Jean-Baptiste, the Farmer/Trader - by TPO

Jean-Baptiste, the Farmer/Trader *

(A folk tale from Lorraine in Northeast France)*

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In days of yore, in France as elsewhere in the world, the economy or business activity of societies was not very sophisticated because money was scarce.  Everything was done at a very basic level of simple barters or trade exchanges.  Farmers were traders, and there were no middle men because the exchanges were made directly between the farmers at the market place or village fair.

So then to our story … there once was a poor farmer named Jean-Baptiste and his wife Marguerite who worked hard and lived humbly at their little farm in the countryside. 

One day, Marguerite said to her husband, "Jean-Baptiste, we are so poor this year that we won't pull through at all unless you go and do a little trading at the market.  I hear that farmers go there and do some business and are prospering nicely.  Even our neighbor has become wealthy and has money."

But her husband protested, "But dear Marguerite, you know that I don't know how to trade." 

"Don't say that, darling.  Trading is not all that difficult, all you need to do is exchange what we have for what we don't have."

"I tell you I'll do a bad job of it, and you will be angry with me … and you'll stop speaking to me."

"My dear husband, I know that we'll not always succeed in our efforts, but nothing can stop us from trying.  We have a cow ... go take her to the market and do some trading.  After that, we'll see how we have done."

So, Jean-Baptiste took the cow out of the barn and set off on his way to the market.  He had not gone very far when he ran into another peasant who was dragging a goat behind him.

> Hey, Jean-Baptiste, where are you headed?

> I’m on my way to do some trading at the market.  But I don’t know how I’ll do there.

> That is not complicated at all.  What will you be bartering there, my lad?

> My wife wants me to trade our cow.

> Well … you don’t have to go any further.  I’ll trade my goat for your cow right here and right now.

Jean-Baptiste reflected on the matter.  He took his hat (his beret) off, and scratched his head.  Then, he said, “Good, agreed.  It’s a deal.”

Decisively and on the spot, he bartered the cow for the goat and resumed his journey.  While trudging through a long stretch of land, he came across a peasant who was carrying a goose in his arm.

“And where may you be headed, Jean-Baptiste?” The peasant inquired.

> I’m going to the fair to trade my goat.

> Ah!  So you barter, do you?  And what do you have to trade as such?

> Well, to start with, I traded my cow for this goat.  Now I’m going to barter this goat.

> Alright then, you are doing really well.  The more one trades, the better one gets in business.  Would you care to trade your goat for my goose?

Jean-Baptiste agreed, and the two exchanged their animals.  Our hero set off again on his way to the market … but this time, with a goose in his arm.  A bit further down the road, he met a man carrying a rooster in a basket.  Pretty much in the same fashion, Jean-Baptiste bartered again and he traded the goose for the rooster.

At long last, he arrived at the village and, just at the entrance, he observed an old woman who was collecting dung in the street.

He asked the woman, “Do you ever make money from that?”

“Enough,” she replied.

“Would you trade the dung for my rooster?”

The old woman did not hesitate for a second, and they right away exchanged their possessions.  Quite content with his trading so far, Jean-Baptiste arrived at the main fair where he met his wealthy neighbor.

> Hey, there you are, Jean-Baptiste.  Did your bartering go well?

> Oh that, yes.  I traded my cow for a goat.

> But, what is Marguerite going to say about that?

> She will be content.  But that’s not all.  After that, I traded my goat for a goose, and the goose for a rooster.

> You parted with your cow for just that … you have been doing some strange trading.  Are you sure Marguerite will be happy?

> I tell you she will be quite content.  I’m very certain of it.

> She must not be a difficult person to please then.  But me, I would not want to be in your shoes when you return home tonight.

> Hold on, that’s not all.  Later, I bartered the rooster for the dung that I have here with me.

> Well, okay.  I won’t say anything more.  If your wife does not get mad this time, I will have seen everything.

> Marguerite will be quite happy.

> Really?  Well, I doubt that.

> That’s because you do not know her like I do.

> Well then let’s bet on it.

> How much?

> I’ll bet you two-hundred francs.  If she gives you trouble, you’ll pay me.  If she does not, it will be me who pays up.

> Alright.  Agreed!

So, they both together returned to Jean-Baptiste’s farm and entered his cottage.

> Well, Jean-Baptiste, did you do good business?

> Of-course, my Cherié.  I traded our cow for a goat.

> So much the better.  We don’t have enough hay for a cow anyway.  But it will be enough for a goat; and what’s more, the goat will give us some milk.

> Yes, but then I bartered the goat for a goose.

> Very good.  Just what I've wanted … I’ll have enough feathers for our pillows.

> Yes, but then I traded the goose for a rooster.

> That’s very good indeed.  I have noticed that we oversleep in the morning.  It could wake us up at a good, early hour in the morning.  That would give us an extra hour for our work!

> But, then finally, I bartered the rooster for this dung that I brought home with me.

> Even better.  It is needed in our garden.  My flowers will grow and bloom so well, and I will be able to make beautiful bouquets.

The neighbor had heard enough.  He said, “Here are your two-hundred francs, Jean-Baptiste.  But, above all promise me, don’t ever trade your wife for anything.  You will never find anything to equal her worth!”

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*Source : Vary, Andrée , “Les Trocs de Jean-Baptiste”, Contes et Légendes de France, National Text book Company, 1993 
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*Revised, adapted, and translated from the French original by: Hénock Gugsa
 

"Presenting Ethiopia" ~ by Hénock Gugsa

"Presenting Ethiopia" 

~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

Here is a video I hurriedly put together.  It is something less dispiriting and less somber with which to end the year.  I am hopeful you will find it fun, interesting, and maybe even wistfully diverting.  It is a bird's eye-view of an ancient land, its people and its history!

Incidentally, this is actually the 1,000th post or entry in this blog.  I began TPO in 2009.  Unfortunately, this could very well be my last posting as I am beginning to slowly lose interest.  Sadly, there has been very little encouragement for my efforts from any corner.  For the most part, I have actually not been getting any reaction of any kind whatsoever!  As a result, from this point on, my posting will definitely and markedly be reduced or suspended indefinitely!

My thanks to all the people near and far who have read or viewed any of the posts here over the years!!!

Presenting Ethiopia - the Video from Hénock on Vimeo. ==================================================================
Please  NOTE !
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I suggest when you're watching the video and it gets to a text frame, pause the video. That way you can read  the text without any rush.  Also, it is good to put the video in "full window" state.  You should find the feature right on the frame, just hover your mouse over little icons you might see around there.  When you're done, hit the ESC key on your keyboard, it will bring you back to normal viewing.

Very Troubling Indeed ! - by Hénock Gugsa

 Very Troubling Indeed ! 

~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

From: The Star Tribune , December 12,2016 * 

State Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minneapolis, said Monday that she reported to Washington, D.C., authorities an incident from last week in which she said she was harassed and threatened by a cabdriver ....
Omar, who will become the country's first Somali-American state legislator, was in the nation's capital last week for a conference attended by other state lawmakers. In a post on Facebook and Twitter last Wednesday, Omar said that she and her sister endured harassment the day before by a D.C. cabdriver after she attended a training at the White House.
The driver, Omar said, called her "ISIS" and threatened to remove her hijab.  [In] her Monday statement she described [the cabdriver] as an "African immigrant."
"It is essential we recognize what happened to me is not an isolated incident ...."  Omar said she has not filed a police report "because I believe criminalizing hate is not a solution and will only strengthen individual malice. Bigotry is a product of ignorance; by educating people, we will move toward respect and understanding." 
 * Source: Star Tribune, December 12,2016

====================================
  I find this report of the allegation by Ilhan Omar very confusing and troubling!  My reasons (or questions) are as follows ...  
1 - Why does she not consider this a "criminal" act ?  Does she not consider "Hate" a serious offense tantamount to crime?  Is she maybe acknowledging there has also been a lot of "Hate" and resentment inside her own [the Somali] community for quite some time now?  
2 - Does she think that the fact [?] the cabdriver is an African mitigates the seriousness of the issue?  Would she be more concerned if he had been a non-black person?  
3 - Has it ever occurred to Ilhan Omar that when she chose the path of public office, especially in the prevailing political climate, that she is fair game from all sides including her own?!   
4 - Does she recognize that her duty now is mainly to work within her own community (changing minds, attitudes, and rigid beliefs) and then to liaise with the rest of society to bring about improved understanding and agreement?

Good Notes to Self - by Hénock Gugsa

============= Good Notes to Self =============

by 

Hénock Gugsa

This past week, I had a good exchange with a friend on Facebook ....

HG ===> At another post, a friend suggests that starting January 1st ... how about logging down on paper (in a file somewhere) only the good things that happen in your life. Then, at the end of the year, go back and read them and smile.  Life has got to offer some good things even in the bleakest of times!

DK ===> I named my office my "I love me room!"  I have a wall of acknowledgments to remind me that I can stand for things worthy the effort, and I have a file drawer full of notes from former students, parents, colleagues and people in the community.  When I find the world bearing down on me and feeling hopeless, I open that drawer and humbly wrap myself in gratitude for the blessings life has brought me.  It helps when things seem their bleakest to have a touch stone.

HG ===> Thank you, Dan. Life indeed is a worthwhile undertaking in the hands of a wise person.  Above all, the learning, the sharing, and the caring is what I find most blissful and satisfying.  And if "memory" or the capacity for it remains in tact, then we can say that sanity is achievable ... humor and balance will stay in place!

The Multitude Are Wrong! - by Hénock Gugsa

The Multitude Are Wrong! 

~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

Recently on Facebook, I responded to somebody named CG [initials] who made the following inane comment to the posted picture meme ....

CG ===> I absolutely love how ironic this picture is, and you all are proving it. It is simply saying ALL issues aren't so simple and everyone needs to be well informed. Nowhere does it mention politics, but what do so many of you do? You simply the issue to a "Democrats vs Republicans."
For fuck sakes, get your head out of the politician's assholes and THINK for yourself.
_______________________________
[ and I responded to CG as follows ...]

HG ===> Curtis: Couldn't you just simply give us only your take on the message in the meme instead of your snarky commentary about the world? I do not get anything of value from your commentary here, but I want you to know that I like and agree with the message in the meme. I don't have to give anyone a reason why ... do you give your reason for everything you do or for your beliefs and judgements?!

HG ===> ... and oh, incidentally, I see that  286  people have given your commentary a thumbs up.  I believe this proves that indeed the multitude seem to prefer taking the wrong path as stated by the meme.  This is a perfect example of "res ipse loquitur" ["the thing speaks for itself"]. 

[Choices and Pitfalls of] Decision Making ~~ by TPO

[Choices and Pitfalls of] Decision Making *

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<<....  In 2006, J. Edward Russo, a psychologist specializing in decision making at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management, ran a series of experiments to illustrate just how easy it would be to get us to go against our own best interest with just a bit of clever framing.  First, he and his colleagues asked a group of students about their restaurant preferences for two pairs of fictional restaurants that were described according to ten different attributes (atmosphere, daily specials, driving distance, speed of service, and the like).  Two weeks later, they asked  everyone to come in for a follow-up.  This time, the list of attributes was modified and ordered in a very specific way.  The information was identical, but now the characteristic that most favored the inferior restaurant was placed first -- and the less favorable last.  Everyone was next asked to rate the restaurants a second time, and then to say how confident they were of their choices on a scale of zero (uncertain) to one-hundred (completely certain), where fifty represents a toss-up.

This time around, a majority of people -- 62 percent -- favored the previously inferior choices.  The fact that the first attribute supported it skewed all subsequent information.  In fact, after the first attribute alone, a full 76 percent said the inferior choice was the leader.  What's more, they had no idea  they were doing it.  People were choosing a restaurant they would not have naturally liked nearly as much as other options, but they remained equally confident in their choice no matter what option they'd picked.>>
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* Source: "The Confidence Game" by Maria Konnikova (Viking Press, 2016). 
                  ~~ Page 160 ~~

  

"The Don't-Know Mind" [A clean slate] ~~ by Zen Master Seung Sahn Soen-sa

"The Don't-Know Mind" 

[A clean slate] 

 by Zen Master Seung Sahn Soen-sa

Throw away all opinions, all likes and dislikes, and only keep the mind that doesn’t know… Your before-thinking mind, my before-thinking mind, all people’s before-thinking minds are the same. This is your substance. Your substance, my substance, and the substance of the whole universe become one. So the tree, the mountain, the cloud, and you become one… The mind that becomes one with the universe is before thinking. Before thinking there are no words. “Same” and “different” are opposites words; they are from the mind that separates all things.

The Three Pillars of Zen's Don't-Know Mind :
Zen Practice … requires great faith, great courage, and great questioning.
What is great faith? Great faith means that at all times you keep the mind which decided to practice, no matter what. It is like a hen sitting on her eggs. She sits on them constantly, caring for them and giving them warmth, so that they will hatch. If she becomes careless or negligent, the eggs will not hatch and become chicks. So Zen mind means always and everywhere believing in myself….
Great Courage … means bringing all your energy to one point. It is like a cat hunting a mouse. The mouse has retreated into its hole, but the cat waits outside the hole for hours on end without the slightest movement. It is totally concentrated on the mouse-hole. This is Zen mind — cutting off all thinking and directing all your energy to one point.
Great Questioning … If you question with great sincerity, there will only be don’t-know mind. 

Lake Nokomis - Part 2 ~~ by Hénock Gugsa

Lake Nokomis - Part 2 *

~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

 * Part 1 was posted on 10/19/16 as:  "Lake Nokomis, My Lake ~~ by Hénock Gugsa"

Assessment and Prognostication - by Hénock Gugsa

Assessment and Prognostication 

~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

A Seriously Damaged Party:

The Democratic Party has taken a severe blow in the gut.  

The anger and frustration (hopelessness, helplessness) of the "working class" was not sufficiently addressed.  Hillary was never really there, and Obama was misguided in his unnecessary and (I believe wrong) advocacy of TPP* ~~~ both Clinton and Obama, thereby damaging the Democrat brand.  Hillary never picked up Bernie's cry, instead she chose the bland and uninspiring route. Big miscalculation!

And as for Donald Trump ... he's just an opportunist and a wild card! He stole the fire that should have been in the Democratic Party's camp!

Beginning of the Future: 

If things don't go well for this new Republican administration, you can bet your bottom dollar that indiscriminate scapegoating will be the order of the day. What's more, since Mr. Trump's agenda is obscure and not even seriously thought-out, there is great potential for self-propagating failure. I do not see clear skies in the horizon. 

In the global sphere, I am envisioning the world as conceived by George Orwell in his book, "1984".

The setting of Orwell's book  is the futuristic, fictional country of Oceania .  When Orwell wrote the book in 1948, the future he envisioned was 1984 ... hence the title of the book.
Oceania is one of three world powers; the other two are Eurasia and Eastasia. War with one or the other world power is a constant reality. 
It is always an alignment of two powers against one.
 
I am now envisioning the Americas as Oceania ... Eurasia as being all of Europe including Russia ... and Eastasia as China, India, etc.
 
Currently, with the Putin and Trump friendship, can you see the beginning of an alignment between Oceania and Eurasia against the "current" threat, Eastasia?  

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*  TPP = Trans Pacific Partnership (trade pact)