meanwhile

When I belonged to a travelling theatre company, there was a comedy sketch we performed in which the punchline was, Meanwhile...  That is, we would enact one moment in time, followed by the entire cast saying "Meanwhile..." in deep, omininous voices, while I held up a hand drawn cardboard sign on which the word was written.  When the company arrived home after tour we were each responsible for storing a number of props and bringing them back when we reconvened.  And I was in charge of the Meanwhile.

Because I am the sort of person who procrastinates, the Meanwhile remained in my car for weeks, maybe even months, and I forgot about it.  This was in the days before there was a kid in the backseat of my car, so the backseat was just storage space which housed my gym bag, school books, shoes, Meanwhile, and any number of personal effects.

And because I am a person who frequently feels nauseated when trapped in a hot car in the winter, I was once driving down the highway with the heat on full blast and all the windows of the car open simultaneously.  And the combination of heater, highway speeds, and whipping winter wind outside, caused the Meanwhile to suddenly lift from its safe nest in my backseat and abruptly take flight out the nearest window and blow away never to be seen again.

I wondered about that Meanwhile, because it was large and colourful and difficult to ignore.  I wonder where it landed and whether it found a good home.  I would like to think it understood that I did not mean to leave it to fend for itself like that.


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