07-04-2019, 11:30 PM
1
On The Treadmill
The Captain of the ship I just returned from took time out to tell passengers a little story over the PA system. I thought it quite good.A tourist visiting a small fishing village sees a fisherman unloading a small net of fish
"Hello" he says, "were there not many fish today?"
"Oh no" said the fisherman, "It's just that I only pop out for a couple of hours and just catch what I need for my family and a few friends"
"It must be a difficult life" said the tourist
"No not really" replied the fisherman
"I wake up each day, enjoy the sunrise over the water, do a bit of fishing, come home and spend time playing with my children, spend time with my wife, later I pop out and have a drink with friends at the tavern and play a bit of guitar"
The tourist replies "Well if you were to go out fishing for a few more hours you'd catch more fish you know, then you could sell more and have a good bit of money"
"I see" said the fisherman, and what then?
"Oh well" says the tourist . . . "then after maybe a year or two you'd have enough money to buy a bigger boat, then you'd be able to catch and store more fish"
"What then?" said the fisherman
"well then after a few more years you'd have enough money for another boat and eventually a small fleet, you'd be the prime fisherman in the entire town" chirped the tourist
"and what then?" the fisherman continued
"well then you'd have an entire fishing business, employing and managing other fishermen and you'd be earning a great deal of money. Eventually after lots of hard work and persistence you'd be able to sell the entire business for millions"
"what then?" asked the fisherman
"Oh well then you'd be able to retire, buy a house by the sea, watch the sunrise each morning, spend time with your family, have a few drinks with friends at night . . . . . "
08-04-2019, 10:11 AM
7
Re: On The Treadmill
Whereas I understand the principle of the story, I can't help thinking that life is never that simple.....If the fisherman ever wanted to enjoy a cruise on one of P&O's luxurious ships (like you Realist) he would need more than fish to pay for his passage. And would the Captain be prepared to receive his wages with a kilo of Cod?
And if the fisherman was crap with electrics and pipefitting, how would he pay the electrician, or plumber? Not to mention the taxman....Isn't this the purpose of money in society, so the fisherman doesn't need to learn about electrics? He can sell his fish (something that he's good at catching) for money to pay his way in the world....
And Summer, would you be prepared to open your present on Christmas day only to find a stinking carcass of Lampuki Fish....
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