I was checking Facebook the other day and came across this “hook”:

Meet the Waltons: The Bizarre Family Behind Walmart

There followed two comments:

“Hated Grandma on that show. She was so grouchy.
And why didn’t John Boy just come out of the closet?
Like we all didn’t know!”

“I remember the first Walmart open
in Rogers, Arkansas on July 2, 1969.”

Too bad the first commenter above never had Peggy Cosby Debusk for a high school biology teacher. She taught more than biology, as this incident illustrates. Ms. Cosby (later generations would have called her Ms. Debusk) once gave a pop quiz. This was very unsettling to students like me as Ms. Cosby was known for being a tough teacher (plus the fact I probably hadn’t read the assigned homework). The directions were: “Read everything before you do anything.” Succeeding questions asked us to do strange things similar to “place five X marks in the lower left-hand corner of this paper”, “circle all the letters ‘a’ in this question”, even “stand up, turn around three times and clap your hands on each turn”. The final question said, “Answer only question number ten.” Question number ten said, “Write your name in the upper right-hand corner and turn in to your teacher.”
I was a sophomore when I miserably failed Ms. Cosby’s quiz. This was a prime example of a “test” being used as a learning tool, but I still hadn’t learned my lesson. Several years later I was putting together a water bed frame for my niece. I read the first direction, completed that action, moved to the second direction, completed it, etc. At the end of the list of directions, the instructions said something to the effect: “If you have correctly followed the steps above, the inside of the water bed frame from head to foot will be exactly seven feet, and the inside distance of the frame from side to side will be exactly four feet.” I got the side to side part correct, but not the head to foot, which meant I had to take the entire bed frame apart and start over. Like Apostle Peter when the cock crowed the third time (Mark 14: 27-72 KJV), I remembered Ms. Cosby’s quiz: “Read everything before you do anything.” One thing to read it, another thing to remember it, and still another thing to experience it. At my ever-increasing age this is becoming less of a problem, as I have to read everything several times to understand anything at all.
Had the first commentator above read beyond the words “Meet the Waltons”, s/he would have known that it was not the television family that was being discussed, but the Sam Walton family of Walmart fame.
A phrase formed itself in my mind—Read It All! That phrase took me back to a colorful county official who was known for a phrase he used when an employee expressed displeasure at working conditions—Fire ‘Em ALL!
A lot of PP (personal embarrassment, not waste fluids) could be avoided if we could only remember this bit of wisdom: the ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless. As examples, had I not just admitted in writing to the bed frame saga, none of you would be the wiser. Had not the first commentator written about the television family, no one would have known that s/he barely read the first few words of the “hook”. Much similar can be said of those who only listen to a little bit of information and “spout off at the mouth” without a little further information to see if their “tidbit” was even correct in the first place.
As I come to a close, Dear Reader, I share with you a story I received in an email from a wise friend that will perhaps best illustrate the point of this week’s article. It speaks for itself. If you've ever worked for a boss who reacts before getting the facts and thinking things through, you will love this!
[A company], feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.
On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning against a wall. The room was full of workers and the CEO wanted to let them know that he meant business.
He asked the guy, "How much money do you make a week?"
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and said, "I make $400 a week. Why?"
The CEO said, "Wait right here."
He walked back to his office, came back in two minutes, and handed the guy $1,600 in cash and said, "Here's four weeks' pay. Now GET OUT and don't come back."
Feeling pretty good about himself the CEO looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?"
From across the room a voice said, "Pizza delivery guy from Domino's.”