Too Late Now

"It is better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong than to agonize at length and be right too late."

             - Marilyn Moats Kennedy, consultant

It seems that shortly after the southern California Cedar Fire was noticed it could have been extinguished, but it wasn't because there were rules against flying after 5:36 p.m.  Fourteen deaths, 282,000 acres and 2,200 homes later, you have to wonder about how bureaucratic rules paralyze people into inaction when common sense should prevail. 

Imagine this conversation between the guy in the plane over the fire and the dispatcher down below:

"Hey bro, we got us a fire up here. How about sending a couple choppers to douse it for me?  "Can't." "Whaddaya mean you can't?" "It's 5:36." "So what if it's 5:36?! There's a fire and it's gonna get a lot bigger if we don't do something about it!" "That's too bad. It's 5:36 and we can't send a chopper up after 5:36. End of story." "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard of. Who the hell made that rule?" "I don't know, but it's the rule. It's right here in the practice. We'll catch it first thing in the morning." "It will be too late first thing in the morning, bro. Put that in your practice!"

Can't believe a conversation like this could happen? Anyone who's worked for government or a large corporation would have no trouble at all believing it. The "practice" is the law; disobey its mandate at your own peril. Unfortunately, I think my scenario is more truth than fiction. Too bad.

Thanks to the Washington Times for the link to the story.