Hurry up and wait

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Hurry up and wait"?

I first heard it in the context of hollywood film production, a culture obsessed with timing: clocks, schedules, call times, breaks, lunch hours. There is a desperate need to rush, as in, you are expected to run, run red lights, keep pace, never go over on time. Do not be a minute late to make up. And then, the director will need to have a discussion, change their mind, change their lens, that leaf to the left is not popping, we need a new lighting package flown in from Italy, we need to do that take again. And again. And again. This means everyone: talent, crew, and vendors, standing by in the wings, perched on the edge of whether to rush or perch again, in a cycle of absurd stop 'n go. You must move like your life depended on it, being on time, just so you can stand in line, sit on your mark, and shiver in the cold as you wait wait wait to do your part.

I feel the same exact way about traveling. You must sprint, sweat, speed in order to be in the exact right place and time to be assigned your next mission, to be dispensed the information critical to the journey: your gate has changed, the flight's been delayed, there's a terrible traffic jam. You must suffer intolerably at travel's hands while he carelessly loses your luggage, sends only one shuttle bus for a too-large crowd, and fails to show construction on the outbound bridge. You, the star of this travel farce, are acting out scenes in real time, about losing your luggage, getting caught in thunderstorms, and misplacing your passport. To the uninitiated it might seem foolish that your airport shuttle dispatcher insists you call them back once your checked bags are in hand, instead of sending a van now, right after you've landed, the exact right amount of time prior to arriving in passenger pick-up.  But for those who understand the paradox of hurry up and wait, it is for some reason cosmically critical that the driver finishes their coffee, looks up terminals, and gets caught in traffic before he can meet you. For you must pay for your diligence; the weight of the world is upon you as you shiver in the cold and wait wait wait for the lot of them to do their part.