THE ELEVENTH HOUR
The eleventh hour is the nick of time, just before it is too late to complete a task or make an appointment. It is a yearning to use time judiciously especially when there’s some compensation. A master went out early in the morning to hire workers and arranged to pay an agreed some for the day’s work. Much later in the day, he went out and found others standing idle and hired them. At the eleventh hour, he goes out again and finding some hanging about, he asks why they waited idle. No one has hired us is their reply. So, they were looking? He hires them too. At the end of the day’s work, everyone gets their wages. The first group had worked longer hours of course, and thought they’d receive more for their time. They grumbled about receiving the same sum as the last set of hired hands.…