I Meant To Do That
Yesterday as I left work, I was about half a flight behind some random guy in the stairwell. As he reached one of the last stairs before the landing, he tripped on his own feet (for all that I could tell) and nearly went careening down to his knees. He did not however, actually fall. What he did instead was some kind of jig.
In fast motion, he rowed imaginary oars through the air at his side and pounded one foot in front of the other while violently nodding his head and trying to catch himself. Then he did some kind of pirouette-spiral-toe-triple-Lutz, somehow got it together mid-air, and landed solidly on his feet at the bottom of the stairs, with his hands floating squarely in front of his abdomen. His Olympic landing was poised, perfectly balanced, and hysterical. I somehow managed not to laugh out loud.
He quickly turned the corner, avoided looking me in the eye, and raced down the remaining stairs. Here’s the best part: When he reached the bottom of the next flight, he hopped down the final two stairs as if he had bluebirds on his shoulder, did a kind of skippety-do, and (big finish) bounded to the bottom of the stairwell with one final leap. Again, he landed on both feet at the same time, splayed out his hands in front of him, and balanced himself in a position that screamed, I’m actually very coordinated, I do this all the time, and I did that last bit on purpose.
It was obvious to me that his grand finale was all about declaring his intention. I’ve been there. I think most folks have tried to save themselves a little embarrassment in the name of intention (albeit with a little less slapstick). Who decided that doing something stupid or absent-minded or clumsy is any less ridiculous when it is done on purpose? Well, apparently someone did and the rest of us seem to be playing along. The mainstream line of thinking seems to be: if you “meant to do that” (whatever that is) you are less of a dope.
-Hey. You brought the wrong print-out’s to the meeting.
--No. I meant to bring these. I thought they would be helpful.
Yeah, sure.
-Excuse me. I think your shirt’s on backwards.
--No, it’s not. This is how I always wear it.
Right.
-Hey buddy, your hand’s on fire.
--I know. I’m doing that on purpose.
Whatever.
I’m not buying it. I’m pretty sure that clumsy stairwell guy had no prior intention of entertaining me yesterday. But I will give him a 9.6 for technical difficulty and a perfect 10 for originality.
In fast motion, he rowed imaginary oars through the air at his side and pounded one foot in front of the other while violently nodding his head and trying to catch himself. Then he did some kind of pirouette-spiral-toe-triple-Lutz, somehow got it together mid-air, and landed solidly on his feet at the bottom of the stairs, with his hands floating squarely in front of his abdomen. His Olympic landing was poised, perfectly balanced, and hysterical. I somehow managed not to laugh out loud.
He quickly turned the corner, avoided looking me in the eye, and raced down the remaining stairs. Here’s the best part: When he reached the bottom of the next flight, he hopped down the final two stairs as if he had bluebirds on his shoulder, did a kind of skippety-do, and (big finish) bounded to the bottom of the stairwell with one final leap. Again, he landed on both feet at the same time, splayed out his hands in front of him, and balanced himself in a position that screamed, I’m actually very coordinated, I do this all the time, and I did that last bit on purpose.
It was obvious to me that his grand finale was all about declaring his intention. I’ve been there. I think most folks have tried to save themselves a little embarrassment in the name of intention (albeit with a little less slapstick). Who decided that doing something stupid or absent-minded or clumsy is any less ridiculous when it is done on purpose? Well, apparently someone did and the rest of us seem to be playing along. The mainstream line of thinking seems to be: if you “meant to do that” (whatever that is) you are less of a dope.
-Hey. You brought the wrong print-out’s to the meeting.
--No. I meant to bring these. I thought they would be helpful.
Yeah, sure.
-Excuse me. I think your shirt’s on backwards.
--No, it’s not. This is how I always wear it.
Right.
-Hey buddy, your hand’s on fire.
--I know. I’m doing that on purpose.
Whatever.
I’m not buying it. I’m pretty sure that clumsy stairwell guy had no prior intention of entertaining me yesterday. But I will give him a 9.6 for technical difficulty and a perfect 10 for originality.
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