Days sans Petanque: Water

Subject: Days sans Petanque: Water

Date: April 8, 2020 at 9:08:59 AM PDT

This from David Foster Wallace's 2005 commencement speech to the graduating class at Kenyon College: There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?"

It is a moving and profoundly wise address. Check out the text and audio at https://fs.blog/2012/04/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water

———

There are wondrous things in this world. We swim in it. Sometimes I think I catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye. Sometimes I am not so sure.

———

"People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day." —Winnie-the-Pooh

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." —Winnie-the-Pooh

———

Waitress: Morning!
Man: Well, what've you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;

…

Wife: Have you got anything without spam?
Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Wife: I don't want ANY spam!
Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?
Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!
Man: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam egg sausage and spam, has it?

Spam" is a Monty Python sketch, first televised in 1970 and written by Terry Jones and Michael Palin.