 |
| Image: www.spoon-tamago.com |
Five seconds can be the difference between life and death. In this case, it was the difference. Under oath, I had no choice but to admit this, even if it meant damning myself in doing so.
Everything that normally brought me respect was now making me despised. The judge, the witnesses, the people in the galleys, journalists, the world it seemed had nothing but contempt for me.
But what about those witnesses? Did any of them know what it was like to be the only thing standing between life and death? Did any of them know what it took to bring a fellow human being - whose body was failing - back to life? Had any of them rushed in to try and save that kid?
My mistake perhaps was in being too forthcoming. Trying to explain my state of mind in those five seconds. I could have told a sob story about my divorce and the custody battle and claimed to have been lost in a deep trance-like state.
The problem was the old lady next to me saw what I was doing on my phone and was only too willing to testify. So instead, I told the truth. I tried to make them understand how precious those five seconds were to me. Yes, in retrospect, I may have prioritized the situation differently, but I had to act in the moment.
And after all, I had dedicated the same kind of hard work and attention to detail to this as I had to my medical profession. I couldn't just walk away. I had to remain focused. I needed those five seconds to pass the 203,181,021 mark and set the new record in Tetris.
But what about those witnesses? Did any of them know what it was like to be the only thing standing between life and death? Did any of them know what it took to bring a fellow human being - whose body was failing - back to life? Had any of them rushed in to try and save that kid?
My mistake perhaps was in being too forthcoming. Trying to explain my state of mind in those five seconds. I could have told a sob story about my divorce and the custody battle and claimed to have been lost in a deep trance-like state.
The problem was the old lady next to me saw what I was doing on my phone and was only too willing to testify. So instead, I told the truth. I tried to make them understand how precious those five seconds were to me. Yes, in retrospect, I may have prioritized the situation differently, but I had to act in the moment.
And after all, I had dedicated the same kind of hard work and attention to detail to this as I had to my medical profession. I couldn't just walk away. I had to remain focused. I needed those five seconds to pass the 203,181,021 mark and set the new record in Tetris.
No comments:
Post a Comment