Different Strokes.

Picture the scene. A young carefree boater is laid back on a beautiful grassy bank, on a warm summers day in the dappled shade of a weeping willow tree. The birds are singing, the bee's are buzzing and he is enjoying his leisure time. He has his fishing rod cast out into the clear water.

When along came a man walking along the towpath. He was trying to engage in conversion various people he met. Then the man noticed the young boater sitting on the grass and wondered why the boater was wasting his time fishing. When he could have been working to make a living for himself and his family. 'You aren't going to catch many fish that way. Anyway you could be volunteering or working, rather than just lying on the grass!' observed the man.

The young boater looked up at the man, smiled and replied, 'If I was to work hard what would my reward be?' 'Well, you could afford more rods and in that way catch even more fish!' was the reply. 'Not only that, but if you make a lot of money you would be able to buy a bigger boat, which will then give you somewhere to fish from, rather than sitting on the grass.' 'But then what would my reward be' asked the young boater.

The man was beginning to get a little irked with the young boater. 'You could then not only buy a bigger boat, but you could then hire people to work for you!' The young boater was enjoying the moment and inquired 'Then what will my reward be?' The man was visibly miffed. 'Don't you see, then you can build up a fleet of hire boats, that cruise all over the canal system.' Once again the young boater asked 'then what will my reward be?'

The man said, 'Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this grass, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!' The young boater, still smiling, looked up and said, 'what do you think I'm doing right now?

The young boater said can I ask you a question. What do you do for a living?' 'I am the CEO for the Canal and River Trust' replied the man. The young boater said 'Don't you think if your senior staff and the trustees worked harder, all the locks could be repaired and all the rubbish could be cleared. The waterways could be dredged and the everything could be generally improved.' The man thought for a moment before sitting down beside him on the grass, he turned and said 'What bait are you using?'