Rear View Mirror
(objects may seem closer than they appear)
When I was younger, my father would subtly pass out his pearls of wisdom without any hints of preaching. At the time, I did not seem to pay attention or ever imagine I would remember any of them, but somehow they resurfaced during Zen moments in my life.
He was a child of the Great Depression and an eyewitness to firsthand misery who thought that things were never as bad as they appeared and could always get worse.
So now, with the media labeled Great Recession upon us, one of his jewels has found its way back to the surface. I will relay it contents and a little story of how it was resurrected.
He used to say that, “Once there was a man who was sad because he had no shoes, until he saw another man who had no feet whose father was born with no legs.”
It was a simple gilded statement laced in dark humor. One that had lied dormant in me for many years along with the wisdom it carried until a recent trip to one of them low-end grocery stores now prevalent throughout the country. It is not my intentions to demean anyone who shops there. It’s all about living within your means, something that’s been lost during the recently manufactured flush times. But I wander…
Anyway, I walk into the store and everything is stripped down to the basics. There are three aisles and your choices are perishables, non-perishables, frozen, and humbled vegetables. I immediately notice the demeanor of the few shoppers there and the cashier manning the register. It is somber, to say the least, with little conversation except for the back and forth between one mother and her child. Their spirits felt somewhat diminished but not yet desperate. I was reminded that the world is what it is and seldom how we would like it to be.
I paid for my items and carried them, bag-less, to the car. Once inside I noticed a Hispanic man on a bicycle riding down the produce ramp at the back of the store. He got off in front of a dumpster, pulled his shirt collar up over his nose and climbed in. Everyone who walked by ignored him or were oblivious to his presence Minutes later he emerged with a small plastic bag filled with his findings.
My heart sunk in my chest as he rode by and waved at me with a smile. As I watched him go around the car and disappear from the parking lot in my rear view mirror, I was immediately jolted by the sight of the largest American flag I’ve ever seen, flapping wildly over a recently closed car dealership……
“Gratitude goes to those who appreciate what they have and the wisdom to share it with others.” -Cheechaboo
Back to Jim's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.
(objects may seem closer than they appear)
When I was younger, my father would subtly pass out his pearls of wisdom without any hints of preaching. At the time, I did not seem to pay attention or ever imagine I would remember any of them, but somehow they resurfaced during Zen moments in my life.
He was a child of the Great Depression and an eyewitness to firsthand misery who thought that things were never as bad as they appeared and could always get worse.
So now, with the media labeled Great Recession upon us, one of his jewels has found its way back to the surface. I will relay it contents and a little story of how it was resurrected.
He used to say that, “Once there was a man who was sad because he had no shoes, until he saw another man who had no feet whose father was born with no legs.”
It was a simple gilded statement laced in dark humor. One that had lied dormant in me for many years along with the wisdom it carried until a recent trip to one of them low-end grocery stores now prevalent throughout the country. It is not my intentions to demean anyone who shops there. It’s all about living within your means, something that’s been lost during the recently manufactured flush times. But I wander…
Anyway, I walk into the store and everything is stripped down to the basics. There are three aisles and your choices are perishables, non-perishables, frozen, and humbled vegetables. I immediately notice the demeanor of the few shoppers there and the cashier manning the register. It is somber, to say the least, with little conversation except for the back and forth between one mother and her child. Their spirits felt somewhat diminished but not yet desperate. I was reminded that the world is what it is and seldom how we would like it to be.
I paid for my items and carried them, bag-less, to the car. Once inside I noticed a Hispanic man on a bicycle riding down the produce ramp at the back of the store. He got off in front of a dumpster, pulled his shirt collar up over his nose and climbed in. Everyone who walked by ignored him or were oblivious to his presence Minutes later he emerged with a small plastic bag filled with his findings.
My heart sunk in my chest as he rode by and waved at me with a smile. As I watched him go around the car and disappear from the parking lot in my rear view mirror, I was immediately jolted by the sight of the largest American flag I’ve ever seen, flapping wildly over a recently closed car dealership……
“Gratitude goes to those who appreciate what they have and the wisdom to share it with others.” -Cheechaboo
Back to Jim's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.