Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Preemptive Band-Aids

Got ready for work in a tearing hurry one day last week, which is not too unusual (providing the morning's free ice cream takes time!). But I was a bit more rushed, in part because I'd gouged the tip of my left ring finger at work earlier in the week and needed to slap a new bandage on it in a way that'd stay on.

Not too hard if you know how* but working one-handed it's a little tricky. It was my last item before grabbing shoes, briefcase, coat and lunch and the clock was tickin', so I was double-fast, then charged out on the rest of my morning. In the kitchen, Tam was getting another cup of coffee. She looked at my hands and grinned. "Preemptive bandage?" she asked.

I looked at my hands and...I'd put the band-aid on my left middle finger! No time to change it, oops. Hey, just in case?

I know why; when I was a child, I injured the pad of that finger while riding a go-kart (reached back to open the throttle up more than the pedal would move it and laid that finger right on the output sprocket of the engine, OW!). It's had a numb spot ever since...just like the injured finger next to it has temporarily.

The more haste, the less speed.

Is there a moral to this story? Well, by concentrating more on a process than the actual problem, I ended up with a neat-looking, visible, misapplied fix. Kind of just like "fixing" violence among young men by banning guns....
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* The H-shaped "knuckle" bandage is my default for anything on the hand -- it's an all-'round useful shape.

5 comments:

Drang said...

Sounds like a metaphor for congressional/governmental/Obamoid actions of any stripe.

Tango Juliet said...

Far more thought went into Bobbi's bandaid than any of Team Obama's "fixes." And it will undoubtedly be far more beneficial to mankind in general.

sam said...

Does "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" apply here?

I keep a small first aid kit at work (and a more serious one in the car), as I usually ding myself about once a week.

WV: foses

Yes, we could use more like Joe, but Foss is spelled with two esses.

Anonymous said...

Sam - Probably. Maybe ask AD? There might be a post there.

Jim

sam said...

Jim,

Prolly a good article, or long post. Maybe two parts.

"Triage as you train, train as you triage."

"Train as you treat, treat as you train."

I know a guy who teaches "Tactical Medicine." Maybe I'll see what he has to say.

--sam