I was about 10 years old when my dad took me on one of his endless field trips for work. My job was to sit there and bond or something. His was his job that fed us. Anyway, we happened upon a truck stuck under a bridge or overpass - you know the clearance is 10' (feet) and your truck is 10'1"? Of course we got out to lend a hand. In my dad's case it was to voice an opinion. The police were there and wreckers and all sorts of folks trying to figure out how to pull the truck out or raise the bridge or a little of each. The officialdom was ready to bring in torches and cut the truck apart. A little girl, younger than me and I was pretty young, tugged at one of the policeman's arms and he bent over, in one of those Norman Rockwell-esk scenes and whispered something in his ear. Sure enough, her solution was the one she knew from home and riding a bike; let some air out the tires. Let the air out of the tires!
Words of pure genius. She was a hero. They did. It worked. A solution that didn't take moving mountains or cutting torches. Let some air out the tires. Magnificent. Common sense to the rescue.
My Aesop fable here rests in the observation of any number of grindings this week from the Newton shootings and that insane fob from the NRA to a whole bunch of guys and gals who just up and went on vacation after failing to do anything (congress). When faced with a truck stuck under a bridge they picked the worst possible answers instead of listening to a little girl's common sense.
An Ass once found a Lion's skin, which the hunters had left out in the sun to dry. He put it on and went towards his native village. All fled at his approach, both men and animals, and he was a proud Ass that day. In his delight he lifted up his voice and brayed, but then every one knew him, and his owner came up and gave him a sound cudgeling for the fright he had caused. And shortly afterwards a Fox came up to him and said: "Ah, I knew you by your voice."
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