“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I looked up this proverb in The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, (Third Edition), and it said, “A little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward.”
Not everything can be considered a crisis, but events that could be prevented can be downright irritating and inconvenient. One of my goals in life is to cut down on the irritating and inconvenient, so this fits in well with my “mission statement.”
The other day I went to a local library. There were signs touting the library’s “Food For Fines” program that runs between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and since I had recently dropped a book in the book return that was overdue, I took in a couple of cans of food to pay my fine.
I hadn’t wanted to throw the chili (with beans) and sweet peas in the book drop, first of all because, how would they know they were from me? And also, because they might have frozen, and I didn’t think frozen food cans exploding in the book drop was a good way to start a library worker’s day.
The library lady sternly told me that she couldn’t accept my food for fines, because I had already returned the book and didn’t have it in my hand. But, I explained, I just returned it two days ago, in the book drop, when the library was closed. There had been no way to pay the fine at the time.
She was unmoved by my story and refused the canned goods. Since she didn’t want my food I left the place and took the cans with me. Then I went to the city library and gave it to their “Food For Fines” box. I didn’t even have any fines there, but the library lady was kind and I felt like giving the food to someone who might need it.
In this case prevention would have worked. I could have returned the book earlier, thus avoiding a fine and the need for a canned goods standoff. The library could have clearly advertised their policy on needing to have “book in hand” when paying fines with chili or peas or creamed corn. Or the library lady could have made a decision to accept the canned food on the principle that my return was indeed made during the “Food For Fines” period.
I love it when I come up with these brilliant solutions. If only the world worked in the ways I devise, things would run much smoother!
Now I am trying to alert the public to avoid unnecessary purchases, by way of prevention. I was spurred to do this by a display I saw in a store for a “junk mail shredder” that Takes Care of Your Junk Mail Problems!
Of course, the easiest way to take care of your junk mail problems is to type “stop junk mail” in an Internet search engine, or go to www.newdream.org and use their tools to stop the mail. I haven’t had junk mail for years; therefore, I don’t need to buy a shredder for it.
I have yet to figure out whether some forms of prevention really work, or if they are simply highly advertised ways to get our hard-earned money. For example, vitamins – I know they are supposed to be good for you, but I still have the suspicion that those tablets are really compressed colored cardboard, and the capsules are plastic orbs filled with yellow goo, topped off with some preservative that makes us look and feel like we are healthier. My investigation is not complete! Stay tuned.
Published in The Daily Telegram, Adrian, Michigan, on December 16, 2006
No comments:
Post a Comment