For inexplicable reasons, I randomly remember various tag lines from television commercials and other types of advertising. Many times I can’t recall the product or service being advertised, but I remember the tag line or catch phrase. One of those I recall is “The world is round, I’ll get there.” The commercial involved a hippie in full hippie attire, including sandals I think, and he was walking without a map (this was well before cell phone navigation for sure). The narrator was trying to set him on the right direction, but he, with the look of someone high on life (or something), said, “The world is round, I’ll get there.” I wish I could recall the context or product, but regardless, I’ve thought of this line many times when I have observed people struggling to find an answer, finish a task, or figure out something. Many times people need a little direction. A little compassionate nudge. Sometimes getting there can wait and the lessons from the journey are the most important thing. Other times, guidance is critical to keep people from floundering or giving up. It is difficult to decide sometimes when to step in and offer help. Understanding that is part of life’s journey also.
I’ve heard David use the expression, “The world is round, I’ll get there” on many occasions, but I never knew, until reading his part of this post, its origin. Before commenting on this quote, I will point out the amazing impact the TV commercials that aired in childhood had on us. I can still recall some of them, such as “Come to Marlboro country”; “Chill-a-chella”; and “McDonald’s is my kind of place.” The most prolific writer of jingles is Barry Manilow and I guess we should forgive him for placing these ear worms in our brains for many decades. As for David’s musing that the world is round, he has mentioned this most often when we have gotten off track. By off track, I mean we took a wrong turn (in Albuquerque and elsewhere!), we have a disagreement over the best way to get where we are going, or there is some other difficulty that David is trying to minimize. It’s another way of saying, in the words of Bob Marley, “Don’t worry about a thing ‘cause every little thing’s gonna’ be alright.” I rode around for many miles over several weeks with a real estate agent while looking for the house where David and I moved in 2013. The realtor, despite using a GPS and other navigational devices, missed a turn every once in a while as she drove us to unfamiliar areas. I remarked at her unflappable nature during the times she had to make a U-turn or otherwise correct her course. She laughed and said her husband became angry when he got off course while driving, but as a realtor, she knew all that has to be done is turn around, or re-trace one’s path, or pull over and ask for directions. In other words, it’s not a big deal to get lost every now and then. In David’s words, and according to the long ago commercial, “The world is round, I’ll get there.” And, if I am driving, I will get there fast, with the music turned up to a loud volume!
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