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The tomato growers
Once there were two tomato growers. One was called James and the other one Gordon.
Gordon was very disappointed with his tomatoes. Every day, he would go to
them to them and water them and check how much they had grown. Sadly, his
tomatoes stayed pitifully small. He would twist them and squeeze them to
feel if they were at least ripening a little bit, and accidentally dislodge one from the
vine on occasion. It would drop to the ground and rot away.
Gordon felt something had to be done. So he purchased the best fertilizer he
could find, with the right amount of potassium and all the other nutrients a
tomato could wish for, and placed it in front of his tomatoes. He told them:
"If you grow really really well, I will give you this fertilizer as a
reward. This shall be your motivation." It seemed to have no effect on the
tomatoes. If anything, they were only growing at an even slower pace.
Gordon became even more dissatisfied with his tomatoes and started withholding
water to see if that would convince the tomatoes to grow. But all that
happened was that the tomato plants became infested with pests and he had to
spray them with pesticides. ("Damn, that stuff is expensive," Gordon grumbled.) It was too late.
The tomato plants turned yellow and started dying. Gordon got very
frustrated and kicked at the plants.
James, on the other hand, adored his tomatoes. He loved them! Every day, he went to them, and removed all those
little sprouts from the armpits of the tomato plants and enjoyed that typical
spicy tomato smell. That way, all the nutrition went to the little tomato
fruits, not into making sprouts. He watered them every day, and made sure
the quantity of water was just so.
He took care that they got the right
amount of nice warm sunshine and on days without sunshine, he would provide
artificial sunshine. He also gave them the right amount of fertilizer
whenever they needed it. His tomatoes became famous. Everyone admired them.
They were so beautiful, so healthy! His tomatoes seemed to be shining with joy. It was almost
as if they loved James back and wanted to make him really really happy.
Gordon commented that life just is not fair and that there is nothing you
can do about it and also that James had started growing his tomatoes a year
earlier, hadn't he, and that there were no pests at James's location, and
probably also a lot more sunshine. He knew it! Life ain't fair!
And he had never liked James much anyway.
James was not aware of Gordon's grumblings at all. He found more than enough joy in caring for his tomatoes.
Cooked up on October 16, 2009, inspired by a farmer on Oahu
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