For some reason I can't get this little story outta my head lately, with
all this hoo-ha about NFL lately (thankfully, mostly on the other
list)...and how it seems so many folks are so much more willing to think
for themselves these days instead of demanding someone be their guru.
Anyway, I first heard Ken Kesey tell it (Garage Sale???) and it has always
been one of my faves. I am sure I am butchering it, but...
===
In some faraway land there was a hermit who lived in the mountains who had
a reputation for being very wise in all matters of any merit.
In the nearest village someone got the idea of having this old man speak at
the next church service to share his accumulated wisdom with the
congregation--to which nearly the whole village belonged. Everyone thought
it was a great idea and they sent off their fittest messenger to invite the
wise man to give a sermon.
The trouble was that he lived in such a remote inaccessable area--it took
days of treacherous travel to reach his simple home. After a couple days of
dangerous travel, the messenger got to the wise man's dwelling and asked
him to come speak to the congregation. The old man would have none of it
and refused soundly, saying that he would have nothing to talk about. The
messenger ended up begging him, but to no avail.
When the messenger returned to the village, many folks were disappointed
and it was decided that the messenger would keep going back and repeating
the request until the old man agreed. After severaltrips the hermit finally
caved and agreed to come down and speak--as much to end the annoyance of
the messengers interuptions as anything.
Well, the Sunday finally arrived and the whole village showed to hear what
the oracle had to say to them. The old man had made his way down the
mountainside and took his place in front of the congregation and said:
"Good people, do you know what I am going to talk about today?"
To which the crowd, replied, No!
"Fools!" said the hermit and he stomped off, right on up the mountain back
to his remote home.
The villagers were a bit puzzled by this turn of events, but decided to get
him down again to speak. They had a plan.
With much more coaxing than it took initially to get the hermit down, the
messenger, again, annoyed him into coming down.
The second time the hermit stood before the crowd he said the same thing as
before:
"Good people, do you know what I am going to talk about today?"
This time the crowd replied, Yes!
"Great!" said the old man, "then you don't need me to tell you anything..."
and he turned away and trotted away back up the mountain.
Now even more confused, the villagers devised a fool-proof plan for the
next "sermon" of the hermit--which was finally arranged after weeks of the
messenger's pleading.
The third time the hermit stood before the villagers, he said yet again:
"Good people, do you know what I am going to talk about today?"
Now the villagers were ready for this, and by pre-arrangement half of them
said, Yes!, and the other half said, No!
"Wonderful!" said the old man. "Then the ones who know can tell the ones
who don't!" And he turned away and went back up the mountain.
===
Cheers,
Kirt
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