Ode to Peanut Butter

I was sitting on my five hours high speed train listening to some Elton John, when a lovely thought floated into my head: peanut butter.  I don’t know where it came from or who (what country) can take credit for inventing it, but I know that the US has it and that we’re not particularly secretive about it. So as I sat on my train that was flying at about 197km/hr, I came to wonder how such a large portion of the world, including China, has not yet discovered its amazingness. If you think about it, our dear good old peanutbutter is good on veggies and fruits; it’s good on bread and on fingers (don’t deny it, you’ve done it); it’s good off a spoon; it’s good for breakfast and lunch (who didn’t eat a pb&j sandwich 4/5 days a week in junior high?) and of course dinner: who doesn’t spoil themselves with a peanut butter brownie sundae or peanut butter m&ms every once in a while?

Now I’m not calling the US superior to any country out there, but seriously?! How is everyone else on the planet so not into peanut butter? I honestly don’t think I’ll ever grasp that concept.

Anyways, for all of you in the US: enjoy your peanut butter lest it be taken away from you some day. And as for us in the land of no peanut butter, aka China; I hope we have friends who love us enough to perhaps share a bit via snail mail :D

Note: as of writing this post, I have since discovered peanut butter at Walmart! Talk about a twofer!

Un-joke-like joke

I was reading a friend's blog, who happened to have sold most of his possessions (minus his car) and bought a one way ticket to Mexico city and has now been backpacking for almost a year, when I came across this joke that he shared:


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An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The tourist then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The tourist scoffed, " I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions?...Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
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Like my friend, I was inspired by this. Yes, it's a joke, but in reality, it's far from it. I think in America we have lost focus of what it is to live, and we focus on money instead. We can't enjoy a nice day sitting in the park people watching or reading a book, instead, we get this nagging feeling that we should be doing something else, and that something else usually involves money. I want to be more like the fisherman.