Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 16, 2004 Food & History Some stupid decisions Jeff Cheek Last year there was a column on wise decisions. In the interest of fairness, this column concerns unwise decisions. "Too err is human," but sometimes we humans abuse that privilege. Here are a few examples. Alexander the Great was a military genius. His best friend and tent mate was Hephaestion. He even arranged for the two of them to marry sisters, so that their children would be cousins. When his friend became ill, he ordered his personal physician to care for him. When Hephaestion died, a distraught Alexander had the doctor executed. In effect, he signed his own death warrant. When he took sick, his personal physician was not there to care for him. He died at the age of 33. Jim Denny was manager of the long-running country & western show the "Grand Ole Opry." In 1954 he auditioned a young singer for a guest appearance. Denny was brutally frank. "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." The young singer he rejected was Elvis Presley. Stupidity is not confined to the United States. It happens in England, too. Dick Rowe was a talent scout for Decca Records. In March 1962 he agreed to meet Brian Epstein, who was managing an unknown pop group. Rowe listened to the demonstration record Epstein had brought, then told the manager:" I am sorry, Brian, but guitar groups are on their way out." The combo he refused to sign for Decca sold 13 million records for another company in 1968. They were the Beatles. Everyone agrees that smoking is a health hazard, but take a look at this announcement made by the National Cancer Institute in 1954. "If excessive smoking actually plays any role in the production of lung cancer, it is a minor one." Or this little gem from Business Week in 1968. "With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the US market." In 2004 approximately one third of the automobiles sold in America are Japanese. How big is a slice? France suffered through almost a century of turmoil from 1789 to 1872. They went from the Bourbon Monarchy to a republic, to the Napoleonic Empire, then Bourbon again, back to a republic, and a second Napoleonic Dynasty. When Napoleon III fell, the Third Republic was born. To restore some political stability, Marshal MacMahon offered the crown to Henri, the next Bourbon in line. He accepted, saying he would rule as Henry V. But he had one condition. The French Tricolor must be abolished and the white Bourbon flag restored. MacMahon told him he was not authorized to make that decision. "You'll be back," Henri said smugly. Wrong answer. MacMahon never returned and France is still a republic. Even great businessmen make mistakes. Wagner Typewriting Machine Company tried to sell out to Remington. The CEO said that Remington was a firearms company, and "no mere machine can replace a reliable and honest clerk." Underwood bought the company and sold l2 million of those "mere machines" the first year of production. You can make a wise decision by making a Curried Cottage Cheese lunch for these hot summer days. Ingredients 1 pint cottage cheese 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup crushed walnuts 1 teaspoon curry powder Preparation Mix all ingredients, mound onto a crisp lettuce cup. Surround cheese with colorful fruits like cantaloupe chunks, apple slices, grapes, strawberries and deseeded orange segments. Chill and serve. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams