johnny white was not making progress on his proposal so he decided to take a break and go for a walk.
where are you going?
for a walk. i do not think i will be gone long.
you do not think you will be gone long? i think you should finish your proposal.
i will finish it later.
of course you will finish it later. if it is not finished now, it can only be finished later. so why not keep at it?
i want to go for a walk.
why now, if i may be so bold as to ask?
i was thinking about my old friend willie brown, whom i have not seen since he left town. i thought i might run into him if i went for a walk.
have you heard that he is back in town?
no, but i was thinking about him.
why?
i just was.
i think you should finish your proposal, or at least make some progress on it.
i am going for a walk.
all right. maybe when you get back you will be more constructively motivated.
*
the street was deserted, as it usually is in this modern world where nobody has anything to do, anything to say, or anywhere to go.
johnny liked it at first. it was a welcome change from his proposal.
after a while he saw a figure approaching.
was it his old friend willie brown?
he realized he did not remember what willie brown looked like, or if he had really existed.
the figure came closer.
it was a man of indeterminate age, with a square head slightly larger than the average.
a black hat sat on the square head.
but the shoes on the man’s large feet were a curious shade of purple.
hello, johnny addressed the man with the black hat and the purple shoes, are you my old friend willie brown?
i most certainly am not. what possessed you to ask such a question?
i have forgotten what my old friend willie brown looked like, johnny replied placatingly, and i thought you might be he.
i perceive that you use proper grammar, and say might be he, rather than might be him. you must be an educated person, perhaps versed in the classics, eh?
i spend a lot of time working on my proposal.
that explains it. as well as the fact that you have forgotten what your friend looks like, explains why you thought i might be he.
but who are you?
that is a rather blunt question. perhaps you are not quite the cultured individual i thought you might be. in which case i bid you good day.
johnny, who had thought he might have found a friend, even if was not willie brown, and who had wanted to ask the man with the square head a few questions, was suitably crestfallen at this abrupt dismissal.
he considered going back and working on his proposal, but decided to walk on.
end of part one
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