Modem Times 2.0 - Michael Moorcock [13]
The Greek shook his head, gesturing for him to remain seated.
For the first time Major Nye noticed that the two heavy, somewhat overdressed men, were sweating.
He felt grateful to them and a little proud that at his age he could still fetch a good price.
The limelight fell on Jerry stepping to the front of the stage to reprise his tribute to Joey Grimaldi:
“Lastly, be jolly, be alive, be light,
Twitch, flirt and caper, tumble, fall and throw,
Grow up right ugly in thy father’s sight,
And be an ‘absolute Joseph,’ like old Joe.”
KATRINA, KATRINA!
It fell to Neville Chamberlain in one of the supreme crises of the world to be contradicted by events, to be disappointed in his hopes, and to be deceived and cheated by a wicked man. But what were these hopes in which he was disappointed? What were these wishes in which he was frustrated? What was the faith that was abused? They were among the most noble instincts of the human heart—the love of peace, the strife for peace, the pursuit of peace, even at great peril and certainly to the utter disdain of popularity or clamor.
—Winston Churchill to Parliament, November 12, 1940
1.WHY YOU SHOULD FEAR PRESIDENT GIULIANI
Parts of rural China are seeing a burgeoning market for female corpses, the result of the reappearance of a strange custom called “ghost marriages.” Chinese tradition demands that husbands and wives always share a grave. Sometimes when a man died unmarried, his parents would procure the body of a woman, hold a “wedding” and bury the couple together.
—The Economist, July 28, 2007
“THERE ARE NO more sanctuaries, m’sieur. You are probably too young even to dream of such things. But I grew up with the idea that, I don’t know, you could retire to a little cottage in the country or find a deserted beach somewhere or a cabin in the mountains. Now we’re lucky if we can get an apartment in Nice, enough equity in it to pay for the extra healthcare we’ll need.” Monsieur Pardon stood upright in the barge as it emerged from under the bridge on Canal St. Martin. “And we French increasingly have to find jobs overseas. Who knows? Am I destined for a condo in Florida? This is my stop. I live in rue Oberkampf. And you?”
“This will do for me, too.” Jerry got ready to disembark. “How long have you lived in Paris?”
“Only for a couple of years. Before that I was a professional autoharp player in Nantes. But the work dried up. I’m currently looking for a job.”
They had reached the bank and stood together beside a newspaper kiosk. Jerry took down a copy of The Herald Tribune and paid with a three-euro piece.
“You seem lost, m’sieu. Can I help?”
“Thank you. I’m just trying to follow a story. I wonder. May I ask? What makes you cry, M. Pardon?”
The neatly dressed rather serious young man fingered his waxed moustache. He looked down at his pale grey suit, patting his pockets. “Eh?”
“Well, for instance, I cry at almost any example of empathy I encounter. Pretty much any observation of sympathetic imagination. And music. I cry in response to music. Or a generous act. Or a sentimental movie.”
M. Pardon smiled. “Well, yes. I am a terrible sentimentalist. I cry, I suppose, when I hear of some evil deed. Or an innocent soul suffering some terrible misfortune.”
Jerry nodded, almost to himself. “I understand.”
Together, they turned the corner in Rue Oberkampf.
“So it is imagination that moves you to tears?”
“Not exactly. Some forms of imagination merely bore me.”
2. SOUTH RAMPART STREET PARADE
Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani recently fumbled one of the dumbest questions asked since “boxers or briefs?” Campaigning in Alabama, he was asked, “What is the price of a gallon of milk?” He was off by a buck or two, thus failing a tiresome common-citizen test. But far more important questions need to be posed. Let’s start with asking our future leaders about how affordable PCs, broadband internet connectivity, and other information technologies are transforming the lives of every American.
—Dan Costa, PC Magazine, August 7, 2007
“ANGRY, MR. CORNELIUS?