american idle

We had a luncheon staff meeting earlier this week, a mixture of food and business which inevitably led to heart burn. And, as if to add to the gastronomical distress, the food that was ordered consisted of greasy buffalo wings and even greasier pizza.

When the last slice of pizza was consumed and the final wing was eaten, we all settled in for the business portion of lunch…decreasing sales, decreasing morale, lack of team spirit and, in essence, what the hell was wrong with all of us?

As the meeting wound down, Cara looked at me and said, “You are such a fidgeter!”

Which is true, my hands are constantly in motion. During college, I always drew pictures of my professors and classmates in each and every notebook I owned. Pen caps get flicked and paper clips get linked together. And, right before Cara made her comment, I had been creating a work of art with my fork on the remaining buffalo wing sauce that was left on my plate. A masterpiece that, while getting me labeled as ‘fidgeter', would have been proclaimed ‘genius’ if done by someone like Andy Warhol.

“And you know how the saying goes,” Cara continued, “Idle hands, busy mind. Busy hands, idle mind.”

“Cara, what are you talking about? The saying goes, idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” I responded.

“Whatever,” she said, “you know what I’m trying to say.”

Which was also true. I knew exactly what she was trying to say…despite my ‘idle’ mind. But as I opened my mouth to respond, I saw that Cara had already turned her back on me and was busy talking to an overweight lady that works in the office.

“I love cooking and have some great low calorie recipes that you should try,” Cara was saying. As far as I knew, this lady had never expressed a concern about her weight. Complimenting herself while simultaneously insulting the person she’s talking to is very typical in Cara conversations.

And watching her reminded me of another non-existent old saying. Open mouth, empty head.