Finishing Up

Jan 13

Not everyone watches television. And even more than that, not everyone watches the commercials. But recently there has been a commercial that contains the quote:

I finish things. That’s what I do.

-Clint Eastwood (from the movie Gran Torino)

While I initially started this post last week, I unfortunately didn’t finish it before Gran Torino actually released nation wide on 1/12/09. (How apropos!) The quote is still interesting, and Clint Eastwood is still going strong as he nears the cusp of 80 years.

I see it all of the time: a carton of milk with a little bit left, a football player getting his arms on a runner but unsuccessfully bringing him down, books on reading lists that never get crossed off, leftover food that eventually rots, a job abandoned before its time. All of these things are a task unfinished.

Everyday we perform tasks, and everyday we make choices. The finish line was made not only to be reached for, it was made to be crossed. Do I sprint, walk, or limp at the end? Or worse yet, do I not even get to see the end?

Not that I’m there, but oh that I would live so that when I look back I can see that I made choices for completion in the form of empty plates, finished projects, read books, and tackled runners. Especially tackled runners.