Dear Reader:

John Dewey was right when he observed that if a problem is well-stated (which correlates to much thought-out problem solving) then the solution is already half-solved.

I learned this lesson with an everyday problem I encountered while buying a jacket and shell for a wedding and cocktail reception for Jackson’s niece.

I went to Dillards and I was steered right to the perfect sales clerk…kindest person I have ever known. I told her that I needed a cocktail outfit for a wedding reception and I didn’t want to  have any more pants taken up….so off to the Petite Short section we went.

She found me some flowing black pants that actually fit…length and all and then showed me the (title photo) jacket…pretty white jacket with a shell underneath.

The jacket fit fine…but the shell came down low enough to show the scars across my chest. When she sales clerk knocked on the door to see how everything was fitting….I showed her the problem.

She didn’t flinch at the unexpected sight of my war zone...but immediately flipped me around and said that the back of the shell was higher than the front so we had a solution…she asked me to turn the shell around, cut off all the tags, and wear the back side on the front… which now fit like a “boat” style (straight across) top.

While I was shifting the top around…the clerk told me that a lot of companies were now making shells just for this situation (reversible with no tags)….they can be worn either way. She showed me how to remove the tags gently so as not to tear the blouse and viola….problem solved.

Many times…the problems we encounter in life are just that simple…all that is needed is a different perspective…and a little help from our friends.

Yesterday we discussed the importance of storytelling in our lives as a way of addressing problems. This reminded me of one of my favorite stories I used to love performing for children and adults alike. It is a fable based on an old folk story that has been revised numerous times.

I took it and revised it once more…another adaptation of a popular folk tale. One of the origins of the tales goes back to the title : A Kingdom for a Drop of Honey and Other Burmese Folktales (Maung Hun Aung)

This particular version was re-told by Margaret Read MacDonald. (Peace Tales: World Folktales) I, then , made an adaptation of the story from this.

“A Honey of a Problem”

Revision/Adaptation by Becky Dingle

Once upon a time a king sat with his top adviser, eating honey on a piece of puffed rice. It was his favorite treat! As both of them nibbled away…they leaned out the top palace window to see the beautiful, peaceful kingdom below.

The king wasn’t paying much attention to his eating and a drop of honey fell off the puffed rice onto the windowsill. The adviser immediately spotted the drop of honey and offered to wipe it up.

“Oh, don’t bother,” said the king. “That’s not our problem…the servants will clean it up later.”

As the two men continued to dine on their honey and puffed rice…the sun grew warmer and slowly began to melt the honey…until the one drop fell off the window sill down into the streets below… with a big plop!

A fly spotted the honey and immediately began to make a feast of it for himself. Suddenly, a lizard that lived under the palace spotted the fly and honey (two for the price of one) stuck out his long tongue and swallowed the fly.

Unbeknown to the lizard, who was smacking his lips, a cat had witnessed the whole scene, and she pounced on the lizard. But before she could even swallow her unexpected delight…a dog sprang forward and attacked her!

The adviser to the king noticed some commotion in the streets below and made the king aware of the fact that a dog and cat fight was ensuing below them… and then asked if they should call someone to stop it.

“Never mind,” said the king. “It’s not our problem...nothing big.” They continued munching on their snack of honey and puffed rice.

Meanwhile the cat’s owner and the dog’s owner were both accusing the other’s pet of starting the commotion. Words got heated and soon the two men, the pet owners, were fighting each other.

“King, said the adviser, there now appears to be two men fighting each other in the streets.” “Would you like me to call the guards out to put an end to it?”

The king, who was getting quite drowsy from his full stomach and the sun shining on him….said: “Never mind…it is nothing…besides…it’s not our problem.”

Meanwhile…the friends of the cat’s owner and the friends of the dog’s owner now began to take sides and started cheering each friend on to fight harder. Soon both groups exchanged heated words and a brawl broke out between the two factions.

“Oh king!” said the adviser more loudly. “It appears that there is a street brawl going on between a large gathering of men in the square below. Don’t you think we should call out the guards to put a stop to this?”

The king, who was half asleep by now, shook his head, and went to lie down on a couch. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Besides…it’s not our problem.”

The palace’s soldiers, however, did seem to think it was a problem and they marched onto the scene. Soon after… some of the military sided with the cat’s owner, and others with the dog’s. A civil war erupted between the two groups.

Homes were burned, people were hurt or killed, stores were ramsacked, and finally the palace, itself, was burned to the ground. (The king and his adviser barely escaped with their lives.)

The next morning, amidst the lingering smoke, destruction, and carnage, the king and his adviser surveyed the damage.

“Perhaps,” said the king. “I was wrong. It appears that the little drop of honey was our problem“

– A tale from Burma and Thailand

………………………..

*When I told this story and got to the refrain where the king always answered with “That’s not our problem” I had the children shout it out with me. Then I added an additional ending to the story for more emphasis on the message from it…with a little “Dingle-Jingle.”

“Solve your problems while they’re small.

If left alone, they will grow tall

And in the end…be our own downfall”!

( I had the children squat down for the small problems, then stretch tall for the second line and then fall on the ground for the conclusion.)

Jerry Falek, the master storyteller… we mentioned yesterday, is right. We can learn from the folk tales of old, even if we don’t have elders in our families to teach us about life and life’s problems.

“A good story is often far more valuable than an answer.”

So until tomorrow…May we be open to different avenues for learning how to best make our way through life…with God as our director.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* The wedding! The Ya’s were reunited yesterday afternoon at the the William Aiken House in downtown Charleston for the wedding of Jackson’s niece, Mim to our favorite Scotsman, Chris. Beautiful wedding… sumptous food, warm reunions, and pure happiness. We love you Mim and Chris!

The Ya’s and our favorite Matthew! What a cutie!

  The Ya’s…..

The freedom of  love and happiness for a newly wedded couple and an imprisonment for wine-drinkers..(couldn’t step out on the sidewalks with a wine glass….had to stay “contained” within the William Aiken House premises)….don’t I live a tough life?