Patience Is Tested In The City!

Business professionals impatiently awaiting the arrival of their business associates

While life in the urban continues apace, time seems to stand still for these persons who wait at the Water Taxi Terminal for their business associates to arrive. The visibly agitated woman on the left stands erect with her arms folded and phone in hand ready to call a business associate  who, by the disposition of the woman, appears to be late for an important meeting or possibly an interview. Likewise, the man on the right clutches his personal documents as he anxiously awaits the arrival of his business partner. He impatiently scratches his forehead as for him time is of the essence. For these two persons the opportunity cost of having to wait for someone, is the lost business ventures or productivity which cannot be recovered. Undoubtedly, patience is tested in the city!

In their book, “One Way Urban Theory,” urban theorists Noreen Mallory and Kurt Boone, state that “One thing is for sure time moves on and waits for no one” (Mallory and Boone, 2007). Our daily lives in the city consist of joggling our time and trying to scavenge enough time to accomplish the goals we set out to achieve for each day. As plainly stated by Albert Einstein, ‘time is of the essence’, even in the seemingly relaxed Caribbean island of Trinidad. Once gone, we can never get it back and the lost time means lost productivity and hence, lost returns. Urban theorist Lewis Mumford, states that, “the bells of the clock tower almost defined urban existence,” emphasizing the enormous power time has over human beings especially in the city (Mumford, 2010). It determines our actions and experiences as our lives begin to revolve around time. 

REFERENCES

Mallory, Noreen and Boone, Kurt. (2007). One Way Urban Theory. Kurt Boone Books.

Mumford, Lewis. (2010). Technics and Civilization. University of Chicago Press.