The Wheelbarrow

The morning sun warming up the Virgin and her flowers,


I did not realize that Crocus only open in the sunshine. Today the sun is back from behind storm clouds and I now have purple in addition to yellow,


And see, they really are green leafing buds,


I looked up a wheelbarrow story that I heard, but I could not remember it all, and found it was based on a real person. Here is the real person story,

Blondin's greatest fame came in June of 1859 when he attempted to become the first person to cross a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile across the mighty Niagara Falls. He walked across 160 feet above falls several times, each time with a different daring feat - once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet!

On one occasion though, he asked for the participation of a volunteer.

A large crowd gathered and a buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oooohed!” and “Aaaaahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across one dangerous step after another -- blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow.

Upon reaching the other side, the crowd's applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?" The crowd enthusiastically shouted, "Yes, yes, yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. You can do anything!"

"Okay," said Blondin, "Get in the wheelbarrow....."

The Blondin story goes that no one did!

(http://www.creativebiblestudy.com/Blondin-story.html)

I heard the story as a faith story. Faith is getting in the wheelbarrow and trusting that a power greater than yourself will get you through to the other side. True faith would be enjoying the view in perfect serenity on the way! I needed the story today and told it to some other people. It's funny what a great analogy the wheelbarrow is and how much easier it is to talk about wheelbarrows than faith. One guy clearly said he wasn't ever getting in the wheelbarrow. One guy said he would check the quality of the wheelbarrow and the tires first, do the tires have grooves that will help them run along the wire? I mostly think I get in and hop out and then get back in again.

I spoke to two people at BNY Mellon Shareowner Services today and got blazing mad. Their shareowner services are based in the Philippines and there seems to be no concept of service there. I was trying to set up online services, which did not go through and they want me to wait another few weeks so they can mail me a code. Can't do it over the phone, can't talk to anyone in the US. What happened to customer service? I am a shareholder! Customer service went overseas and died.

So, I called my bank, Chase Bank, and talked to their investor services guy about my alternatives and he was really great. I was then informed and calm. Chase Bank has always been good to me and seems to have some big emphasis on customer service and trying to act small and personal.

I wasn't calm enough to call BNY Mellon back today, though, just calm enough to look up that wheelbarrow story, share it with others, and then get back in the wheelbarrow.