Playing the Waiting Game

Jennifer Zurko

Sometimes I feel like all we’re doing is waiting around for something to happen. Like that part in Dr. Seuss’ book “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” when he says,

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place … for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow, or waiting around for a Yes or No, or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting …

I’m sure you could write one of your own verses to that book: “Waiting for the rain to go, or the trucks to come, or the plants to grow, or the customers to show. We’re all just waiting …”

You know what else we’re waiting for? The next “big thing” that will push our industry forward, that we can all hang our hats on, that will ensure that we stay relevant to consumers.

For this month’s cover story, I interviewed seven industry professionals and asked if they could predict what that “thing” will be. And I realized that the more we talk about what could propel our industry forward, the more we see that it’s not going to be a “thing,” but “things.” 

And if you’ve been anxiously waiting for our Spring Trials coverage, your wait is over! We’ve got highlights of key introductions, new additions, combo programs and more. And don’t forget to flip this magazine over at the end to see more Spring Trials coverage on the Green Profit side. 

I read somewhere that we spend an equivalent of six months just waiting in line over our lifetime. But, hopefully, in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss:

Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky.