Joe's Words of Wisdom

My dad has surfaced in my thoughts three times in two days, the most recent being a conversation with my son. This picture of Homer Simpson is for him...it'll be what he can say to his mother if he procrastinates any longer.

My dad was famous for 2 sayings that he passed along to us right after he told us that, 'Experience is a dear teacher and fools will learn no other.'

The first one was: Only a fool runs out of gas.

He'd say, "Pay attention to the gas gauge, and when it is approaching half [full or empty], fill it up. You can't be sure how close a gas station will be when you are running on empty. And if your car breaks down in the cold of winter, having gas in the tank will help to keep you warm until help arrives. I have thought of a 2008 new reason to fill it up when it is at the halfway mark. It will cost less than filling up the whole tank especially with the pricey cost that we are paying now. If you do that consistently, you won't feel like you are breaking the bank to put gas in the car.

The second one was: Do it now.

Dad paid $15 to go to a workshop [back in the '40's or '5o's], and when asked what he had gotten out of it, all he could say was ,"Do it now." He said that they told the participants in the conference that when a thought flies into your head, to act upon it immediately instead of putting it off. For example, if you notice that you haven't put your keys on the key rack, instead of saying to yourself, 'I have to remember to put those keys back, do it now. And then you won't have to spend time looking for them when you want to leave [in a hurry]. It will save you time and aggravation in the end.

And so, there you have it.

The moral of the story is : Fill up the gas tank now, and don't let it go below half.