I am about to tell you a cautionary tale and hope you all pay very close attention to the important moral of this story that may very well save your body and soul.

There once was a colony of ants who were busy harvesting grain during the scorching summer 110-degree heat just east of Davis near the beautiful country town of Winters, California. Unfortunately, Winters is the small town that stole our precious music venue, the Palm's Playhouse that we had for over 20 years.

The ants 12-hour toil was exhausting and at the end of the day they ate some of their grain, stored the rest in the cellar, and went early to bed. The Grasshopper, on the other hand, woke up around 11:00 am, played a few video games, checked his FaceBook posts, ate a spicy fly salad sandwich, and of course, chased it down with a delicious glass of freshly squeezed moth juice which, as you all know, is 100% organic.

He then lay out on his hammock and rocked the afternoon away rubbing his legs together making the most incredible music. The elder ants looked on this behavior with disgust for they knew this ant would not survive the harsh 20 degree below zero winter without stored food. This was how the summer progressed: Ants toiling and the Grasshopper relaxing and playing his beautiful soul music.

Of course, the dreaded 20 below zero winter did arrive and the ants retreated to the warm sanctuary of their home, built a toasty fire, and settled in for the winter. The Grasshopper retreated to his grass hut which, of course, wasn't very warm, and he was soon out of food.

It wasn't long before the ants heard a loud knock on their door and opened it to a cold, starving Grasshopper. "Please dear friends, can you spare a few grains of wheat for a poor, hungry and lonely grasshopper"? The head elder replied, "You want us to share our food that we worked tirelessly to harvest while you did nothing? Why don't you try eating your music?" And with that he slammed the door.

MORAL: IF YOU DON'T PLAN FOR THE FUTURE, YOU JUST MIGHT NOT HAVE A FUTURE!!!!!!

Wait: I'm not satisfied with that ending. Okay; I've got it right now. Let's return to that knock on the door.

The ants heard a loud knock on their door and there was the Grasshopper. "Please dear friends, can you spare a few grains of wheat for a poor, lonely grasshopper?" The head elder replied, "You want us to share our food that we worked tirelessly to harvest while you did nothing? Why don't you try eating your music?"

As the elder was about to shut the door a small voice came forth from the littlest ant, "Wait! I, for one, enjoyed the grasshopper's beautiful music. It made my days of toil much more bearable. I think we owe him a great debt."

The colony thought about that and connecting antennae they all agreed with the wisdom of this wise, young ant. They invited the grasshopper in for the winter and were entertained with stories and songs that kept their spirits uplifted.

MORAL: A LIFE OF ALL TOIL IS TRULY A LIFE WITHOUT JOY!!!

COME ON: Let's do better than that! That Moral I really want is just out of my reach. AAHHH! I've got it!!!

On the first day of spring there was a soft tapping on the door and when opened the colony gazed upon the most beautiful monarch butterfly they had ever seen. "Well, hello sugar, she purred to the grasshopper. Are you ready for our annual migration"?

"Yes, ma'am"! And with that the grasshopper hopped onto the back of the butterfly and off they flew to the Bahamas where they spent the spring sipping Piña Coladas, sucking on sweet grasses, and making music with a local Reggae Band.

MORAL:
WHILE IT IS IMPORTANT TO FEED OUR BELLIES, IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO FEED OUR SOULS!!

~ Ed Lewis