Smarts

Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent person, but days like today make me wonder:

On the way to my 6 am inservice meeting I notice the gas tank is perilously empty and resolve to fill it before taking Katie to school. Anna may have noticed this last night but I pushed it off 'til tomorrow... No time now, because I am running late. I walk in just before we start but I have forgotten to bring my September report. (Wait, have I entered last week's attendance? Or the week before that???)

After the meeting, the teachers for our building gather to discuss a special activity we are planning for next week. As my phone starts buzzing it occurs to me that it is Friday (obviously, we're meeting) and Kate needs to be at school early for band sectionals. I jump up, making apologies, and head for home.

The car says I have 6 miles to go on my tank. I'm about 3 miles away from home. The school is about 2 miles away from my home, in the opposite direction from a gas station -- I can get her there on time or fill up but not both. I choose get her there on time.

As I pull away from the school my display screen shows I have 2 miles left. I am glad Anna had "doughnuts with dads" this morning. Hoping that my 6 am attendance translates to blessings of the petroleum kind, I call Sue for advice on which gas route is best. And because I don't want to run out of gas alone.

My eyes dart from the display to the road. Display. Road. Display. Road. Display. I hit zero a few blocks before the station. (Does it go below zero?) I miss the green arrow for the first station and merge back into line for the next. It prolongs my agony and adds a block to my journey but is safer than sitting at the long light. There's another car in the left turn lane. Go go go! I coast on fumes to the last free pump.

Not smart.

Wizard of Oz:  You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking.