I don't want to scare anyone from speaking to the the media, in fact, that's something our office generally encourages. But it is interesting to see how long comments can stay alive when they are published on somebody's Web page.
Back in October 1997, nearly 10 years ago, Andrew Goldsmith of FastCompany.com wrote an article about an expression commonly used in business to suggest one might as well shoot for easier targets before striving for what's out of reach. The idiom: "pick the low hanging fruit."
Goldsmith cleverly decided to inquire with orchard experts to see if the cliché holds water. He contacted UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor in San Joaquin County Joe Grant.
"When growers send pickers to the field, they don't advise them to pick the low-hanging fruit first," Grant is quoted. "They tell them to pick what's ready to pick. And the first fruit to ripen is what's high up and well exposed to the sun."
Today, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant used Grants' comments in his "Word Watch" column. I guess quote recycling is par for the course in the information age.