Winning Words 7/18/12
“Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.”  (Wyatt Earp)  Wyatt was never wounded in any of his famous gun battles, so this quote seems to fit.  Actually, it was first spoken by Xenophon, the Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th Century, BC, long before there were any guns.  One of my failings in school was that I often chose fast over accuracy.  Later, that changed when I was introduced to Xenophon.    ;-)  Jack   

FROM RI IN BOSTON:  I don't think anyone will ever accuse me of being fast.  Something inside me always says, "think about it."////FROM JACK:  Norm Abram, TV's famous Yankee Carpenter, has written a book, "Measure Twice, Cut Once."  You don't need to read it.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Earp was from Monmouth, Il...I have been told.////FROM JACK:  The city's water tower once had "Home of Wyatt Earp" painted on it.  BTW, the high school basketball team is named "The Zippers," because they have a lot of zip.  They chose that name to replace, "The Maroons."

FROM RS VACATIONING IN VERMONT:  Now if I could just get the accuracy part to work in my golf game................////FROM JACK.  You reminded me.  I once tried to see how fast I could play a round of golf and ran from shot to shot.  I can't recall the score, because fast was everything at the time.

FROM MY ATTORNEY:  You should send this to Jim Leyland. He should share it with his rookie pitcher who served up a bunch of gopher balls last night.////FROM JACK:  He was accurate alright...right over the plate.

FROM PC IN MICHIGAN:  Did I tell you I'm leading a team that's responsible for the quality checks of the technical manuals?  We do more than that but this is a primary focus of about 50% of my team.  This was so appropriate that I just sent it to my entire staff. :)////FROM JACK:  I've come to be meticulous, without being obsessive-compulsive ("Don't sweat the small stuff.")  I just came from having my car serviced.  The job was done fast and with accuracy, and the customer went away, more than satisfied.


FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Looked up accuracy - found "an accurate measurement is one which is close to the true value". Aiming for the true value is everything to me too -- the word which sticks out is "true" -- fast could be just interested in time to the neglect of truth. Maybe that's why patience is talked about in the Bible and I don't recall anything about fast except that time when Jesus was complained to about not coming fast enough to save a person's life but then he raised him from the dead anyway. ////FROM JACK:  I was led to explore why the word "fast" is used for abstaining from food.  The root of the word is "fixed or firm."  To fast is to hold tight to not eating food.  Which leads me to ask, "Why is fast food called fast food?"  It's because they serve it to you fast, and it makes you fat, fast.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Oh, the difference between nearly right, and exactly right! Excellence isn't an accident..I read a quote from Vince Lombardi (great coach): "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."  We don't always attain accuracy or excellence, but we do better if we strive for it!  That is usually not done with undue speed!  When you are juggling many tasks, however, we have all found time is a constraint!!////FROM JACK:  Vince had Bart Starr for accuracy and Willie Wood for speed.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  This was quoted often my by typing teacher.  I still remember him.  It was also quoted by my employers.////FROM JACK:  Nowadays, many people rely on the accuracy of  "spell check."  I even find myself going to Google instead of paging through the dictionary, because it's faster.


FROM FM IN WISCONSIN:  Joel, I have a friend who sends me a ‘winning word’ every day.   This is the one I received today, and I thought of David and the way he took tests, always wanting to be the first one done.   Interesting!    DAD////FROM JACK:  I, too, always wanted to be the first one to finish the test.  Then one day the chemistry teacher talked to me privately and said, "Jack, I know that you can do much better, if you take your time."  There's something else I remember him saying.  "He here stands as he oughter; he poured acid in the water.  Here he lies, calm and placid; he poured water in the acid."   


FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  You better be damn sure the guy who is faster than you isn't also more accurate. Practice, practice, practice.////FROM JACK:  The only drawing I ever did was on paper; and, the only gun I ever owned was a cap pistol.