Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Assume, the definition.

When I was an instructor, the one thing I always stressed, ‘do not assume’. It is not original, the definition has been around for years. As the Wise Man of old said, “There is nothing new under the sun!”.

To Assume, makes an ASS out of U & ME.

apln33l

Yep, I still do that myself.  When Shirl was going thru the huge job of ‘downsizing’, she had to learn to depend on someone doing what they promised, she had to learn not to assume that the ‘painter, electrician, plumber or carpet man’ will  be there when he said he would. Until you learn that, your stress level will go thru the ceiling.

There was a time when 90% of all tradesmen would give their word, and you could take it ‘to the bank’. Today that percentage has declined (in my opinion), to less than 10% keeping their word, to the letter. Sherry & Shirl always say, “At least they could call!”  They are right of course, but that urgency is not there anymore. The attitude is more like: I’ll get there when I get there!

When I started building, I learned that getting upset and changing ‘subs (sub contractors)’ usually back fired except in rare cases. They all seemed to be running on the same fuel. Ever get in a traffic jam and try to go around it, and find out that too many others are trying the same thing.

In the last couple days we have had contractors come by to give some estimates for paving. They have been on time. I hope when we choose, that the work will be done on time.

I also have learned ‘Do not assume’ that because the turn signal is on, that the driver is going to turn. He may be deaf like me, and his wife is not there to tell him, the signal light is still on!!!

Living in an RV and leaving your awnings out when you leave, is ASSUMING that you are not gong to have any high winds’.  Lose one awning and you will NEVER assume that again.(voice of experience)

Sorrowfully, I do not assume that every marriage is going to last. Just in the last few months, marriages that I thought were solid as a rock, have broken up.

If you need to apologize to someone, DO IT, do not assume you or they will be around next week, one of you may be pushing up daisies by then.

zzdaisies

Now I hope I will be back tomorrow. Thanks for being here today.

Nite Shipslog

PS: A spiritual thought!

BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What does she say?"
The little boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"

According to some, this is one of the worlds ugliest cars, not that bad to me The AMC PACER:

AMC PAcer

A pregnant roller skate with front doors of different sizes.

9 comments:

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Back in the day DDH had a Pacer for a work car and when it got replaced he gifted it to the two older sons so they could get back and forth. That old car saw a lot of miles and everyone loved it. DDH also told me to always say things clearly and not to assume he understood what I was talking about too. It sure made things a lot easier when I came to realize that I should never assume anything. It was a very valuable lesson.

shirl72 said...

I am going to assume this is going to print.
You are right we can't assume anything anymore.
I have missed good sales because I assumed the
things I wanted would be there next day. We do assume a lot and hope things work out.

Shirl

Paula said...

I hope you will be here tomorrow to write and I be here to read but I'm not assuming.

betty said...

I remember the pacers, they were sort of cute in an ugly sort of way!

whenever I "assume", I always remember what assume means, LOL, because I'm usually wrong about something that I assumed.

It does gripe me when someone doesn't show up to do work; you would think in this economy people would want to be there getting the job done!

betty

Lucy said...

You never spoke truer words. I am going to assume that I will still be here to read your blog tonight. I never miss but I assume there will be a time when I won't make it to anyone's blog. Then you all can assume I may be under the green grass. Not to soon cause I have some living to do.

Dar said...

Yes, I, too, have done my share of assuming. We assumed that contractors would show up to give us estimates when the shed was blown down. Finally, we got an estimate from the 5th attempt. Pretty sorry, especially with todays economy. Those contractors must be pretty busy or just don't want to work.
Bill just assumed I knew what he was talking about when I ordered him the wrong meds. Normally the drug store does not fill them if they are ordered early, sooo, I assume Bill forgot to take them every day, right? And so right you are on the assumption that some togetherness should last forever, and we assumed wrong again. I don't get it! Where's the love!
I also assumed that I'd be healthier than my own mother at our ages, and Wrong again. I will probably see the roots of those daisies long before she does. Assume nothing, however, I do assume you two are doing swell. On that note, have a great day, my dear friends.
BlessYourHearts

Fred Alton said...

This blogpost is brutally true! I don't know when it happened - and I miss the days when a man's (or woman's) word was their bond.

Ken Riches said...

Sage advice. I know my wife and I never go to bed upset or angry.

Amelia said...

You're right, it's not good to assume because it can very well set us up for disappointment. I guess we all do it though..

Missy