Friday, May 25, 2007

Two Women (55 - 60 years)

8/1/03

Overheard conversation in a cafe in Palo Alto:

A: I saw that play - Homebody/Kabul just before I left.
B: What did you think of it?
A: I didn't- I didn't think it was successful.
B: But they go to Afghanistan- This woman?
A: Right. You never know whether she dies or disappears or...you know, pulls a Kurtz.
B: Arrogant, naive Westerners flying themselves headlong into something they know nothing about.
A: Reminded me of a Paul Bowles novel. The Sheltering Sky? But I have to tell you about the play. Well- it was nearly four hours long! If you're Shakespeare-
B: Or Mozart-
A: Right. Anybody else- forget it. You don't get to write four hour plays. I mean I see that thing and------I just don't know what to do with this world. We didn't go into WWII until we were smashed in the face with Pearl Harbor- Why the sudden? I mean it's disturbing to think of our government talking about attacking another country when nothing has happened to us.
B: It's just a case of what's good for Mitsubishi is good for the world.
A: The war on terrorism is being run by all the people who benefit from oil.
B: You know the American Revolution wasn't fought for freedom but because of economics.
A: (audible gasp)
B: Well it's true.
A: I won't buy anything from China. They're all slaves.
B: The bottom line is RCA can go up to a third party and say how much can you make these tv's for? How much can you make this VCR for? We can get it for cheaper. We don't want to know who made it or where it comes from because it's costing us less. We can pass the savings on to the consumer. Right?

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