Do you remember my "10 mistakes" post? Well, I recently made a mistake of huge proportions that I didn't mean to make and am hoping that it doesn't lead anyone to believe that I am a Nazi sympathizer. No, seriously.
Now, we've already covered that fact that we all make mistakes. Big mistakes, small mistake, no matter the size we all make them. While I try my best cover myself from the BIG mistakes, like making sure that I lock the car doors and the gate so that littlest doesn't escape with my keys and try to drive off without my knowing, you know safety first, I sometimes make little mistakes like say, forgetting to put laundry detergent in the washer. But this, my friends is a big mistake, the embarrassing kind, worse than the t.p. dragging behind the shoe and more like accidentally swinging an anvil in a crowded room, although I'm not sure how you would accidentally do that, but anyway...
I must start by saying that this big oops was not necessarily by my doing anything, but rather my trusting an outside source and then doing something, actually a number of things, with the information provided by the unknown source.
Earlier his year I had the occasion to write a number of thank you notes. I went off to the scrapbooking aisle of my dreaded local superstore, picked up a package of blank note cards and a little pad of quotes. You may know just the kind I mean, various quotes, some spoken by truly inspirational people like Mother Teresa, and others were just a word like BELIEVE, all were printed on vellum in various colors and fonts. Home I went to make my cards. I used happily colored papers and the vellum quotes, wrote my notes of thanks , stamped and sent them off.
One of my favorites from this stack was this...
"Whatever you can do
I must start by saying that this big oops was not necessarily by my doing anything, but rather my trusting an outside source and then doing something, actually a number of things, with the information provided by the unknown source.
Earlier his year I had the occasion to write a number of thank you notes. I went off to the scrapbooking aisle of my dreaded local superstore, picked up a package of blank note cards and a little pad of quotes. You may know just the kind I mean, various quotes, some spoken by truly inspirational people like Mother Teresa, and others were just a word like BELIEVE, all were printed on vellum in various colors and fonts. Home I went to make my cards. I used happily colored papers and the vellum quotes, wrote my notes of thanks , stamped and sent them off.
One of my favorites from this stack was this...
"Whatever you can do
or dream you can,
Begin it;
Boldness had genius,
power and magic in it."
Lovely sentiment, I thought. To me it meant, go for the gusto, follow your dreams, be BOLD. I used this quote in various places. I'm sure that I put it on at least a couple of those thank yous, added it to my favorite quotes of Facebook, and I'm pretty sure that I used it here in one of my earlier posts. Of course I always gave "Props" to the author, Goeth, having no idea who this Goeth was..
And then, just the other day, as I was writing a birthday letter to my Dad and Step Mom, it made sense to add a little something extra. I looked and looked for the right thing to add at the end. I searched here and there. Finally, I settled on that same trusted saying. Rather than just write it and credit the man or woman who said it, I decided to write something more. My hope was to write something like,"Renowned poet, Frederick Van Goeth once said," or," French impressionist Margaret Meredeth Goeth, upon taking her last breath, gave this advice to her children...". Something that had color, flair. And so to Wikipedia I went. "G-O-E-T-H", I typed and what popped up made my stomach hit the floor. I read the information and then noticed that the name was spelled differently, "Whew" I thought to myself ,"Dogged that one". I retyped the name and when the same page came up again I decided to search someplace else, rather than trust my Wiki, as I had my lovely stack of quotations. NO SUCH LUCK.
Unfortunately, my dear friends, it seems that Goeth, is indeed...
Amon Leopold Goth (Two dots over the "O" that I can't find on the keyboard I guess represent the "E") (11 December, 1908- 13 September 1946) was a Hauptsturmfuhrer of the SS and was the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Plaszow. He was responsible for the death and torture of thousands upon thousands of innocent people. Ralph Fiennes played him in Schindler's list.
See, your stomach just hit the floor too, didn't it. Now this my friends is a mistake, and while I do blame the company who's papers I used, I must also hold myself accountable for not checking up on it. You see, you can trust Mother Teresa and Oprah, but if you don't recognize the name, be sure to investigate. It would be a fantastic thought, had it been thought by someone known to be warm and loving, but when said by someone like that it takes a rather ominous tone. I can just imagine the many women, and men just to be p.c., sitting around the table at their scrapbooking party, unknowingly placing the little piece of paper next to the picture of their son at graduation or the one of their newborn grandchild. I can almost see the interns placing that on the list to go into that package as a little joke to pay for their ink stained fingers. Ha back, and a pox on your sales. It might have even been better to quote Edgar Allan Poe, who was crazy as all get out, but probably not as evil. I remember an episode of the West Wing where the characters were debating on whether or not to use something said by Chairman Mao, because he was a communist leader. I can't remember what was finally decided, but it is pretty much the same debate as is going on in my mind now. I think it does matter. If I place the paper on my fridge to remind me to follow my dreams, I think it would instead just remind me of sadness and atrocities, which are of course important to remember, but not necessarily on the fridge.
I guess I can chalk it up to a lesson learned. Check your references. I was taught that in seventh grade by Miss Ayers, I guess the importance just didn't sink in until now. And so , once again, my mistake lead to a lesson learned. I will do my best next time, and will forgive myself for the big one this time, but next time you notice that I do something like that, would you kindly swing an anvil in my direction?
And then, just the other day, as I was writing a birthday letter to my Dad and Step Mom, it made sense to add a little something extra. I looked and looked for the right thing to add at the end. I searched here and there. Finally, I settled on that same trusted saying. Rather than just write it and credit the man or woman who said it, I decided to write something more. My hope was to write something like,"Renowned poet, Frederick Van Goeth once said," or," French impressionist Margaret Meredeth Goeth, upon taking her last breath, gave this advice to her children...". Something that had color, flair. And so to Wikipedia I went. "G-O-E-T-H", I typed and what popped up made my stomach hit the floor. I read the information and then noticed that the name was spelled differently, "Whew" I thought to myself ,"Dogged that one". I retyped the name and when the same page came up again I decided to search someplace else, rather than trust my Wiki, as I had my lovely stack of quotations. NO SUCH LUCK.
Unfortunately, my dear friends, it seems that Goeth, is indeed...
Amon Leopold Goth (Two dots over the "O" that I can't find on the keyboard I guess represent the "E") (11 December, 1908- 13 September 1946) was a Hauptsturmfuhrer of the SS and was the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Plaszow. He was responsible for the death and torture of thousands upon thousands of innocent people. Ralph Fiennes played him in Schindler's list.
See, your stomach just hit the floor too, didn't it. Now this my friends is a mistake, and while I do blame the company who's papers I used, I must also hold myself accountable for not checking up on it. You see, you can trust Mother Teresa and Oprah, but if you don't recognize the name, be sure to investigate. It would be a fantastic thought, had it been thought by someone known to be warm and loving, but when said by someone like that it takes a rather ominous tone. I can just imagine the many women, and men just to be p.c., sitting around the table at their scrapbooking party, unknowingly placing the little piece of paper next to the picture of their son at graduation or the one of their newborn grandchild. I can almost see the interns placing that on the list to go into that package as a little joke to pay for their ink stained fingers. Ha back, and a pox on your sales. It might have even been better to quote Edgar Allan Poe, who was crazy as all get out, but probably not as evil. I remember an episode of the West Wing where the characters were debating on whether or not to use something said by Chairman Mao, because he was a communist leader. I can't remember what was finally decided, but it is pretty much the same debate as is going on in my mind now. I think it does matter. If I place the paper on my fridge to remind me to follow my dreams, I think it would instead just remind me of sadness and atrocities, which are of course important to remember, but not necessarily on the fridge.
I guess I can chalk it up to a lesson learned. Check your references. I was taught that in seventh grade by Miss Ayers, I guess the importance just didn't sink in until now. And so , once again, my mistake lead to a lesson learned. I will do my best next time, and will forgive myself for the big one this time, but next time you notice that I do something like that, would you kindly swing an anvil in my direction?
1 comment:
There is a poet by the name of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who I've seen quoted frequently. I think he's quite possibly (and more likely) the person who made the statement. I'd research further if I had the time, but you can look through his work if you have the time. If that's the case, I think you can let yourself off the hook :)
Post a Comment