on being quality minded

 Once upon a time, there was such as thing as taking pride in one's work. Going in to your scheduled shift and in that time, doing your very best and building a product or offering a service that you could be proud of. What happened?

 I currently have a stove in my kitchen that is older than my son- who is 26- and still working wonderfully. My husband has grown frustrated with me that I hang onto this stove and not allow him to purchase a new one. I don't, because this one still works and because I know that I'll not get another one to last this long.

 I have clothing hanging in my closest that is also older than my son and still in good shape. Its classic things like simple skirts and dresses but they still look good. I have other clothing that I have purchased more recently that already has worn places.

 Some will say that a lot of things are made over seas now and with the reportedly low pay the workers make there, its no wonder the items don't hold up. For them it is hurry and make more things, quantity is more important than quality. Safety is ignored, but that is another topic.

While I agree in that most of the things we purchase today is made elsewhere, I believe that should we choose to, we could bring jobs back. If, we would also care about quality first and quantity second that could make all the difference. We have to focus on the product and services and put greed aside.  I feel that there are Americans who miss American made products and the quality in which they were produced. We could do it again, if

We paid attention to what we were making. If the colors are important, check with available standards to make sure what you are about to produce is correct. If it isn't, raise a ruckus until someone listens. There are so many variations to every color that it is easy to be close, but not right. If right is important, don't accept almost right.

The same goes for size, whether it is clothing or machine parts, if size matters, check the standards. A person who wears a large, would not appreciate purchasing an article of clothing labeled large only to find it a wrong size to where it is too large and hangs off of them or is too small and they can't even get into it.

As far as parts for anything, pulleys, gears, bolts..etc. are not normally  interchangeable. The machinery where I work use many different bearings, to get the rollers they fit on, to turn properly, it is imperative that the right bearing be in place. Otherwise you have a wobble that can create a bad product. Try this, put the wrong size tire on a vehicle and see what you get. Install a battery that is not the proper size and see what happens, or doesn't happen due to not enough strength.

Think about food products, use salt instead of sugar in homemade cake icing, or in your sweet tea, and see how that tastes. Or as another extreme example, try meaning to add cinnamon to  your oatmeal only to use chili powder instead. I hope you like it hot.

Our artistic endeavors are not to be forgotten either. While there is that creative side to things such as painting that gives one more freedom, when one is trying to be true and accurate to their subject unless one is drawing a cyclops, people tend to have two eyes. Musical notes are placed on a scale in a certain order on purpose, missing one can jar the listener to the point of losing their interest. For a writer using the correct forms  of words are important if you want to get the right meaning across and not lose your reader. Words such as to, too and two may sound alike, but they have different meanings.

It is just as important in sports to pay attention and be quality minded. A pitcher will not throw out a football for the first pitch, one cannot use inline skates on ice, wearing golf cleats on a basketball court would not be a good thing either. It is important for the players and official alike to know the rules, for the right gear to be worn, etc..

What ever it is that we do, at work or at play, it is important that we pay attention and be quality minded. The results of that would be a better product that will stand the test of time. It will mean our creative side will not be ignored and our games will be more fun, less stress and less injury prone.