Legacy

Manfred was a giant catfish who weighed in at three hundred pounds. He was a real big boy with a real big mouth.  He could swallow almost anything, even an occasional small alligator.  Being a giant catfish is a sign of great success due to smart decisions or dumb luck.  I think in Manfred’s case it was dumb luck.

However, that’s not the way Manfred saw it.  It was, as he kept telling the rest of us ignorant wee fish, all due to his expertise at every thing and his superior skill.  If it could be done, he had done it more times than he could remember.  “Yada, yada, yada,” all day long old Mighty Mouth kept his bragging going. Manfred said he deserved some kind of recognition.

Then one day he saw a small sign hanging down in the water.  It said, “You are cordially invited to the big fish fry at  Marvin’s Catfish Café. Bring this invitation with you.”  Manfred thought, Big fish fry, that must be like a celebrity roast and I’m to be the guest of honor.”

So he quickly grabbed the invitation, and whoosh! Suddenly  he went up.  Sure enough, he was the guest of honor and everyone said he tasted so good. The ignorant wee fish said, “So sad.  If he would have closed his mouth long enough to hear what we could have told him, he might have learned something. But, duh!  He didn’t.”

The moral of the story is, if you want to learn something, shut up and listen. It could save a life—yours!