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Taylor: Checklists, to take and to leave

Lake Country columnist Jim Taylor’s weekly column
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A friend used to own his own plane. More accurately, one-fifth of a plane. I never figured out which fifth of it he owned, but you can’t fly a fifth of a plane by itself anyway, so whenever we went flying together, he took the whole plane along.

I was always impressed by the time he spent before takeoff checking over the plane—and not just his fifth of it. I was impatient to get up into the skies. But no, he walked around the plane, testing every moveable part by hand.

And when he got into the cockpit, he had a list of things to check. Controls, instruments, safety equipment…. He didn’t just glance down the list and assume everything was all right. He went down the list point by point, not going on to the next point until he had physically examined whatever it was.

He read each item aloud, even when he had no one else with him. It was his way of making sure he didn’t overlook anything, he explained.

“If something goes wrong at 5,000 feet,” he said, “you can’t get out and walk home.”

After that explanation, I learned to be more patient about the time spent on his checklists.

And I sometimes think I should adopt some of his safety procedures. Like, perhaps, walking around my car before I get into it, to make sure that none of the tires has gone flat, that no signal lights have been damaged.

I’ve also reached the age where I realize I need checklists. I don’t remember things the way I once did. I’ve lost track of the number of times I have forgotten my wallet. Or my hearing aids. Or my house keys.

I could print up some all-purpose checklists and fasten them to the wall at the foot of the stairs. Just to remind me of things I might have forgotten on my way out.

Have I taken my cellphone, in case of emergencies?

Do I have my sunglasses?

And even, perhaps, did I remember the list of the things I’m supposed to do while I’m out, so that I don’t have to make a second trip later?

As I write those words, it occurs to me that perhaps I should include some things not to take with me. Excess baggage I should jettison before take-off, so to speak.

Have I left behind any grudges, anger, or hostility that I may be feeling? Carried with me, they might negatively influence my driving, or my behavior at a meeting, or even the attention I can give a friend.

Have I set aside any prejudices, preconceptions, or lingering bits of folk wisdom that could interfere with learning something new? I can’t deal with new situations if my mind is already made up by past situations.

And am I willing to leave my ego in a storage locker? This one’s tough. But there are sure to be times when I need to remember that it’s not all about me.

I know I’ll think of more things to add to my checklists, as I go along. But perhaps that’s a good enough start.

Author Jim Taylor lives in Lake Country: rewrite@shaw.ca