 It all began innocently enough, with Doc claiming that his Egyptian
shepherd, Irrigator, was the ugliest dog in the county. Then Steve
said his cow dog with the bobbed tail, Heelfly, was uglier because
he looked the same from either end.Just when the subject started
to heat up, however, Bert said quietly, "Just what is ugly?"
That shut things down while we ran barefooted over his question.
We didn't want to, but never let it be said that the world dilemma
think tank shrinks from any reasonable challenge.
In the lull, Loretta stopped pouring hot, black liquid wake-up
long enough to comment.
"'Bout time you guys started dealing with real philosophy," she
said. "Bert is right. Look for the deep questions. Therein lies the
key to human understanding."
"Therein?" said Doc.
"Loretta's been taking a philosophy class down at Jerry Hat Trick
Community College," Steve explained.
We looked at Loretta. She nodded.
"So how many answers did you come up with, Loretta?"
[to top of second
column]
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"It's not the answers that matter, Bert, but the involvement in
asking them. For example, among the top 10 great philosophical
questions is, 'What is reality?'"
That question was a two-sipper. It was beginning to look like
philosophy could flat halt conversation.
"Ready for another one? How about 'Is thought real?'"
That about shut it down for good. Hey, whatever happened to "Is a
.30-06 better than a .270?"
"Here's one to ponder, fellas," she said. "Think about this… 'Is
four more than a duck?'"
After a proper silence, Doc asked, "You paid for a class to learn
the question 'Is four more than a duck?'"
"Nope," she said, heading for the kitchen. "Got that from my
2-year-old granddaughter."
[Text from file received from Slim Randles]
Sponsored by:
www.pearsonranch.com. Farm-direct, delicious California navel
and Valencia oranges.
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