Good, Bad, Who Knows?
Hello, friend!
I hope this week treated you well (and if it didn’t I hope you had the good sense to treat yourself well at least).
My week was a whirlwind, shortened by it starting in Durham on Monday (I got home Monday night from the “big move” of our older child to Durham, North Carolina). It was further compressed by the preparations we are making to relocate our younger son to Cleveland. I’m thankful that Cleveland is a bit closer to Granville.
By the time I was “wheels up” on the direct flight to Columbus from Raleigh-Durham, I had the strong sense that our son is truly in the catbird seat. A great little apartment, within walking distance of the downtown scene and a quick commute to Duke’s campus. But I then I thought of the parable of the Chinese Farmer, and I checked myself a tiny bit.
You may have heard of it, but I’ll share it briefly. A farmer in China had his only horse escape the corral and run away. All of the neighbors expressed their sorrow for him, saying “We’re so sorry you suffered this misfortune.” The farmer replied “Good news, bad news, who knows?” A few days later, the horse returned to the farm - bringing with it a wild stallion it had befriended. The neighbors rejoiced, saying “What good luck! Congratulations.” The farmer replied “Good news, bad news, who knows”. The following week, the farmer’s oldest son broke his arm while trying to train the stallion, so that they could use it to do farm work. The neighbors again commiserated with the farmer, who replied “Good news, bad news, who knows?” A couple of weeks later, a commander in the Chinese army came to conscript all able-bodied men into the army, to go and fight a war for the emperor. Because the farmer’s son had a broken arm, the army did not take him to the war.
The singer/songwriter/actor/artist Tom Waits tells a similar tale. "My kids are starting to notice I'm a little different from the other dads. 'Why don't you have a straight job like everyone else?' they asked me the other day. I told them this story: In the forest, there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. Every day, the straight tree would say to the crooked tree, Look at me… I'm tall, and I'm straight, and I'm handsome. Look at you. you're all crooked and bent over. No one wants to look at you. And they grew up in that forest together. And then one day the loggers came, and they saw the crooked tree and the straight tree, and they said, 'Just cut the straight trees and leave the rest.' So the loggers turned all the straight trees into lumber and toothpicks and paper. And the crooked tree is still there, growing stronger and stranger every day.”
You get the point - any given event might seem good or bad, but life plays out across a longer timeframe. So, it is indeed wonderful that we got our son settled in to a good situation at school. We’re going to to do it again this weekend with his brother. We are so fortunate to be doing these things for them. We all work hard, and plan ahead. And sometimes, despite our best efforts, things don’t pan out. So, who knows? Let’s just keep growing stronger and stranger each day.
Sunday Supper
I must admit I cut quite a few corners on the food front this past week. Today’s Sunday Supper recommendation is what I should have been cooking and eating. These simple Thai Chicken Zucchini Curry Meatballs make for a comforting, healthy meal tonight - give them a try! A next-level finish to the meal would be this Thai Rice Pudding. It looks amazing.
Sunday Music
It is easy to take super-talented people for granted. This NPR Tiny Desk concert from twelve years ago features the British diva Adele with minimal accompaniment. It is a rare opportunity to see just how much mastery she has achieved with her vocal instrument, without all those fancy production techniques.
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,
Neal