Saturday, May 7, 2005

"Un-tie ribbon and open the box"

A man was sitting on a city park bench watching the cars go by on a leisurely Saturday morning. The man likes to count cars, watch people walk by, watch people jog by, watch people walking their dogs, observe birds pecking on the ground, listen to rustling of trees, interact with a few passersby....etc. This man enjoyed to relax and let his environment occupy him. This was one of his considerable art forms. About fifteen minutes till noon a big brown delivery truck passed by and accidentally dropped a small box about the size of an armadillo. The box, coincidentally, bounced off the hard concrete pavement and landed right next to him on the wooden city park bench. The box was elegantly and attractively ribboned with a simple yet effective bow. The ribbon was red in color - deep yet somehow soft at the same time. The box was a simple white but of the finest cardboard quality. Clipped to one of the ribbon-tails was a note. As the man leaned over and held the clipped note between his thumb and index finger he quietly read its words out loud. "Un-tie ribbon and open the box". In silence, with his dry-skinned hands, the man made his motions to slowly un-tie the fancy-ribboned white box. He gingerly tugged on one of the tails of the ribbon but realized how tightly the knot is tied. The man, considering the unknown contents, gave a forcefully gentle tug, and the ribbon was un-tied. After unraveling the red ribbon he carefully folded it in his right hand and observed the strip of fabric lying on his palm. He appreciated its beauty and elegance and gently placed it in his pocket so he could appreciate it again another day.
The man on the bench lifted the lid off of the box, leaned, and hovered over to observe it's contents. There was another box, exactly the same as the outer box, except slightly smaller in scale. And on it he read a note which read, "Un-tie ribbon and open the box". So he proceeded, out of curiosity, to open the next box. Again, as he unraveled the ribbon, he appreciated the ribbon's beauty and folded it and gently placed it in his pocket, so he could appreciate it again another day. And inside he found yet another box. And it read, "Un-tie ribbon and open the box". He gently placed the ribbon in his pocket.

So he opened the next box, and it read, "Un-tie ribbon and open the box".
And he gently placed the ribbon in his pocket.

So he opened the next box, and it read, "Un-tie ribbon and open the box".
And he gently placed the ribbon in his pocket.

So he opened the next box, and it read, "Un-tie ribbon and open the box".
And he gently placed the ribbon in his pocket.

...etc.

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