Mistakes

Back in 1957 or 1958 I was teaching a government class and we got to talking about the politicians making mistakes.

I remember saying that I even made a mistake once.

A young man, Terry Hager, held up his hand and when I called on him he said, "Mr. Brubaker, do you know when that was?"

"No Terry I don’t recall," I answered.

"It was when you were born," he stated.

He and the entire class got a kick out of his answer and so did I.

At the next PTA meeting, his father, Elmer Hager, came to me to apologize for his son’s behavior.

"Elmer," I said, "He did nothing wrong. I asked for it and Terry gave it to me good. I enjoyed his remarks and admired his quick wit."

Folks, it is amusing to me to listen to the political candidates of both parties tip- toeing and side stepping around trying not to make a mistake that would cost them votes from one branch or another of the voters. It seems to me they should have core beliefs and they should stand up for them regardless. They also spend a lot of time trying to explain why they have said one thing at one time and now say another. They call this "flip flopping." Folks, do you believe some things today that you did not believe a few years ago? Some of us call this "learning by experience."

I remember some sage advice I received many moons ago when I got into school administration.

"Joe," he said. "It is impossible to please everybody, so don’t even try. Make your decision on what you believe is best for the students and let the chips fall where they may."

If we are active, we will make some mistakes. If we sit around on our duffs and do nothing – That, in itself, is a mistake.

It would probably benefit us all if we would be more concerned about what we can accomplish and less on making a mistake.

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