Talk about random, huh?
Here's the story: Picture it: Friday morning, 9 am on a clear January day in coastal Maine. An eel falls from the sky onto a parking lot. An eagle had fished it out of the nearby river and probably dropped it when it realized the disgustingness of its catch. While the eel looks a little beat up from its ginormous fall, it is quite miraculously still alive.
So one of my coworkers goes to get a box to contain it and brings him (her? it?) to the river. The moment of release, he hears a stern “What do you think you’re doing?” and it’s a game warden. That's right downtown at 9 am and there is a game warden. He and my coworker come to an understanding of what’s happening and the eel takes a few seconds to swim off but eventually does.
When I had learned that all this happened within about two feet of my car, I begin picturing a fictious situation involving an awkward conversation with an insurance agent and an eel shaped dent in my hood. But I got to thinking a little more about it and in typical Nicole style tried to glean some sort of symbolism:
1. Sometimes you're just doing your thing then Bam! you're 100 feet in the air in the claws of an eagle. Life throws this kind of thing at you so it's best not to take it too personally.
2. When all seems hopeless, try wriggling. You can get out of most situations, sometimes though you have to be a little flexible or unconventional.
3. Just because you fall, doesn't mean it's over. There are so many nice people in the world who would love to scrape you off the pavement and take you back home (you know, as long as you don't bite them). I'm sure you've found at least once in your life that you're more resilent then you ever realized.
4. Choose your parking spots carefully. (Sorry couldn't resist that one)
Yes, this doesn't have much to do with personal finance but, come on, how often does this happen?
Cool story! Now I want to go to Maine to see eagles dropping eels.
Oh my word! That has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard! Wow! just when you thought You’ve heard it all. That poor subaru has had quite the couple of years,a broken window in boston and now assaulted by a flying eel! haha!
Great story. It’s a uplifting positive story. To relate it to personal finance consider tailoring it to the big bad grizzly bear foraging through your campsite. Then, he comes across your tasty 401k. He gnaws at it and chews it up a bit. He spits it out as a 201k. Then, you get all kinds financial planners hearing about your story trying to convince you that their commission based investments can rejuviante your 401k. But wait, your Wall Street prince in shinging armor shows up and offers free advice. Your 201k starts to grow and in one day may retire happily ever after.
I love this! And you so creatively turned it into a moral. Thanks for the smile.
I try to explain eel shaped dents to insurance agents all the time.
Hehe, talk about random. I don’t run into too many eels in my neck of the woods, so I had to stop and read what was going on. Great moral, though and it relates just as much to personal finance as every day life.
1.) Sometimes you’re swimming along just fine with your accounts in balance and your emergency fund growing, when BAM! Life hands you an eel and you have to pay for it. Sucks out most of your emergency fund and/or savings. These things happen. Don’t take it personally.
2.) When it seems hopeless, try wiggling…that’s like thinking outside the box. Not all income has to come from a 9-5 job. Get creative and find some side hustles!
3.) Just because you fall, doesn’t mean you’re ruined. So your 401(k) has lost money, it’s not the end of the world. The market will go up again, you’ll gain your money back, and all will be well. The world is full of cycles, everyone goes up and down. Just remember there are those who are willing to help you when you’re down.
4.) Choose your parking spots carefully…well, this is true even in good fun. Door dings, shopping cart scrapes, and flying eels make for interesting discussions with insurance agents, but at the end of the day, you could be forking over more money.
Thanks for sharing!
WTF.