new yorker

from The New Yorker
http://manwithoutqualities.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/new_yorker_cartoon_1000.jpg



On a crisp day in September (much like today) I was walking down a friendly street in the windy city; not much was on my mind that day and I had not a care in the world. I nodded a greeting to a bearded hobo on the street and continued on my way to no where in particular. I passed by an ally and thought nothing of it till I had taken a few steps further on, perplexed I retreated back a few steps and peered into the ally. Strange, I thought, it was in fact a wonderfully sunny day, yet the ally remained dark in a dreamily sort of way.
Having nothing to do that moment I decided to investigate this strange occurrence. Before I stepped in to the ally I turned just in time to see the bearded hobo break into a lively jig dancing to an unheard ballad, ohhhh kaaaay, I thought and stepped in to the darkness of the corridor.
As I walked through the strange passage I noticed the walls were covered with a sort of paper, stepping over to the wall I held up my cell phone and peered at the wall. As I looked further, I saw the walls were covered floor to bricked ceiling with old comic strips, some dating back to the 1940’s and others from just the day before. Hmm I said, and continued on my way. After I had walked for some time I saw a light in the distance and picked up my pace, within a few seconds I had stepped out into a foggy, gray cityscape.
It was devoid of much color and off in the distance I noticed three human shapes standing by the side of the road. As I walked towards them I thought to myself, what a strange place you have wandered into Brennan; well, I thought back to myself, it’s better than watching old re-runs of Battlestar Galatica!
I approached the three individuals, two men and a woman, they stood stock still and uttered not a word; only stood there holding signs as if protesting or on strike (across the street was a banner that read, (PHILOSOPHERS ON STRIKE). The man who had a baseball hat on carried a sign which read, “Support Epistemologists local 191 of United Federation of Philosophers.” This I found odd since most philosophers are individuals who disagree with so much they can’t join together on anything. The woman’s sign read, “No More Search For Truth Until Our Demands Are Met.” This too was odd since, how can a philosopher force his view of truth on others when the other’s view may in fact be the truth! And last but not least, the bearded man’s sign stated, “We are RIGHT and I can logically prove it.” I thought, well how illogical is that! After some time of staring, I looked down at my watch to check the time, strangely the hands had stopped moving; I quickly realized I needed to be getting back. I walked back to the tunnel and noticed that the gray sky had given way to darkness, it settling over the landscape and was now so dark I could not see the three figures in the distance anymore.
Within a few moments I had made my way back out of the tunnel and had exited just in time to see the heel, kicking finale of the hobo’s dance. Wow, I thought to myself, that trip took less time than I thought! With that thought, I turned and headed up the street looking for the nearest bookstore with a dictionary, what does epistemology mean anyhow?