Piute County School District,

Just two quick stories 

Story #1

Once a man took a leisurely stroll along the docks. As he passed one boat he noticed an old fisherman loading supplies on the boat. He noticed an open bucket with a crab trying to climb out of it. As he got closer he noticed there were a lot of crabs in the bucket. As the fisherman stepped back onto the dock the passerby commented with a smile, “It looks like your bait is going to escape.” The old fisherman laughed and said, “just watch for a minute” and carried on with his work. As the passerby watched the escaping crab was pulled back into the bucket by the other crabs. Now very interested, he watched several more crabs try to escape and each time the other crabs pulled them back into the bucket. When the old fishermen made his next appearance on the dock he said, “A single crab would escape with ease, but a group of crabs will keep each other trapped forever.”

Story #2

Once a rancher was finishing up a repair on a fence. It was getting cold and the steady wind was picking up. His two young sons watched close by. When a group of geese flew overhead the younger son asked, “why do geese make that honking sound, and why do they fly in a v shape like that.” The rancher stopped what he was doing and said, “what if I told you two to run in a line back to the house, would you want to run in the front or the back?” “The back,” they both responded. “Why's that?” the father continued, “so I don’t have to run into the wind,” the younger son replied. The father then turned to the geese, “Well, those geese don’t like facing the wind directly either. They honk to encourage and talk to each other. They’ll take turns flying in the front and doing so will help them fly a lot further and faster.”

Everyday we get to decide if we’re going to be the crab that pulls others down or be the optimist that takes our turn lifting others. With ideal weather conditions, a group of canadian geese can travel 1,500 miles in a single day. Without the wind lift that the geese get from the other geese in front of them, they might only be able to do 890 miles in a day. Crabs can keep us trapped in a negative mindset, optimistic friends can help us go further than we’ve ever gone. When everyone lifts, we all go further. Thanks for taking your turn and lifting the group. We’re all better because of you.

Thanks and have a great week 18,

Koby