August 2005
From Acorns to Trees
by Ridgely Goldsborough
"What are you doing with that acorn?" Jimmy Squirrel said to his best friend, Tom.
"It’s the perfect size," Tom
replied. "I’m going to drop it in the big field."
"What for?" Jimmy queried.
"`Cause a huge oak is just a nut
that held its ground," Tom smiled and the banter began. Every fall they played at words while collecting food for winter.
"You did that last year," Jimmy quipped.
"Yeah," Tom grunted.
"Didn’t work," Jimmy jabbed.
"Failure is the
fertiliser of success," Tom retorted.
"Didn’t work the year before either," Jimmy stabbed.
"The greatest weakness
lies in giving up," Tom claimed. "The best way to succeed is to always try one more time."
Jimmy scratched his ear. "What
if it never works?"
"The only reason you’re sitting in the shade right now is because someone planted a tree a long
time ago." Tom smiled in satisfaction.
"That doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you," Jimmy gloated.
"Failure is the condiment that gives success
its flavour," Tom fired back.
"You’re not even going to live long enough to eat any of the nuts." Jimmy batted his
eyebrows.
"I’d rather sow in the spring than beg in the fall," Tom nodded. "We all know that success is a matter
of luck. All you have to do is ask any failure."
"Ouch!" Jimmy winced. "That’s harsh. Are you always this poetic?"
"Only
when it comes to acorns. If you can’t be the poet, be the poem."
"Why don’t you store that nut in your cupboard for a snowy, February morning?"
"`Cause I want to grow a tree,
Jimmy," Tom said quietly. "Nobody is remembered for how many times they failed—only by how many times they succeeded.
No one will remember the fallen acorns but all will gaze upon the oak scratching the sky."
"Lots of work for not much reward,"
Jimmy moaned.
"Anyone that argues for their own limitations gets to keep them. I never saw a statue put up for a critic."
Tom taunted his pal, egging him into debate.
"Even a broken clock is right twice a day," Jimmy smirked.
"The harder I work the luckier I get," Tom responded.
"Even
a blind pig finds an ear of corn now and again," Jimmy challenged. "Maybe you’ll get lucky."
"One who wants milk
shouldn’t sit in middle of a pasture waiting for a cow to back up to him." Tom started walking. "I’ll bury an
extra acorn, for luck’s sake."
Jimmy tugged his friend’s tail. "Sometimes you feel like a nut," he sang, bursting
into laughter.
"Sometimes you don’t," Tom chuckled with him.
That’s A View from the Ridge . . .
POSTSCRIPT: Napoleon Hill said it best: "There may be no heroic connotation to the word ‘persistence,’
but the quality is to the character of man what carbon is to steel."
Author Ridgely Goldsborough publishes The Daily Column; humorous and inspirational
stories designed to touch our hearts. Please take a moment to subscribe at no charge at www.aviewfromtheridge.com.
Email this Article |
Giv'er Atlantic Canada!
|
