Trainwreck

Sometimes you are at the right time to witness a train wreck as it happens.  You know, the situation where the deftly laid out plan is subjected to a series of anticipated and unanticipated gaffes when it all then falls apart.  But there are those rare moments, when you actually are there helping to lay down the tracks, winding up the engine and ever so eagerly pushing it to get it moving knowing all along that a catastrophe awaits.  We all sat and watched as the locals agreed to timeframes they (and we all knew) could not meet.  No matter what we said to the contrary, leadership set its vector and that was that.  “Do you realize that we tried this with less than half the contracts last year and it took us six months, but now we want to do all this in a month?” we chimed in.  “Well, it’s in “The Plan”, so they will just do what they agreed to do ……..”  Never one to miss a chance to say something, I chimed in, “but Sir, you did hear they said “Inshallah” after every sentence as they committed to this (Their definition: God willing, Our Definition: No Way!).   As a Roman once said to the slave “Row well and live”.