A simple life

[polar bear]

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked him how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The American then asked, “Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The Mexican said,

“With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs.”

The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”The Mexican said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife,Maria,stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually to New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied,”15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said that's the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions?... Then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Keeping life simple and traveling lite is where it's at, eh!!

[Suda]

Great story, and so very true. Bigger is not always better. But simple and pure is usually delightful.

Suda

[dmiller]

:eusa_clap:

[Tom Strange]

I'm thinking maybe I'll get a job as a dishwasher in SW New Mexico and live in a trailer at a KOA... that's the life! (I think)

[excathedra]

that was a nice story

too bad it can't be true

[anotherDan]

I loved that story, PB.... heard it a long time ago, and you have it perfectly. Thanks for posting it!

[Tom Strange]

Hey! I used to have one of those in my aquarium... so that's where it went!

[waysider]

Shhhhh!

Keep it a secret.

If Jonny Lingo finds out he'll be knockin' at your door with a pair of hip waders, chompin' at the bit in search of material for another fish stowwwwry.

[Ham]

With big fish stories, sometimes I can't tell whether it's the fish that's big.. or the story..

[anotherDan]

... Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.

Waysider, you're slipping. No "Goin' Fishin'"? (is it Taj Mahal?)

Edited October 8, 2007 by anotherDan

[anotherDan]

[waysider]

More Fishin' Blues.

[anotherDan]

[anotherDan]

PB, I emailed that story to my daughter, and she sent me this one back:

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his

son on a trip to the country with the express purpose

of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of

what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his

son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked

the father.

The son answered:

"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our

garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have

the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the

whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have

fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they

have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how

poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder

what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything

we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially

your friends!

This was passed on to you to help you refresh your

perspective and appreciation.

"Life is too short and friends are too few."

[waysider]

Thanks, Dan.

[RumRunner]

Shhhhh!

Keep it a secret.

If Jonny Lingo finds out he'll be knockin' at your door with a pair of hip waders, chompin' at the bit in search of material for another fish stowwwwry.

You mean this fish story about Johnny Lingo?!?!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NoV40Wg12CY

From: melidea

Our sucker fish Johnny Lingo died after having him for a week. We had a proper flushing..

[GrouchoMarxJr]

Ha ha ha...now THAT was funny!

I guess it was another tale of Jonny lingo going swimming.

[anotherDan]

my daughter just send me a followup:

I couldn't remember who sent me that story, so I just

googled some key words and found it in a blog. I

just read the story again and realized that it is a

slightly different version. In the other story, the

boy understood that the people on the farm were called

poor. At the end of the story he said "Daddy, are we

going to be poor someday when we can afford it?"

instead of saying "Thanks, dad, for showing me how

poor we are." It's not necessarily a better ending,

but it is humourus. Just thought that tidbit might be

interesting to you.

Edited October 14, 2007 by anotherDan