A.. Two small handles awkwardly placed to make it more of a burden. Sloshing with ice and clanging bottles of Old Style. I lugged coolers onto the CTA and across Grant Park for Chicago Blues Fest, across gravel lots at the Indy 500 and into backyards where the grill smoke curled with a pork incense.
Some days I didn’t feel like hauling it, but I did it anyway because people were counting on the big guy with the beer.
Life’s like that, the quest for the perfect moment.
We don’t always get to wait for perfect timing. The train is going to eventually pass. The red light will turn green. The sun is going to rise. Sometimes we just got to wait for it.....
And the ice inside that cooler?
It is going to melt whether you’re ready or not. So drink up and put some gusto into the moment.
Go enjoy the sun on this beautiful Friday. Carry your damn cooler to wherever family and friends are gathering.
There is no perfect moment.... just the one you are in right now.
