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In the spirit of celebration, pilgrims from the world over who are part owners in Chang Securities have come to the San Francisco company headquarters for the anniversary of incorporation. And so by chance, a company of five unique pilgrims met each other at the Chicago Airport. Each different pilgrim was headed for the celebration on the same, delayed flight. They were a pleasant lot, and soon after the first half hour had passed I got to know each one quite well. But before I continue my tale, and while it is fresh in my memory, let me tell you about the social station of each, what they wore, what their jobs were, and who they were. First there was a woman senator who had a bright, but smooth smile and a neat appearance. Her campaign shout was, “Make the world a happier one.” She was often quick to praise lavishly, but whether or not it was deserving had secondary importance to her. She could speak a dozen phrases in a dozen different languages so her value in international matters would increase. Besides her language skill, she took classes in the sciences, literature, and music at night school, but she never stayed on for more than a few weeks at a time. She dressed conservatively, as a candidate for office would: stately, and filled with dignity and confidence. Coworkers sometimes pointed out her elegance in taste and lifestyle: she was often seen with dozens of politicians at orchestra concerts, and she loved to play golf with the richest businessmen. If I remember correctly, she said she loses at golf on purpose so her business opponents will feel accomplished. At Christmas she would give the children of her wealthy supporters lavish gifts and fine food; no expense would be spared to make them happy. With her was a merry, wealthy landowner. His motto was to live for pleasure, and he had adequate funds to indulge himself with. He was a fat man; he always had to choose first class because he could not get himself to fit inside the coach airplane seat. His girth was like a sumo wrestler, and he ate like one too. Food and drink were both most copious in his manor; he was well stocked with every possible delicacy. He ate nothing but the best: pheasant, veal, and stuffed crab were his favorites, and he fired many a cook because his soup lacked the sharp taste he liked. The entire basement was devoted to his well stocked and varied wine cellar; and in addition to faucets for hot and cold water was a faucet for wine. A devotee and great patron of the arts and theatre, he would frequent restaurants after attending the theatre where he would consume as many as thirty dishes, including: two soups, veal and vegetables, stuffed pheasant, a salad, and ice cream for dessert. As a patron of the arts, he donated paintings and sculptures regularly to the local museums, and his own private collection was impressive. He had previously served on the museum board and as director of the theatre. There was no one more deserving of his lifestyle than he. With us was a worker in a factory who was quite a boisterous pilgrim. He was a big and brawny fellow, whose body was well suited for manual labor. His shoulders were broad and wide, his arms were thick. He could easily break open a locked door or any piece of wood like a kung-fu master; he was as strong as an ox, and often acted like one. A well-sized hamburger could easily fit within the caverns of his mouth, and when he guffawed the noise was loud enough to be heard from the other end of his factory. He was a chatterbox, and loved to hear and tell gossip. An equally proficient skill was his ability to tell tales of ribaldry. He dressed in a dirty blue collared factory uniform that was worn at the edges. There was also a worthy secretary among us. She was especially skilled at organization and appearances. Her own appearance was always in the latest styles, for she dressed to impress her superiors, and she liked to impress. The black dress, made of quality silk, was carefully pressed at the edges; she tied her hair into a tight bun on top of her head. Upon her feet were shoes imported from European designers, but they did seem almost out of reach with her salary. Her superiors took liking to her, and she had climbed the corporate ladder until she hit the glass; her motto was: “Women want the top in corporations. Women want superiority over men.” She was past prime age, but not married. She traveled to places over the world: she had been in the Temple of Heaven at Beijing, to Rome, and the shrines of Japan. Her age never fettered her life; she compensated for the loss in youth with increased cheerfulness. This way, she would still be able to impress her male superiors. At a party or in any company she was often the center of attention, as her skill for gossiping and chatting was impressive. She kept up diligently with the sports news, and she knew each baseball team well enough to predict which of two in a game would win. She herself could throw a baseball fairly hard and run quick enough to be safe. As for her superiors, it is easy to say they were more than corporate colleagues. I saw pictures of her together with each individually. She definitely knew the magic of love, and used it frequently to climb the corporate ladder. Last amongst us pilgrims was a charity worker. This charity worker was bald, except for the side strands of brown hair which he grew long enough so it could be pulled across the baldness. He had a smooth and slimy smile like a salesman, while his eyes were set back in his skull, and were capable only of a blank, void expression. He wore a gold watch and the latest style in expensive suits, but I doubt that the salary as a charity worker would pay for them. His voice was thin and reedy. The entire world never saw such a charity worker. He spent the entire day, and with nothing but a persuasive tongue, made the people feel guilty for not giving enough to charity. And with the donation he appropriated for himself a sizeable portion, which, in a week, was more than what the donator could make within a month. To help his craft, he carried a gold-laced leather photo album with pictures of the poverty-stricken. With that, and his clever tongue he made ordinary people feel like misers. Now that I have introduced to you, the reader, the station, job, clothing, personality of each pilgrim, I will tell you what happened that night at the airport. I addressed them plainly as follows: “My friends, we have a long journey before we arrive at the celebration in San Francisco. Our wait here, and afterwards our plane flight will undoubtedly be filled with boredom, so I merrily propose this: I assume that each one of you know some tales that can be told for our amusement. Thus whoever can tell the best tale on our journey will be awarded a hundred dollars to spend whatever way he, or she, wishes.” My proposal was thus granted, and to choose who amongst ourselves would tell the first tale, we drew straws. As it so happened, the short end fell to the woman senator, who, by agreement had to tell her tale. And thus she spoke, and thus began our journey. Bibliography: Word Count: 1340
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