What Comes Around, Goes Around

What comes around, goes around.

This is one of my favorite phrases, and it is so true. The TV show, "My Name is Earl" is centered around this concept. I try not to watch a whole lot of TV, but I do find the show is funny and I like this idea that in the end, people always get what's coming to them.

Wikipedia describes the show by saying, "Jason Lee stars in the title role as "Earl J. Hickey", a petty crook with occasional run-ins with the law, whose newly won $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. While lying in his hospital bed after the accident, he develops a belief in the concept of karma when he hears about it during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. He decides he wants to turn his life around and makes a list of all the bad things he's ever done. After doing his first good deed, he finds his $100,000 lottery ticket. He sees this as a sign and, with his new lucky money, he proceeds to cross items off the list, one-by-one, by doing good deeds to atone for them."

I don't know if I'd call it karma, but I like that the character Earl is the epitome of the concept of what comes around, goes around. I also like the fact that he also organizes his time and energy around a list that he has made. (As you know, I too am a list maker...) However, over the past couple of weeks I, yet again, have experienced this idea of what comes around, goes around for myself.

The other week, one of my friend's phoned me in the early evening and told me about a lady who goes to our church who was having a problem with her well. My friend couldn't make it over to her place that night to look at her system and was concerned that the problem could make her well pump fail. When asked if I could go have a look, I said yes and headed over. In the end, there really wasn't anything wrong with the well. However, after I looked at the well pump and pressure tank, I was invited to stay for dinner, which happened to be spaghetti with probably the best sauce I have ever tried. See? I felt rewarded for doing the right thing.

The next day, I went on a hunting trip. That morning, sitting out in the woods, as the sun was just starting to appear, I said a little prayer like I always do for a successful hunt. This time I did add a little something like, "Ok God, I cheerfully did what you wanted. So perhaps if it isn't too much trouble, maybe you could somehow see your way towards sending me a nice deer?" Fifteen minutes later, I was standing over the largest deer I had gotten in the past three years. See what I mean?

Of course, this idea also works the other way for me as well. I was out in my truck on Monday and I got caught behind another truck with a hunting dog box on the back. They must have been looking for one of their hunting dogs because they were only going 10-15 mph. The bad part was, we were on a narrow road, and they were driving in the middle, and for some reason, wouldn't let me by. We continued on with me right on their rear for about a mile to the next intersection. I tried to remain calm and I didn't honk, yell, wave frantically, or use the incorrect finger to tell them I thought they were "Number One!". However, my blood was starting to boil and I didn't know what their problem was. I just wanted them to get out of my way.

We got to the intersection and they turned on their indicator to turn left. There was enough room on the right to come along side of them and make my turn. I didn't look at them when I came to their side, I just turned on my indicator, looked for any cars, and then punched it. I was actually pretty surprised at how the rear wheels on my truck peeled out with a really impressive squealing sound. This was completely unintentional and unexpected, but for me, it was the icing on the cake. In my mind I was like, "Yesss... I showed those guys!" They knew I was angry with them because they were just bad, slow, inconsiderate drivers. I mean I really showed them. The only thing that would have made my moment more rednecky is if I had a horn that played "Dixie" as I peeled out of there.

And then it happened. On my way back to Powhatan, I felt like my steering was out of alignment. "Strange", I thought. "I'll have to get that checked out." Another few miles down the road and I noticed the steering alignment was worse. And then the thudding noise started coming from the right front tire. "What is that?", I wondered. I pulled into a gas station and sure enough, I had a flat tire. Specifically, I had blown out the belt on my tire.

One hundred and forty dollars later, I asked myself, "Was that worth it?" Why hadn't I just been a little more patient? I probably could have just honked at them to get them to let me by. Who knows? My little moment of anger cost me. A lot. I didn't have to show those guys. If they were being jerks, then they would eventually get what was coming to them. I learned my lesson yet again.

What comes around, most definitely goes around.....