A Little Parable
Nene Romanova
T027@ACADEMIC.TRUMAN.EDUIn the spirit of the unique editorials being written (especially Mike Myers, saying what many of us just don't have the courage to say), I choose to write this editorial in parable. Interpret your own meaning.
Once there was a young man living in a dusty empty village in ancient Arizona. He had a family and a rather low-paying job of manual labor, tending an overweight, middle-aged, bald slave driver's cactus field. The young man suffered greatly for his wages, and often came home with his hands full of cactus needles, red and swollen. He loved his family dearly, but his great pride and joy was his once a month journey to the neighboring village for sweet green grapes. It just so happens that grapes were non-existant in ancient Arizona, so hiking 30 miles to buy those lucious grapes was a rare pleasure. It was so rare and pleasurable, that he often hid from his wife (WHO HATED GRAPES AND COULDN'T POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WERE SO IMPORTANT TO HIM!), just so he could make the journey alone and anxious. The young man's life followed in this manner for some time. Every day, home with swollen pricked hands, waiting for grape day. One day upon wandering into the neighboring village he talked with the head grape manager, who told him they were importing new, EVEN TASTIER grapes, and that the young man will not be dissapointed with their delicate design. "Of course, now they are greener, and you get 32 grapes instead of 16", bellowed the grape manager. Needless to say, the young man was overjoyed! He rushed home and for the next monthes worked twice as hard in the cactus fields. Sure enough, when the time came to hike to the neighboring village, he could not have been more excited. He bought the grapes and savored each one, eating slow enough to enjoy each little drop of grape goodness. Then the next month came and, as before, he bought his grapes. However, this time, the grapes tasted a little sour. Others in the village tried his grapes and said, "You've been had, young man! Your grapes are bad!" Actually, the man learned to like, even love the sourness of his new grapes, despite the mangos his neighbors ate or the apples scarfed by the village elite. However, the very next time the young man visited the village, the grape manager sadly informed him, "I'm sorry, but these grapes are so exquisite that it will take 2 months to import. Humble apologies, sir." The man walked back to his village upset, but not completely disheartened. He would eventually get his grapes. Soon, two months became three months, and sometimes the grape manager would refuse to even import the extra-special California brand. However, the young man never lost hope, that maybe one day things would return to the way they were. As a final temptation to the young man, a traveling merchant put up a grape stand between the two villages. The young man, hot, sweaty, and pricked decided to travel to this stand and try the grapes. A big crowd was gathered around the newly opened stand. "You must try these! These are great! I've never tasted better.", screamed eager customers. The young man purchased a few grapes and plopped them into his mouth. Suddenly, his face turned blue, his stomach turned, and needless to say, he made a mess of the shiny new grape stand. The grapes were horrible! How could these be so popular? Soon the young man saw papers posted all over his village advertising the new stand to all villages minus the young man for blowing chunks on the manager. "Why don't they advertise in the other village? I bet more people would love my grapes if they just knew about them..." The young man proceeded to write letters via carrier pigeon to the neighboring village, pleading them to bring their own stand over to compete with this new stand. Often he was never replyed to, but once in a while they would write him back stating, "It's too expensive." or "We have to concentrate on this village right now." Undaunted, the young man continued to write, until one day he received a letter saying that his favorite grape stand was out of business. The young man crumpled the letter and threw it on the ground. He went down into his cellar and ate a few of the grapes he had saved for special events. As he ate those slightly sour grapes, he thought to himself, "Soon...even these will be gone." So the man lived on, never as motivated as he used to be. Eventually, he took up sewing and cleaning and his wife was very, VERY happy. The End