There

Sometimes it seems words have a greater impact than at other times.
I heard the phrase “we’re not there yet” yesterday.  I have heard that phrase many times but yesterday it seemed to have the force of a hammer behind it.  For some reason it really impacted on me.
I used to drive the Townsville-Brisbane, Townsville-Cairns trip a lot.  Until I was where I was going, I was not there yet.  It did not matter if I had just left Townsville or was on the outskirts of Cairns, I was not there yet.  I was not there until I was there.
The sign could say Cairns 224 Klms.  I would calculate in my head (that is where I do my calculations), at 100 klms an hour that is two and a bit hours away.  Even a sign saying Cairns 2 klms meant there was a ways to go before I could say I was there.  Although I enjoyed driving, I was always glad to get there.
One time I was driving from somewhere to somewhere at night and I knew it was time for sleep.  What gave it away was the road taking the shape of a sailing vessel.  That did not happen everyday and if it did, I really should desist from driving.  I pulled over at a service station and had some sleep in the car.  It is probably why I lived to tell the tale.
It seems it is sad but true there are things that will keep me from being able to say I am there.  Some things are terminal and other things are delays.  Dying in an accident is terminal.  Getting a flat is a delay, as is running out of petrol.
One time I was on my motorcycle travelling from Townsville to Brisbane.  I hit an oil patch in Mackay.  There are many words to describe what happened, but control is not one of them.  I came a cropper.  My brother was on another bike and went off to get the parts I needed, while I sat on the side of the road.  We got where we were going but that delayed us.  We could not say we were there because we weren’t.
On road trips there were many things that could delay me if I let them.  In the comedy movie “Rat Race” some of the main players were in a car heading to Las Vegas.  A billboard proclaimed the “Barbie” museum was coming up.  The daughter really wanted to go there to see Barbie dolls, so they did.  They did not know the “Barbie” museum celebrated the life and times of the German Nikolaus “Klaus” Barbie the notorious Gestapo agent.  Judging by the others there, they were square pegs in round holes.
It seems to me that to be able to say I am there, I need to know where there is and set a course for it.  What do they say “aim at nothing and you are sure to hit it.”  There are sure to be distractions.  On a road trip I can visit a museum or a farm or Aunt Mable who lives off the beaten track about 10 kilometres away.  Sometimes places like that are “there.”  When they are not it is important to me that I set my sights on where “there” is and avoid anything that may keep me from getting there.