Where's Daddy?

Where's Daddy?, is a chilling question asked by a five year old when quitting time has long since past and Dad has not come home yet. The phone rings. Your heart jumps in your chest and the anguish on Mothers face goes ashen."What, she screams"? "He did what"? You never forget that day for the rest of your life. The day that Daddy didn't come home! All over this country, on any given day, at any given time, sombody's Daddy doesn't come home from work. It happens all of the time. A fall. A crush. An electrocution. A smothering. An entrapment. A poisoning. A cave-in. You would think that we live in an uncivilized country but we don't. We live in the U.S.A. where we have the best food, clothing, housing, medical facilities, and some of the most modern machinery that was ever invented in the history of the world. Why then does this kind of thing keep happening? Why do workers get killed on the job? Because we still take chances don't we? We still walk on that narrow plank high above the construction site don't we? We still change wall recepticles live because we are so careful don't we? We still take that short cut to unjam that machine because it takes too long to stop it and unjam it safely don't we? Daddy, make sure you come home tonight. Somebody is counting on you.

I've Always done it that way.

You know, when I cut the grass on my riding mower, sometimes I take my Grandson for a ride around the yard, yea, I've always done it that way! There's no sense in getting down off of the ladder while I'm cleaning out the gutters, I'll just scoot it over by jumping it from up here, yea, I've always done it that way! Don't be a wuss, just change the flat. That jack won't slip on this beveled highway, Yea, I've always done it that way! Sound familiar? We do and say these things all of the time, especially at home. Can you imagine carrying these kinds of habits into the place at which we work around moving machinery? Is it really worth it to gamble on that finger? Does that eye mean so little to us that we will not even take the time to put on safety glasses? Our families think so. Our insurance companies think so. Even, yes, even our employers think so or they would not have safety committees, or programs, or processes. Take time to be safe. Keep everything that God gave you intact. Your livelihood, longevity, and life depend on it. This is ole "Dangerous Dale" saying: All accidents are preventable.