The Fisherman: Loving Life with Less

FISHWOOD

This sculpture was a Father’s Day gift a few years back.

The store clerk assured me –  “This species of wood naturally resembles a fish.”

I don’t know about that.  Really. But…

Sounded good to me at the time.

And, my husband is a an avid sports fisherman.  And he liked the gift.  That’s all that matters. Right?

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I love writing about the misconceptions of a Baby Boomer’s Retirement.

America is obsessed with painting an idyllic picture of what retirement should be.

Have you seen the commercial where folks write down their favorite things on a helium balloon?

As it turns out, the narrator instructs these good people to cut half of their beloved balloons loose…

For Real.

This act symbolizes their dream retirement disappearing and floating away…..never to be captured again.

Oops….they didn’t save enough money to have a Perfectly Planned Retirement .

I cringe everytime I see that commercial.

Sometimes, I just flip the channel.

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Do I want to go on a River Cruise in Europe?

Don’t you know it!  You should see my brochure collection, already.

Do I hope, one day, to make purchases without writing it down on my monthly budget spreadsheet?

Well, I don’t even need to answer that question.  Of course, it’s a resounding YES!

But there’s no guarantees.  And, I’m not waiting around for some distant date to discover happiness.

For all you Boomers out there wishing and wanting for that Utopian Retirement….

Data Point:

Today is Tomorrow’s Good Ole’ Days!  

You just haven’t realized it, yet.

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THE PARABLE of the Mexican Fisherman and the Investment Banker

(PARAPHRASED)*

Once upon a time, there was a Harvard MBA who held a prestigious position on Wall Street.

Stressed-out to the max and in bigtime need of a serious vacation, he ventured down to a small, quaint and beautiful fishing village on the coast of Mexico.

The banker noticed a fisherman at the dock with a small boat with a few fresh fish.

The American complimented the fisherman on his daily catch.

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The Investment Banker asked the Mexican fisherman, “Hey! How long did it take to catch the fish?”

The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.”

The Banker was a little taken back by that answer.

He promptly suggested that the fisherman stay out on the water longer to catch more fish.

But the Mexican man explained that this amount of fish adequately supported his family’s needs.

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The Investment Banker pressed harder.

“But my goodness….What do you do with the rest of your day?”

The Mexican fisherman said,

“I sleep late each morning, fish a little during the day, play with my children in the afternoon, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village every evening where I sip wine and play my guitar with my amigos.  I have a full and busy life, senor.”

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The American wasn’t having any of this!

“Look, I am an Ivy League educated investment banker, and I am here to tell you that you are wasting your talent and time!”

He instructed the fishermen to spend more time fishing so he could spend the extra money on a bigger boat to catch more fish.  Eventually, the fisherman could purchase a fleet of fishing vessels and bypass the middleman and sell directly to the processor and open his own cannery.

The banker went on to tell the fisherman that he would be in total control of his destiny – controlling the product, processing and distribution!

 Of course, all of this would demand that he leave this coastal village and move to Mexico City to manage his growing company.

Then ultimately he would have to move to New York City to run his corporate conglomerate.

The fisherman asked, “Senor, how long will this all take?”

To which the banker gladly informed the fisherman, “15-20 years. Tops.”

“And after that, then what?” – the fisherman innocently asked.

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The Harvard MBA said, “Man, then comes the best part! When the market allows, you announce an IPO of your company stock and become uber rich.”

“And then what?” asked the Mexican fisherman.

The American proudly promised the fisherman this,

“You’ll be so wealthy that you’ll be able to retire!  You’ll even be able to move to a quiet and quaint coastal fishing village.  You’ll be able to sleep late in the mornings, fish a little, play with your grandkids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll into the village each evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

*I always give credit for any citations used in my posts.  As far as my research would take me – I believe Heinrich Boll in 1963 wrote “Anekdote Zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral”…a story based in Europe.  In my quest to find the author of the Mexican Fisherman….I discovered that an unknown writer adapted Boll’s story to make a Mexican coastal village as the setting.