February 21, 2010
Whenever I travel, I reach a stage in my get-ready that I call “in the chute.” It starts when I’m just a few days from departure. Like a cowboy bull-rider in a rodeo, I’m in the chute, on the back of the bull…committed to my course of action, almost ready to roll. My nerves are charged up, my mind is racing, it’s almost time. But not quite. That’s where I am right now, almost in the chute, as I prepare for my trip this week to a writers’ workshop out West. For the next few days, I’ll probably be much more distracted than usual, as my mind zips around, trying to remember if I’ve forgotten to pack or prepare anything. So if you’re in my general vicinity this week, and I seem to zone out while you’re talking, or it takes a little longer for me to finish something for you, now you’ll know why. Because I’ll be “in the chute,” baby! See you soon.
