Koufax's Corollary to Andujar's Law: What "YouNeverKnow" Can Scare You – and Make You Stronger

[Image courtesy of launiusr]

In summer 2011, I used the example of Virginia’s surprise earthquake to propound what I call “Andjuar’s Law“, named for former MLB pitcher Joaquin Andujar, who once said:

There is one word in America that says it all, and that word is, ‘You never know.’

Now, as pretty much the entire Mid-Atlantic, New York metropolitan area and New England brace for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, I would like to suggest a corollary to Andular’s Law named for Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. Koufax was well-known for a dizzying array of pitches, but he was also known for his willingness to throw inside in an effort to keep batters from getting too comfortable at the plate. Indeed, he once was quoted as saying that “pitching is the art of instilling fear.”

With that in mind, I would like to suggest Koufax’s Corollary:

Fearing ‘youneverknow’ makes you stronger.

Fear can be paralyzing – and lead to counterproductive panic – but it can also force us to think through what could go wrong and help us plan accordingly. Indeed, the word meticulous is derived from a Latin word meaning “full of fear”. Facing – and working around – that fear is a necessary part of contingency planning.

Right now up and down the Coast, election offices are fearfully considering how Hurricane Sandy could damage their own operations and hinder voters – and working to overcome those fears.

Youneverknow is downright scary (Halloween pumpkins as potentially dangerous airborne debris? Really?!) – but using some of that fear to be smarter and plan ahead is part of the job for election officials and voters alike.

Please be safe out there, everyone … now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get the potential airborne debris off of my porch, Youneverknow, right?