"Suzette Haden Elgin - Peacetalk 101" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elgin Suzette Haden)

"Hello there," he said,"and a good afternoon to you!"
"Mmmmmmmm...gub," Henry mumbled,doing his best to signal I'm asleep, you
turkey, can't youtell I'm asleep ?
"People who sleep on the bus sleep pasttheir stop," came the reply. "You tell me
where youwant off, I'll wake you up when we get there."
Henry's eyes opened, and then narrowed; thiswas like when you stop for a red light
and the homeless kid comesover to wash your windshield.
"No, thanks," he said firmly.
"You're going all the way and back, likeme?"
It meant "You're homeless, you've gotno place to lay your head or keep your stuff,
like me? You spendyour time riding around on buses all day, like me?"
Henry cleared his throat. "No," he said. You didn'tever want to say one more word
to these people than you absolutelyhad to say.
"So you just don't care if you miss yourstop?"
"No. I don't care."
"Well," said the homeless person,"that reminds me of a story!"
Oh NO ......Henry closed his eyes again, and considered his options. He couldtell
the man to shut up, there was always that. But then he'dhave to listen to "Just
because I'm home less you thinkyou've got a right to treat me like an an imal!"
Hecould pretend he was really asleep, sound asleep, but then theguy would start
pulling on him and jabbing him in the ribs. Neitherof those outcomes appealed to
him. He settled on a long sigh,heavy with the misery of the ages, and surrendered to
his fate.It fit, after all. He was leaving this life because there wasno peace; this was
just more of the same. It proved him right.
The homeless person started talking then, ina deep voice that was easy on the ears:


Once there was a bear that lived in a brokendown zoo in miserable
conditions. It could go four paces in one direction, and four paces in another,
or it could stay in one place and grumble; that was all the choices it had, year
after year after year.The bear suffered greatly. And then the time came when
the zoo changed hands, and a new and kinder person was put in charge.The
new keeper made the bear's cage many times larger,with rocks to climb on
and a pool to swim in, and deep wide moats instead of bars. But still the bear
went just four paces in one direction and four paces in another, or it stayed in
one place and it grumbled. Because it wasn't paying attention. It didn't even
notice that it had new choices, and it went right on suffering greatly.


There was a silence.
"That's it?" Henry snapped.
"That's it. Yes."
"Well, I've heard that story before, youknow, and you've got it all wrong! In the real
story, thebear is blind!"
The homeless person nodded. "That's right,"he said. "And that's the point. The
blind bear has an excuse.You don't ."
Henry straightened up in the seat and lookedat the man. He heard himself make a
sharp noise of disbelief.Who did this raggedy dreg of humanity think he was,
anyway? " Listen ,buddy!" he began. "You--"
But the man cut him off. "No. Please: You listen! Because it's very important. You