Day 85: A Comedy of Errors

Day 85 started later than usual. Oversleeping my alarm by half an hour started a day fraught with lateness. I was late to every class and missed several meals as a result. All around me the campus seemed to be late as well, or maybe I was just starting to notice the late arrivals. Running to class and work is a pastime shared by several dozen students on the mountain. Briefly acknowledging each other, we sprint in opposite directions, our bags bouncing off our backs, and our breaths coming out harsh as we dash to make it to class before the professor starts into his lecture.

The routine started to get a bit ridiculous when the evening rolled around and I had not made it on time to anything. As I walked briskly to work, having no desire to run again, I was stopped by a friend. In exasperation at the delay I did the first thing that came to mind, I quoted Alice in Wonderland. “I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” was hollered over my shoulder as I kept going.

Work finally ended and I had a few minutes to grab something to eat before I had to be at my study group. Of course the line through the dining hall was absurdly long and left me with enough time to grab an apple before dashing off again. Determined to be on time to one thing that day, I decided to take a short cut through one of the buildings. Everything was going well until I tripped on the staircase and spilled the contents of my bag, books, paper, and writing utensils clattering to the ground and falling down another flight of stairs. By the time I managed to round up everything that had spilled, I was over ten minutes late to group. Tolkien was wise when he wrote “shortcuts make for long delays.”

By the time the day was through I had completely missed my scheduled walking time and the sun had long set. Having no desire to push my luck by walking at night without my headlamp, I decided to call the day a comedy of errors and promptly went to bed.

Even with their considerable trials, I have yet to find a place where there was a comedy of errors for the hobbits. There is certainly much hardship to face and many things go wrong, but there doesn’t seem to be concrete point when things just keep going wrong one after another. Bleak and seemingly hopeless points can be found throughout the story, but there are also moments of hope between these instances of trial. I guess that is one of the reasons I have always loved the Lord of the Rings, it is a book that inspires hope when none can be found. Thankfully my day went comically wrong, and not tragically wrong. There is still much hope that tomorrow will be better.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~Daisy Buttons