Killing time. A great song by Clint Black, and an often used phrase that makes no damn sense. Personally I don’t think that there are enough hours in the day. And now that I within spittin’ distance of 70, I want to make every minute count.

Killing Time

This morning in our “Decade With Jim” series on Instagram, I shared a few thughts about killing time. “Decade With Jim, day 1,539. Sometime around 5:30 this morning when I finished scraping tile and sweeping the floor in preparation for yet ANOTHER home repair project this fall, a thought came came to mind. Killing time. Where did that phrase come from?

I have never had time to kill. Every day is filled with new opportunities and new frustrations. I start the day with projects unfinished from yesterday, and end the day with new projects waiting their turn in line. In between is what makes it worthwhile, time with friends, time with family, and time for memory making adventures.

The Homestead

If, by chance, I ever get bored there is always something to do around the old homestead. Just like me there is something that worked yesterday but doesn’t today.

At the homestead a leak leads to a wall or floor repair. And that leads to paint or a wild idea to move a wall. But due to a pressing deadline or travel schedule, I do a quick patch and add that repair to the list. Next thing I know it is six months or a year later, and now the problem requires immediate attention.

One Day At A Time

For those who happen to think that the life of the author and travel journalist is one lived in exotic locations where adventure awaits. Well, let’s look behind that curtain. Let’s look at my schedule for the rest of June.

I kicked off the morning by responding to several dozen emails that required immediate attention. The other dozen or so will be answered at the end of the day.

Next I finished prepping a floor so I can replace it this fall or winter. Meanwhile we will continue residing in a construction zone.

The rest of the day’s schedule includes a conference call about a Route 66 centennial atlas project. This endeavor is several months behind what was initially planned for a litany of reasons.

I need to finish getting gear together and packing, and pick up a rental car. Tomorrow morning before sunrise I will again be on the road. The destination for this adventure is the AAA Route 66 Road Fest in Tulsa where I am to make two presentations, and cover the event for an upcoming feature article.

But the highlight of the day will be dinner. Some dear friends from Germany will be in town. And as it so happens, my son and his wife are also stopping by. This is the proverbial icing on the cake.

Road Trip

Seven days is allocated for the roundtrip to Tulsa. This includes an evening presentation at a museum, and a chamber of commerce meeting where I will speak on Route 66 tourism as a catalyst for economic development. The trip schedule also includes gathering photos to be used in illustrations for a Route 66 centennial anthology and one other project. Then there is a meeting with the president of the Route 66 Association of New Mexico, and a meeting with the Tucumcari Main Street director.

But what is a road trip without an opportunity to visit with old friends and associates? So, I have added a bunch of these to the trip as well. A few of these visits blur the line as they will be a shared meal with old friends that just happen to be accomplished authors that are also working on the Route 66 centennial anthology.

To ensure boredom is kept at bay there are several book signings, and attendance of the State of New Mexico Route 66 Centennial Commission stakeholder meeting. There are also two receptions in Tulsa, and if all goes well, an epsiode of Coffee With JIm, the podcast from Jim Hinckley’s America from the road.

I have two days for the return trip. The day after getting back to Kingman, I meet with our friend from German who is leading a Route 66 Germany tour. That is followed by lunch, and a program, for a Two Lane America tour led by Austin Coop, another old friend.

Wrapping Up The Month

And that leaves me just about a week to finish the other pressing projects for June. This includes blogs for clients and preparing project photo files.

And that takes us full circle. Which projects at the homestead will become a priority?

Killing time. I don’t thinks so!