Now Leland has really done it !  The name of -(Imhotep)- , the
architect-king of
Egypt has been invoked.
I cannot be responsible for any outcome whatsoever.

The Great -(Imhotep)- handed His construction manager, Lorak, a drawing of
the new works. It was an extreme perspective view, standing right next to
the corner looking straight up at the grand edifice to be. As the
construction manager scuttled backwards out of the chamber The
Great -(Imhotep)- grinned with confidence that the Place would become
reality. Now, you might think that Lorak was The Great -(Imhotep)-'s lackey.
In fact, Lorak was pretty important himself. He could barely be bothered to
carry the drawing so as soon as he got back to the construction site he
turned the drawing over to Ned, his right-hand-man. Ned was an ordinary
tradesperson who had just been promoted to the right-hand-man position
from the stone
cutting shed. Dutifully, Ned studied the drawing every night for a week. He
took the drawing over to Lorak's office and they both went over to visit the
priest, Audel, who gave the incantation, "Let us check the Guide, Vol. 1, p.
507." Late that night he studied the drawing some more. As Ra rose over the
river the next morning Ned and his buddies at the stone cutting shed were
busy laying out a lot of 90-degree and 45-degree angles. They could tell
they had their work cut out for them for some time to come.
Several floods later The Great -(Imhotep)- came across His drawings of the
new Place and was reminded to gaze across the expanse and check for
progress. Much to his consternation he viewed the beginnings of a 4-sided
pyramid. Lorak was immediately summoned to The Great -(Imhotep)-'s chambers.
Lorak and Ned had interpreted the drawing as an elevation of a pyramid, when
in reality the drawing was an extreme perspective view of a cube. The
Great -(Imhotep) was not amused and Lorak was trying to hide in the cracks
between the marble floor tiles. Thinking quickly Lorac realized that the
root cause of the problem was the perspective drawing's point-of-view, and
therein lay the solution. With his face buried in the surface of the cold
marble floor the ever ready Lorak explained how ordinary mortals were not
worthy to see the great cubic vision of The Great -(Imhotep)-, that view
would be reserved only for The Great -(Imnotep)- himself when he joined Ra,
the sun god in the sky above.

Now, it will be very interesting to see what each of you considers the moral
of this story.

John Leeke, Preservation Consultant

publisher:               Practical Restoration Reports
contributing editor: Old-House Journal
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