All the lovely wisteria around right now reminded me of this post from 2010, so a re-post is in order!
- Stopping by The German Bakery near my house only to find it closed, but finding it surrounded by wisteria. Beautiful. When I was a little girl, I used to think wisteria vines were bunches of grapes.
- The image instantly recalls a fable from Aesop, "The Fox and the Grapes": "ONE hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. 'Just the things to quench my thirst,' quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are sour.""IT IS EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT GET."
- Aesop's Fables are wonderful for their lessons, I think. Wikipedia recounts this modern variant on the tale with the following joke from the comedian Mitch Hedberg: "Sometimes in the middle of the night, I think of something that's funny, then I go get a pen and I write it down. Or if the pen's too far away, I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain't funny."
19 comments:
"IT IS EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT GET." A good trap to avoid, that kind of thinking!
Ummm,bakery?? how can you throw that word to me so early in the day?? :)
xoxo
Jannie -
It subliminally crept into my mind when that bakery was closed. I was supposed to bring dessert to a meeting and had visions of their baked goods dancing in my head. And then when a handwritten sign on the door said they had closed early, I was forced to go the grocery store bakery. I thought, "Hmpf - the German Bakery is much too expensive anyway and I'll save money at Publix." So - the fable worked for me in that way. But on the flip side - I love that German bakery still. Thumbprint cookies, yum. :)
Wisteria is so beautiful. I wish I had some.
Wisteria reminds me of grapes, too! There is something romantic in their lush spill of blooms.
I have a book of Aesop's fables. I like how they speak of things we can all relate to. Of course, there is another type of fox who would never give up and would cause all sorts of trouble trying to get those grapes - lol!
I love the joke. I once woke myself up to write down what I thought was a fabulous story idea and in the morning I had a list of unconnected words that never made any sense and didn't trigger any memory of the original idea (unless the idea was really THAT bad) - lol!
Mama Zen -
It seems to be all over that area right now. I think it multiplies quickly.
Talon -
I like to give Aesop's Fables as gifts to children. There are so many lessons inside.
That is so interesting - as if you wrote it all down in a dream...
The wild wisteria has been catching my eye in the past few days, too, Lynn -- and in fact F. and I were *supposed* to have a picnic in a park today where I could photograph it to my heart's content. But I'll take the rain we so desperately needed to tamp down the pollen instead -- and hopefully won't be sour about the change in plans. ;)
What a perfect illustration of sour grapes, the bakery story! I got it immediately from the title and loved how the whole post was so tightly woven with meaning and humor. :)
nice. love aesop's fables and all that they tought me growing up...
What was too expensive anyway?
I forgot all about the fox and the grapes. It's hilarious if you think about it - what kind of fox wants to eat grapes??
If it's easy to despise what you cannot get...right now I'm despising eclairs ;)
RK cracked me up.
I have a book of Aesop's fables too, now that's a surprise isn't it? :D
Beautiful flowers. :)
Meredith -
I am sorry you didn't get the picnic, but happy for the rain - we got it, too. Some of that pollen washed away, I think.
Thank you - this will be a favorite post. I generally sit down at 5am with little idea about what I'm going to write and today it just went there - to Aesop. I am basking in your lovely compliment.
Brian -
It's amazing what we retain, huh?
Riot Kitty -
I was using some cognitive dissonance with my title. Since the bakery was unattainable, I decided it is much too expensive a bakery anyway. Nose in air - like that fox. :)
Isn't that a great fable? And greater because of the unlikelihood that the fox would want grapes. Crazy fox.
Joe -
Me, too. :) And I am not one bit surprised.
Getting to places after they're closed is something that happens to me often! Neat Wisteria flowers- never seen them before- great pics!
I used to like the story of Icarus from those fables in my childhood. I also dispise not getting things I try for- n especially things I can't chew, can smell, but not eat!
(Popcorn comes to mind)
I agree- great job! this well-written post made so many commections between the things n tied them all together!
Here in India, there's also a very popular German Bakery in Pune, a city in the western part of the country. The iconic place has also been mentioned by Lonely Planet as a must try joint.
Unfortunately, it was bombed by terrorists on the eve of Valentine's Day this year. The place is yet to be back on its feet. Sad and real bad.
Snaggle -
Thank you - this is going to be a favorite! And popcorn is lost to me, too, after an expensive dental visit to get a popcorn hull dislodged from under a crown.
Shyamanga -
What a terrible thing to have to contend with - terrorism in your country.
Shyamanga -
I looked up the bombing and just watched a short video about it on YouTube - that is such a tragedy. So often things like this get a mention on the nightly news, but we don't always hear of it.
Hi Lynn - wonderful wisteria .. I am wistful to see it! What a great take on A for Aesop and his fables ... I've withdrawn frmo the A-Z ..so won't be around much ... cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary -
I only did the A-Z challenge that one time in 2012 (so I guess it's off my bucket list) - this post with an A in it is just pure coincidence. :) So sorry to hear that you withdrew - I hope all is well.
The wisteria is gorgeous!
Lovely wisteria! A agree about Aesops fables too,
I'm running behind in responding to blogs....I've been having the odd problem with my computer...very odd! It's more my monitor or mouse, I think. I'm hoping my computer guy will come by one day next week to sort it out. My screen has a tendency to go off on its own free-wheeling way...and scrolling out of control! It becomes very frustrating!
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