An Easter with The Ol' Sage
It's getting warmer here in the
Heartland. The Spring flowers are nearly ready for their turn to bloom.
The extremes of weather have arrived with warnings of heavy rain, sleet, ice
storms, sunny warm days and snow. You can see the "antsyness" of Springtime
in the eyes of the Heartland folks. So that brought me to the grocery where
they were selling the onion sets and planting potatoes. As I was picking
out my favorites, who should come up beside me but The Ol' Sage.
He talked about another business
opportunity. He is forever trying to be a successful entrepreneur. This
time he bought 200 brightly colored chicks from a company that said they will
lay the same colored eggs as their brightly colored feathers. Well, for
six months he waited for the Easter Eggs to fall. He was ready to supply
the lazy Heartlanders with pre-colored eggs for their Easter baskets. The
problem was....the eggs were falling but they were all white! I asked him,
"What color were the chickens now?". He looked to the ground, not bearing
to keep eye contact, as he admitted they had all lost their vibrant reds and
blues...and now had turned the same old "chicken" color. He admitted he
had "been took".
You could see it "hurt" him to
think he failed because the product he bought wasn't what the seller claimed.
It was a pitiful sight.....but all was not lost and all was not dishonesty.
It seems the chickens do have vibrant colored "droppings". , In fact, the
neighbors know exactly who to call when the chickens "get loose" in the neighborhood!
And with that experience, the Ol'
Sage went on to say it's sad to think we must look with distrust at the work
of the successful entrepreneur. Whether it be a purchase from a hospital,
the federal government, a dentist or our local chicken farmer....we look with
a questioning eye as to how much it will really cost and, will it do what
they say. One of the best examples is the roofing entrepreneur who often gets the "Doubting Thomas
eye".
It was the entrepreneur who made
this country great. Can they do it again? Maybe with a little more honesty....maybe
with a reasonable profit margin....maybe with a sense of community responsibility,
they will be able to regain the trust of The Heartland folks and the nation.
But this country can not be great if the profits of the entrepreneurs come
from high pricing and faulty products.
And with those thoughts, the Ol'
Sage left the potato bin walking toward home. I smiled as I noticed his multi-colored
shoe soles....reds, blues, greens and a little white with black spots. The
chickens had left their mark! He waved as he neared the corner of the grocery
and yelled...."Happy Easter....and may all your eggs be white!".
So, like the Ol' Sage, we want
to wish you a happy Easter too! And we would ask you to support of The
Ol' Sage's "faulty product" Easter protest. Please don't color your Easter eggs this year (boil only
if you must). Lets let The Ol' Sage know we support him!
