Test Poem
From SPARK
Contents |
Unpublished
A FENCE OR AN AMBULANCE
- A FENCE OR AN AMBULANCE
- by Joseph Malins
An insightful poem, periodically reprinted as a reminder that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said some thing would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said, “Put a fence around the edge of the cliff,”
Some, “An ambulance down in the valley.” But the cry for the ambulance carried the day, For it spread through the neighboring city; A fence may be useful or not, it is true, But each heart became brimful of pity For those who slipped over that dangerous cliff; And the dwellers in highway and alley Gave pounds or gave pence, not to put up a fence, But an ambulance down in the valley. “For the cliff is all right, if you’re careful,” they said, “And, if folks even slip and are dropping, It isn’t the slipping that hurts them so much, As the shock down below when they’re stopping.” So day after day, as these mishaps occurred, Quick forth would these rescuers sally To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff, With their ambulance down in the valley. Then an old sage remarked: “It’s a marvel to me That people give far more attention To repairing results than to stopping the cause, When they’d much better aim at prevention. Let us stop at its source all this mischief,” cried he, “Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally; If the cliff we will fence we might almost dispense With the ambulance down in the valley.” “Oh, he’s a fanatic,” the others rejoined, “Dispense with the ambulance? Never! He’d dispense with all charities, too, if he could; No! No! We’ll support them forever. Aren’t we picking up folks just as fast as they fall? And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he? Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence, While the ambulance works in the valley?” But a sensible few, who are practical too, Will not bear with such nonsense much longer; They believe that prevention is better than cure, And their party will soon be the stronger. Encourage them then, with your purse, voice, and pen, And while other philanthropists dally, They will scorn all pretense and put up a stout fence On the cliff that hangs over the valley. Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old, For the voice of true wisdom is calling, “To rescue the fallen is good, but ‘tis best To prevent other people from falling.” Better close up the source of temptation and crime Than deliver from dungeon or galley: Better put a strong fence round the top of the cliff, Than an ambulance down in the valley.
Internal notes:
Testing text conversion from Open Office format to RTF and TEXT.
A couple of questions arose on my first viewing of the documents, and they relate more to standards of presentation in print or on the web, rather than the use of English itself:
Do you have the flexibility of using any text formatting variables to clarify different types of material, or can't you count on this converting properly? Examples:
italics or bold contrasted to standard Courier text, serif-type fonts such as Times New Roman compared to sans-serif fonts like Ariel (serif-type fonts offer more visual cues and are usually considered, for experienced readers at least, to allow faster decoding hence faster/easier reading for content.) changes in pitch (e.g. larger for headlines) indenting
Answer: The flexibility is built into Spark using Textile formatting.
Are any restrictions different for the web-viewable display compared to printable document versions?
Answer: Some manuals are displayed in PDF format. A later version of Spark will include Print friendly document versions.
Other than technical constraints, have you established any further formatting standards based on your understanding of your users' needs and preferences?
Answer: Yes see the Spark site: http://spark.vernacularmedia.org/home/
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