The noisy wheel gets the grease!

An dear old friend of mine, Fritz Hoffman taught me one of life's great quotes: "The noisy wheel gets the grease!" This was after I effortlessly walked into the accountant's office and asked for my paycheck, late on a payday Friday, when no one had yet received theirs, and she gave it to me. Simple, yet effective. Fritz's hearty laugh and reciting of the greasy wheel quote has subtly (or maybe not so subtly!) empowered me throughout my life.

The article "We have a responsibility to guide children" (see earlier post) is a great example of a rather simple effort rewarded with a positive response. Last week I went in to meet the head chaperone at a jr. high dance, who had received my article and invited me to the dance. I was a little nervous, and feeling a bit like Dana Carvey's character, the church lady. The chaperone's warm welcome and and even warmer smile was a relief. In fact all the parents involved were very upbeat. One of them had a sign pinned to his back that read "Zero tolerance to inappropriate dancing!!" There were similar signs on the DJ's desk, and the DJ announced it throughout the night. And the best part of all, was that after having enforced the stricter dancing policy at the previous dance, attendance was not down. In fact it was up!

In spite of the initial reaction you get from children, they thrive with boundaries. All children (and adults for that matter) just want to be safe.... and have a little fun!