Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Saturday night

My friend Jason Bourne and I were in Paris, and were sharing a room in a really fancy hotel. I woke up one morning and noticed that he wasn't around. I got dressed and walked down the long marble steps to the street, where Jason was waiting for public transportation. He didn't speak to me, but that was cool -- he didn't have to; he had a job to do, and he was "all business" at that moment, wearing sunglasses and carrying a backpack. Truth be told, I was probably better off not knowing what was going on. As I turned to walk back up the stairs, I had the gut feeling that he was going to rub somebody out.

I, on the other hand, had a completely different plan for my day, and I was really excited about it: I was going to visit the Louvre Museum for the first time. I stopped in the lobby, and felt pretty giddy about being in Paris, and about all its possibilities. I spoke to one of the people behind the counter: "The cooler weather here is fantastic. Back home right now, it's probably over 90 degrees."

I had a little trepidation about the language barrier as I headed out on my own, but figured it would be OK. I knew that I couldn't possibly see everything worth seeing at the Louvre in one day, but hey -- it was the Louvre. Anything I could see there would be wonderful!

*****

How very odd that I could knowingly watch my pal go off to kill someone, and still feel so wonderful about the plans for my day. I wonder if there's some hidden metaphor there. If so, I have not yet figured it out. Maybe I'm sending myself a message about the war in Iraq. My government is killing a bunch of people in my name while I'm out every day enjoying myself, and not paying enough attention to the matter. I'm reminded of one of the better songs by The Police: "...What does it have to do with me?/What is my reaction?/What should it be?/Confronted by this latest atrocity..."

I should be protesting, and I'm not.

Paris does figure in at least one of the "Bourne" films.

My friend Eddie M. hosted the latest round of our yearly poker tournament this month back in Virginia, and he showed us some film footage of a recent whirlwind trip that his family had taken to London, Paris and Rome. I hope to see all of those cities someday.