Always Be Prepared

Although “always be prepared,” may be a great motto for some, I however have found it to be more of a mixed bag.

In being prepared, I think one should always have a pen handy, but this has also proved to be a flawed theory. It was 11:00 pm and the next day we were slated to drive to Texas to drop our son off at college. Before going to bed, we just had few loose ends to tie up. As I opened the dryer, I found my mistake, I had left a pen in my shorts and blue ink stains were everywhere. When I told my family of my gaffe, they were quite irritated with me seeing it was our travel clothes for the next day. I have previously left tissues in my pocket, but this was far more frustrating and costly. The end result, we had to buy some new clothes, wear some with stains on them, but in time I was forgiven and now I try to be better prepared by checking all my pockets twice before I wash anything.

There was another time when I was changing the oil in my car and learned a valuable lesson. The oil change was going smoothly and I was almost done, pouring the oil back into the engine. I just needed to check and see if more was needed and then I was finished. To my horror, when I pulled the dipstick it was dry. In my haste, I had forgotten to screw the plug back into the oil pan and as I peered under the car there was an enormous puddle of oil on the asphalt. Fortunately, nothing some rags, papers towels, and a lot of oil dry couldn’t fix. So now when I change my oil I always double check to see if the plug is in and I always have oil dry on hand.

In life, whether we are prepared or not bad stuff happens. I have found it is always best to shake it off and keep washing till the blue ink stains fade or keep putting oil dry on the spill till it is soaked up. Regardless of your dilemma, always remember to be prepared to learn from your mistakes.

“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.” ~Winston Churchill

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No Excuse

There was a time in my life when I was an avid excuse maker. Now, I tend to become easily frustrated when others do the same. In the past month, I have scratched my head as I watched oil spill into the Gulf and wondered to myself, "why doesn't someone do something?" I have grown weary of men in high places making excuses instead of someone just taking responsibility and finding a solution.

This got me to thinking about our society in general, it seems to me we tend to be blame shifters. I speak from experience because as I said before, I used to be a full-fledged member. Too often when something goes wrong or someone is in need you hear, "it's not my problem, let somebody else deal with it." The spill in the Gulf reminded me of a day when I did something instead of just standing around watching the world go by.

One morning, during my bugkilling days, I was servicing a small grocery store when an opportunity presented itself. There was a little boy who wanted some milk, but had no money. Then, I overheard the clerk tell him that he couldn't help, so I asked if I could pay for it. The clerk advised against it, seeing how the child's parents were careless with their money. While I understood his position, I couldn't justify refusing the child milk. So, despite the man's suggestion I paid for the milk because it just seemed like the right thing to do. It was good to see the little boy leave with a smile and a jug of milk under his arm. I didn't solve all his problems, but for once he didn't hear, "I'm sorry, I can't help you." Instead, he saw a solution. Lame excuses don't make the cereal float in your bowl.

Obviously you or I can't fix the oil spill in the Gulf, but perhaps we can learn from it. Wouldn't we all be better off if we all spent more time applying what Elbert Hubbard once suggested, "don't make excuses, make good."

Swavel