Newton’s First Law

Snow atop steel equals something more slippery than ice.  Eye-foot reaction time is longer than hand-eye by about two tenths of a second.  That’s one reason batters get drilled with fastballs they can otherwise hit.  I’m in Louisville, but there’s no slugger in my hand.  We’re touring riverfront parks covered in an early season snow.  There’s a playground carousel just waiting for some doofus to make a spectacle of himself.

That would be me.  I try to get it to spin by jumping aboard and the extra two tenths of a second almost results in an emergency room visit.  My feet skid.  My brain processes new found information regarding coefficient of friction.  My arms catch up in a nick of time.   I’d later find there were two cameras pointed at the escapade, both hoping for an America’s Funniest Videos payday.

The carousel was there.  I gave it a try.  I learned a little something.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Or is it nothing ventured, nothing lost? 

In this the season of strategic planning, budget assembly and collective bargaining negotiations, that’s not an idle question.  I suppose you could add State of the State and State of the Union Addresses to the seasonal looking forward, but those are levels of governance beyond my purview (this is where the reader breathes a sigh of relief).  Add in New Year’s resolutions if you like.  I have two, and I’ll let you know how I did next year.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Or nothing ventured, nothing lost?  Not an idle question for any season, but more pertinent around City Hall this time of year than others.   Progress without change is a mythical beast, but it’s a beast many people want to believe in.  Nessie.  Big Foot.  The Great Pumpkin.  Doing more with less.  Who could be against such fantastical creatures?

It turns out, a good number of people.  Sensible people at that.  Change is difficult and public change is the most difficult.  Public change carries with it public risk of failure, and public failure is a hazard on par with snow-slick playground equipment. 

Greg from the Louisville Waterfront Development Corporation tells us the carousel is the most used piece of equipment in the park.  It is so over-used they’ve had to custom fabricate bearings for it.  He also tells us a few people have asked it be removed, because they believe it’s too risky.  Centrifugal force flings kids from the ride with some regularity, and they bounce as kids do.  But they usually get back on, squealing with laughter.  

There is laughter at times in union negotiations, strategic planning sessions and budget meetings. There are good-willed people involved throughout, and some good-natured levity creeps in to even the most governmental of processes.  But there should be more laughter, and more risk.  Taking a risk and getting metaphorically flung from the carousel should be celebrated, rather than avoided.  The world spins on regardless of any effort to stop it, so you might as well make it a fun ride.