Food, The Baboon Congress

Tain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

53 Comments

Today’s post comes from Clyde

A colleague, science teacher/coach, posted this sign: “Tain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.” He taught you have to earn what you get and pay for your mistakes.

Tisn’t always true. One colleague went from free lunch to free lunch, as do others.

What have been your free lunches?

53 thoughts on “Tain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”

  1. “We drink from wells we did not dig; we are warmed by fires we did not kindle.”
    Just being born when, where and who I was has been a comparitively free lunch in many ways.

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

      1. There is a larger sense in which your colleague’s sign and I agree: my “free lunch” carries with it the obligation to dig new wells, kindle new fires.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

  2. i go to some meetup.com events that have food as part of the draw.
    it can be impressive with more food than a group can possibly eat put out for a 2 hour event.
    then you go to one where they charge 15 dollars with food and a drink ticket included and there are 2 plates of chicken wings to feed 300 prople

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Rise and be a Cheapskate Charlie Baboons!

    I am just sure that the squirrel pictured above DID NOT pay for the corn, thereby proving Clyde’s assertion that the saying is not always true. However, yesterday I met with my friend in Mesa who bought me lunch, then we talked and talked, catching up on the 30-some years since our last lunch.

    So that is the literal interpretation. Then we find the phrase, “He taught you have to earn what you get and pay for your mistakes”. Sounds like karma to me. And that part is the cumulative effects of effort and good will in life. That also is somewhat true, but not a guarantee. Our current POTUS has earned little of what he is or what he has. His ability too assess his mistakes, then learn from them, is breathtakingly absent. A tantrum plus a twitter storm of lies seems to solve it for him.

    Like Bill, I look at my life, and understand that when I was born and who I was born to is in so many ways a life of privelege. And despite that, sometimes it is all just so hard. I just try to be grateful.

    Hmmm. My sermon for the day (definitely not a rant!)

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. I don’t pay for the corn either. The building maintenance man brings me a couple bushel every year, although I do share my bread with him and just gave him a bunch of basswood and some butternut for his carving. Not barter, just people sharing. He even gave me the green chair. His mother-in-law just sold her home and he took it from her yard, with her permission, and gave it to me. I suppose all the entertainment the squirrels give me is a free lunch.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

      1. Yesterday I watched for an hour while a squirrel (rare here) tried to steal food from my bird feeder. This was so entertaining that I regretted when the squirrel gave up, defeated. Squirrels are the cleverest problem solvers I know in the animal community . . . or maybe they are tied with raccoons.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        3. BiR: We have trees, lots of trees. The spruces and firs outside my patio shelter the hummingbirds even in winter. But spruces and firs are not edible by squirrels. They do well in oak/maple woods.

          Like

  4. For the past 30 years, we haven’t had to pay a penny for our health insurance premiums. Now the legislature says the State is broke and we have to pay 5%. Well, it was nice while it lasted. It won’t be a burden for us, but it will be hard for many State employees, especially since there won’t be any raises next year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    2. isnt it funny how you were all doing fine til the money came in for two or three years and then when it goes away you are not abck to where twhere you were before you are broke

      Like

      Reply

    1. welcome enterfuntech
      what the heck are you talking about? is 7 articles a thing you did that provides you with a lifelong income or what are you pointing t?

      Like

      Reply

  9. A friend worked for a publishing company in New York. The office manager, whom he described as resembling The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, had an IT tech remove spell checking from all computers in the office. She saw spell checking as a free lunch gimmick that fostered weak character.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. Educators still debate that and the use of calculators. 25 years ago the calculators were a big issue. Last week I was doing some metal math in B&N waiting for Sandy, a part of which included multiplying 7 times 8. I had to work through the seven’s time tables to get the answer. I had lost it as a ready fact. Old age or use of calculators?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. After my math class last fall, I don’t trust myself to do 7 x 8 anymore. Heck, I’m not sure 2 + 2 =4. There might be a negative in there someplace.
        I’ve become more dependent on a calculator since then. Seems like it’s an issue of my lack of faith. I used to believe… then it was challenged, now I don’t know what to believe.
        This semesters math class includes logic, probability, finance math, geometry, ect… just finishing up Venn Diagrams.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

        1. i remember the time i had the guy show up form the comany that i was quoting target on and he looked at my spreadsheet and asked how i got the numbers and i told him and he asked what program i had plugged them into to ge the numbers. i told him i had simply multiplied and divided like you do and he freaked out. he checked all the numbers and was surpised when the numbers came out correctly. i told him tha tis waht i was aiming for and he looked at me like it was an oddity. i just always thought 7×8=56 and couldnt understand why you would be needing a calculator for that but iti sure is cpool how when you change it formm7 x8 to 7 x 256 all the other numbers on the spred sheet change to go along with it..

          Liked by 2 people

  10. Sandy’s colon pacemaker we definitely celebrate as a free lunch. 27 days with only two bouts of illness. I went to a Bible study (always a good discussion about current issues) this morning without worry of leaving her alone. She still sleeps a lot because of the lupus, but that is in control. I am sitting here being quiet waiting for her to wake up. Then we will plan our day. I am celebrating giving away all of my carving stuff as a free lunch. To have it and to be able to give things away I could sell instead of having to seek the money for it.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  11. Free is just about my favorite word. But as a cynic, I am always looking for the catch when something is free.

    My job is wonderful but stressful so although I’ve received many perks over the years (wonderful perks), there are days when I think I’ve paid for those. But then on other days, I think “I could have a stressful job and NOT have gotten any of the great experiences”. This is one of those grateful days!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. You say “free is just about my favorite word.” A troubling example of “free” is all the help offered for free on the internet. The catch is that you turn over your contact information. So free isn’t really free. And we now learn almost daily how expensive it can be to give away our personal information.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. in the summer of 1968 I was finishing up my degree at the U. Even though I had a contract for the fall, right about then we were the hardest up for money we had ever been. To celebrate our anniversary we scraped together the money, mostly coins to go to the Svedenhouse Smorgasbord (Do I have that name right?) There you gathered your food and then paid at the end of the line. The clerk told us our lunch was free by order of the manager. We were stunned and were not quite sure what to do. We sat down and started to eat. The manager came over. He was a classmate, one who had not treated me kindly in school. That is why he bought our meal when he saw us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. I’ve had hard times and good times with some free lunches thrown in the mix. I’m not sure if being on welfare and SNAP benefits counts as free lunch — but it was a necessity I was very grateful for during the hard times. I got knee surgery and eye surgery during that time, and I am truly, sincerely grateful everyday for the eye surgery so I don’t need glasses as my cataracts were getting bad.

    The food shares we visited during those times were wonderful and the people were helpful. It was difficult and painful to go there at first because I felt like a freeloader.

    But now we’re in a better situation and it’s time to pay it forward. I work for a nice company — and yeah, sometimes we get a free lunch!

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

  15. A hawk had a free lunch in our back yard this morning after murdering a Junco that was dining at our feeder. The Junco was getting a free lunch just prior to being devoured. There is a pile of feathers and body parts under the feeders.

    Like

    Reply

  17. We just signed up for a Pollinator Workshop next Tuesday, put on by Land Stewardship Project, that will include free lunch! The workshop is also free! Seconding tim’s thoughts, every potluck I go to feels like free lunch, even though we bring something to it…

    I join all of you who feel pretty lucky about where and when you were born.

    Like

    Reply

  18. My favorite free lunch was at a memorial service a few months ago. The person whose life we were celebrating – someone I did not know personally, but who was related to a friend – had lots of money. The family had the memorial service at a country club. One of the food tables was a mashed potato sundae bar. The dishes were the sort of footed glass dishes you make ice cream sundaes in. There were huge containers of mashed potatoes and a vat of melted butter. Bowls of sour cream, bacon bits, and shredded cheese. You assembled your sundae with your favorite toppings. Oh, lord, that was tasty.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.