Friday, July 23, 2010

Stage 18 - Irritations

The members of Team Philosophe are feeling discouraged. During the whole of the Tour so far they have never even progressed to the middle of the peloton.

The VeloDrone: One may as well stay home and cultivate one's garden!

Le Bon David: Or edit one's magazine.

Jean Paul Sartre: That's right. You two edit a magazine. I had forgotten. What is it about again?

The VeloDrone: Cycling, and philosophy. Would you like to contribute something, when the Tour is over? I think Belle et Bonne is going to ask Simone.

Jean Paul Sartre: Belle et Bonne! That girl is a puzzle to me.

The VeloDrone: Why? She is a treasure, but I have never found her a puzzle.

Le Bon David: Oh, she can be a puzzle. She will insist on calling me her uncle.

The VeloDrone: That is entirely your own fault, David. But tell me Jean Paul, why do you find her a puzzle?

Jean Paul Sartre: She told me that she had no difficulty understanding existentialism. She said it was about how irritating life can be if we let it.

The VeloDrone: Hee hee! That's good. So it is! So is all philosophy if you think about it.

Jean Paul Sartre: I asked her what she found irritating about her own life, and do you know
what she told me?

The VeloDrone: Nothing.

Jean Paul Sartre: How did you know?

Le Bon David: He is her father.

Jean Paul Sartre: No he isn't. Anyway, if she finds nothing to irritate her in her life, how can she understand existentialism?

The VeloDrone: Do you mean to say you agree with her definition of it?

Jean Paul Sartre: No, I'm just saying .....

Le Bon David: He's got you there, Jean Paul. But let's not argue. We'll soon be in Bordeaux. Who's for a glass of red?

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