Long-term planning backfires

Rick Reilly did a great piece this past week on Gerry Sandusky.

No, not that Jerry Sandusky, which is kind of the whole point of the news piece, which I highly recommend you catch on ESPN's website.

There's a Baltimore broadcaster named Gerry Sandusky, who constantly gets hate mail and second looks from people who think he's Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse.

Gerry Sandusky noted that he wasn't a victim, like the abused children and their families. He was inconvenienced, and it was a huge difference.

Reilly asked Gerry Sandusky if he'd consider a name change, and the response was never. He didn't want to turn his back on his mother and father, and he said one of the biggest lessons from the fallout at Penn State is that doing the convenient thing in the short term (in this case, not turning Jerry Sandusky in on early allegations) is rarely the right long-term choice.

It's a stretch, but I realized the inverse of that late Friday night, as my long-term smart thing was a short-term dumb thing.

After getting an oil change Wednesday, I asked a service department manager I trusted who does window tinting around the area. Having clear windows makes for hot car rides during the summer, and I figured it was time to at least stem the tide. I also figured it limited wear and tear on the interior, and would thus be a good long-term investment since I plan to keep the car another five to six years.

The guy who did the tinting did a great job, and the car looked much sharper than before. He only told me one thing before I left: "Make sure you don't roll your windows down or wash the windows for the next 24 hours, so it's got a chance to set in properly."

I quickly realized I should have done this tinting months ago, for two reasons. First, it made the car more comfortable. Second, eastern New Mexico actually had a cool day on Friday, which was my responsibility in the same way that car wash you got a few weeks ago caused that same-day rainfall. Thanks for the rain, and you're welcome for the cool day.

The day, cool as it may have been, got stressful late. With about 30 minutes to go on the evening following a football Friday night, the power went out at the newspaper office. We found out it would be at least two hours before restoration, so we made interim plans. I typed my story from home, and decided to spring for sodas for the office.

If you're already saying, "Dummy," I concur, for I am also now in the future. It wasn't until I was the next car in the drive-through, trapped behind three other cars, that I realized I couldn't roll down my window.

So, to the people behind me in the drive-through or working at the restaurant that night, wondering what that idiot was doing pulling an extra few feet to the right and stepping out of his car at the order and pickup windows, thanks for being inconvenienced.

I'm not an idiot; just a long-term planner taking a short-term hit.

Kevin Wilson is a columnist for Clovis Media Inc. He can be contacted at 763-3431, ext. 313, or via email: [email protected]