Soapweed's Ranch
Ramblings |
My teen-aged kids talked their mother into buying some purple ketchup recently.
Of course, I howled in protest. They talked me into trying some on a hamburger,
and it tasted as bad as it looked. My wife said, "It is all in your imagination.
It is just regular ketchup in a different color." I adamantly asserted otherwise,
and bragged that if blind-folded, I could sure tell them the difference. It
didn't take long for them to bring out a tea-towel, cover my eyes, and take
me up on my challenge. As you would guess, even with a fifty percent chance
of winning, I missed the call. It is a case of "they won the battle, but I won
the war." (I have proclaimed that all future ketchup in this house shall be
of a definite red color). (My proclamations are sometimes taken with a grain
of salt.)
The whole point of this exhortation is "Perception." What we think that something
is does matter, because it is hard to change our "perception" once our mind-set
is in place. As beef producers, we need to keep this in mind when promoting our
product to the average American house-wife.
It kind of reminds me of the old Alaskan sourdough who was quite an expert in
whiskey and other alcohol-related beverages. He challenged some other folks to
blind-fold him, give him samples, and he could tell them what kind of liquor
it was, what company made it, and the year that is was produced. He was doing
just fine and hadn't missed a call. Some wag slipped in a jigger-glass full of
pure water just to be ornery. The old sourdough took several sips, swished it
around in his mouth, and was completely puzzled. He said, "I thought I knew them
all, but you have fooled me this time. The only thing I can tell you for sure,
though, is that it will never catch on."
Copyright © 2005 Steve
Moreland
All Rights Reserved