The older I get, the dumber the newscasters get…
When I was a kid, in my naive little kid mind, certain types of people commanded an unearned, automatic degree of respect, or perhaps awe is a better word. People like politicians, actors, athletes, and even newscasters (Walter Cronkite was big time when I was a youngster) were, to me, pretty impressive. They were famous, I figured, so they must really have it all together.
Fast forward forty years, and here I am working at my home office with CNN turned on, and CNN’s modern-day counterparts of Walter Cronkite are covering this story of a fellow who managed to get a big nail inserted into his skull (and brain) as a result of a freak accident. The gist of the story is that the doctors at the hospital called down to the hospital maintenance department for a claw hammer, and they actually pried the nail from his brain the same way you or I would remove a wayward nail from a wooden board. Right tool for the right job, you know.
Anyway, as the story wraps up, Cronkite girl 1 says to Cronkite girl 2 something to the effect: “Now Cindy, for our viewers watching at home, if they were to somehow get a big nail driven through their own skull and into their brain, having heard that these doctors removed this particular nail with a standard claw hammer, would it be a bad idea for them to try to remove the nail from their own brain, by themselves, with a claw hammer?”
To which Cronkite girl 2 replies: “Yes, Jill, that would be a very bad idea. If you do manage to nail yourself in the skull and brain, avoid the temptation to try to pry the nail out yourself with your own claw hammer. You should seek medical attention immediately anytime you have a nail in your brain.”
Cronkite girl 1: “Thanks Cindy for that good advice”.
…Dumb, dumb as a sack of hammers.
