Say what? as the saying goes

“Any job worth doing is worth doing well.” That’s what Dad used to say. Of course a lot of stuff did not meet this criterion so didn’t get done. This credo makes even the small jobs into a real task. Wouldn’t it be better to do some of it for now or do a sort of halfway job so that the task will be easier when you finally get around to really doing it? This is how I coined the phrase, “Half a job is better than none.”“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Till your good is better, and your better’s best.” Here is a formula for a nervous breakdown. As if it was not bad enough that everyone else is setting goals for you; now you are supposed to whip yourself on. I already have enough scars on my back from public school, thank you very much.I know people who seem to enjoy excelling in everything. I suspect them of having a natural ability, probably born with an extra brain or something. In the case of athletes you can usually see the extra muscles they were born with. It is a body type. Your long-distance runners tend to be long and lanky; basketball stars are very tall and so on. A few start with little and develop into supermen, but most, in my opinion, are simply building on a gift. That basketball player did not stretch himself to 7 feet. That famous race horse, Secretariat, is a prime example. He was born with an extra chamber in his heart. So, did this make him a great horse? Or just a lucky horse?• • •“Best foot forward.” This is a terrible idea. Giving people the wrong impression of your abilities, behavior or appearance raises unrealistic expectations. How many relationships have gotten off to the wrong start because of “The Date Face?” I think it is better to see if they can stand you at your worst. After that, everything is a bonus. I kind of like what the comedian Red Skelton used to say when he played his dopey character, Clem Kadiddlehopper (spelling approximate). Upon arriving on stage he would simply announce in his dumbest voice, “Well, here I am!” It’s a gentler version of the old Irish drinking song line, “If you don’t like me then leave me alone.”“A fool and his money are soon parted.” I do not get this one at all. I simply can’t imagine what the secret message is here.Anyway, before I forget, can somebody loan me a couple of bucks? I seem to be a little short this week.Bill Abrams resides, content in his self-proclaimed mediocrity, in Pine Plains.