…Take it!” Wise words from Yogi Berra. You can see more here. I was thinking of this one as we discussed a young man tonight who was in a university program he didn’t like and that didn’t fit his interests, but was afraid of his parents’ displeasure were he to switch. Also, he might not get their support. He has a definite artistic bent and they’ve shoe-horned him into a business school. Is this his “fork in the road”? Must he take it now or miss a productive, satisfying life that may be awaiting him, or will there be another “fork” later that will come on like a steam locomotive heading for the coal yard.

My limited experience is that it’s the small “forks” — the small decisions — that decide our fate, not the big ones like what to study in college or what religion to follow. OK, I know for Thomas Merton it was becoming a Catholic and later joining the Trappists. In my case the biggest decision in my life was based on my liking blue suits more than brown suits (had never had a brown suit by that point in my life). I was late to a group of pitches given in college by the Army and the Air Force R.O.T.C. programs aimed at gaining recruits. I wanted to join one of them, because I didn’t want to be drafted out of school. For the reason given I joined the Air Force ROTC, went to California where I met my wife and ultimately settled. Everything that has happened in my life since that day has flowed from that day. That was my biggest “fork in the road,” yet I had no idea of its importance that day.

P.S. Believe me, any young guys who are reading this: one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your life will be whether to use a condom some certain night — and you won’t know ahead of time which night will be your “fork in the road.”