“I don’t know. Third base!”
– From Abbott & Costello’s “Who’s On First” Skit
First, complexity…
Sometimes, the simplest things can be complex…like the line-up in Abbott & Costello’s baseball lampoon.
For example, last night, Milwaukee’s best meteorologist, Vince Condella of Fox 6, spent several minutes telling us about “Friction Snow.” I love Vince and prefer his style and substance over anyone else’s but he was espousing a degree of complexity that was not useful. Snow, for me, is about moisture and temperature. If it is wet enough and cold enough, white stuff falls from the sky, piles up on the ground and makes me want to move to Texas. Simple. Comfortable. Which brings me to…
…comfort.
This morning, passing through airport security, I noticed a hole in the sleeve of my favorite, most expensive, now ten-year-old sport coat. I love this sport coat. It was my first Tom James purchase from the best Tom James guy in the USA, Timmy Cornell. This jacket feels right. It looks good. Even on me, which is no small task. It is going to have to be retired. As dopey as it sounds — wait, as dopey as it IS — I take comfort in this sport coat, and I have for ten years. It is one of life’s simple pleasures.
It got me thinking. Why do we so often try to make the simple things complex, when we know that the simple things provide us the most comfort?
About a dozen times in my career, some folks — “experts” in their fields — have told me “ours is a very complex industry.” No, it’s not. So why not get comfortable with the simplicity — and the comfort that comes from keeping it simple?
I won’t miss the snow. But, dang it, I am really gonna miss this jacket…
Steve Sanduski says
I like what Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Dave O. says
Ah, the simple pleasures in life. It is also true, I think, that most any subject contains several layers of complexity, which one may want to discover depending on your level of interest or need to know. I like that quote from da Vinci, but I also like this one, attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, “I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” To me this speaks to the idea of knowing or doing something so well that you make it look effortless. Simplicity…with understanding…is truly sublime!
Steve Heston says
Almost went with the OWH quote, but thought my sport coat remorse might seem trite in that context. Love me some Tom James; hope this post stirs up some activity for y’all!