I’m at wit’s end to find the source of a quotation I’ve been
(apparently) misattributing for years. I have a strong memory of reading
a short fable or similar short story some 40 years ago that ended with
the moral “The chances of being eaten by a tiger on Main Street are one
in a million, but once is enough.” I could have sworn this was in a
James Thurber book, perhaps “Fables for our Time” or “Further Fables for
our Time.”
Alas, my memory must be faulty, because I’ve been uterally unable to
find this quote. I’ve searched:
.All of Thurber’s works
.Every quotation dictionary I can find
.The web
I’ve asked librarians and newspaper columnists, all to no avail. No
“tiger on main street” anywhere in the world, except in the 1st edition
of my book.
So: it couldn’t have been Thurber, and maybe it was some other animal,
like a “lion”. Search the web for “lion and Main Street” and you’ll find
hundreds of references to something called “Lockwood’s Long Shot”, but
no attribution to a real person.
Which brings me to the point. I will offer a free seminar, plus an
autographed copy of the 2d edition of my WDM driver book, to the first
person who can identify and e-mail me the source of this feline on Main
Street quotation. I’m looking for the real person who first wrote this
phrase, along with the “once is enough” thought, including a reference
to specific page within the work. The “free seminar” part of this offer
will expire on Oct. 4, 2002 because I have to finally sign off on the
page proofs for the book chapter that will contain the citation.
–
Walter Oney, Consulting and Training
Check out new US seminar schedule at http://www.oneysoft.com