Left Foot, Right Foot, On We Go
Two minds walk into a room with a white board. Neither mind is alike. We will call one Left and one Right.
There is a problem on the white board. Left turns to Right. Right is looking at the board. Left looks at the board.
“That which is not here is here. Therefore must be?”
“Seems broad,” Left says.
“Needs to be broken down,” Right says.
Left cracks his knuckles. Right pulls out his laptop, turns it on, signs in, and opens a new page. Left stands in front of the board.
“We should start tossing ideas at this thing,” Left says.
“I’ve already started on here,” Right says. “I’m categorizing them.”
Left smiles. Right remains stern. The problem remains unsolved.
Two hours pass.
Left has jot notes under the message. They are incoherent notes and resemble basement clutter. Right has his categories. They are color coded. Definitive words are highlighted in a rotund black font. There are no answers.
“What do you got?” Left says.
Right glances up, and then back to his screen.
“Got any of this?” Left says, and points to his basement clutter.
“A few,” Right says. “But in a different context, I think.”
So Left thinks, glances at the board, recites the message three times, and turns back to Right. “We should compare notes,” Left says.
Right obliges and slides over. Left joins him and begins to recite the message again.
“I have it right here,” Right says, and taps his computer screen.
Left gives it a gander, and starts asking questions. Right soaks in the dialogue. There is silence.
“Why were you asked here?” Right says.
“To work on a team,” Left says. “Wasn’t given much info, really. How about you?”
“The same,” Right says. “I was expecting a larger team.”
Left chuckles. “It would make things easier,” he says.
“Exactly,” Right says.
Left and Right sit. Left looks at the organized thoughts. Right sorts through the basement clutter.
“I have an idea,” Left says.
“So do I,” Right says.
And there it is.