mistakes, those crummy
mistakes are only mistakes
if admitted to
“Generosity, that was my first mistake,” so says bandit leader Calvera in the Magnificent Seven.
And, sorry, you can remake this movie 100 times but Calvera will always, only be Eli Wallach.
Even a bandit leader can admit to a mistake.
Neither here nor, but I was reading today about how the President was making a speech and asked if a certain Congresswoman was in attendance.
The Congresswoman in question was not in attendance as the Congresswoman was dead.
When the Congresswoman was killed in a car accident earlier this year, the White House had issued a statement of remorse and condolence in the name of the President so it was fair to assume the President was aware of her untimely demise.
When the White Press Office was questioned about it, “Did the President mis-speak, make a mistake, was the error in his prepared teleprompter remarks?”
But the Press Office would say neither Yeah no Nay and ended their comments with, “I’ve answered it multiple times already in this room, and my answer is certainly not going to change,” she said. “All of you may have views on how I’m answering it, but I am answering the question to the way that he saw it. And the way that we see it.”
Not looking for a political axe to grind either way but just wondering why it is so difficult for the feller in the White House to say “I made a mistake.”
The previous feller admitted every mistake he ever made.
I mean to say, the previous feller would have admitted any mistake the minute he made that first mistake.
So in 2019, Hurricane Dorian was coming.
The President was told that the east coast would be hit along with Bahama.
The President heard what he wanted to hear and when he tweeted (I don’t miss those days one bit) instead of Bahama, he includes Alabama.
Trump, Donald J (September 1, 2019). “In addition to Florida – South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated. Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever. Already category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!”. (Twitter).
Which came as a great surprise to the people in Alabama.
Rather than say oops, the White House went to great lengths to PROVE that Alabama had ALWAYS been in the predicted path was coming.
I am reminded of a bit of dialogue in the book the Caine Mutiny where Captain Queeg is being questioned by a Captain Grace about the tow line cutting incident.
Captain Grace asks Queeg to be honest and admit he made a mistake.
Captain Grace says, “... let’s both put this incident behind us. On that basis I can understand it and forget it. It was a mistake, a mistake due to anxiety and inexperience. But there’s no man in the Navy who’s never made a mistake ”
But Queeg (in the movie played by Humphrey Bogart but it is important to remember that in the book, Queeg is around 28 years old) responds, “No, Captain, I assure you I appreciate what you say, but I am not so stupid as to lie to a superior officer, and I assure you my first version o£ what happened is correct and I do not believe I have made any mistake as yet in commanding the Caine nor do I intend to.“
In a way it was good to hear he did not INTEND to make a mistake, but I digress.
Ho-hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
In July of 1863, after General Grant took Vicksburg he got this note from the President that said in part, “When you got below, and took Port-Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join Gen. Banks; and when you turned Northward East of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you were right, and I was wrong.”
It was signed, simply, A. Lincoln.
A later comment on this letter by a friend of Mr. Lincoln’s said, “was not intended for effect as some suppose but was perfectly in character.”
Character.
Good word.
Better character trait.
To have character I mean.
I guess instead of people with character, today the Office of President of the United States only attracts people who are characters.
No Haiku For You 