[lit-ideas] Re: Z Virtue

  • From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 09:19:59 -0800

Many of you will have read the tale of the boys who drove Zambonis--for those of you who live outside the U.S., these are machines which smooth the ice at rinks--to a fast food restaurant so that they could enjoy freaking out whoever was working the drive-up window. I have found that reactions to this tale are quite divided. A good portion of the population seems to think that it was right and proper that these fools were fired. And yet there seem to be a few people in this fair nation who think along the lines of, "Gee, I wish that had been me."


It occurred to me this morning--a thought brought on no doubt by a menacing stack of papers which, in voices not unlike that high horror "Little Weed" used in the BBC's "Noddy and Big Ears" children's programs, or perhaps I'm thinking of the plant in "Rocky Horror," seem to say, "read me"--that our U.S. gummint is still offering tax incentives which could enable you to live out exactly this fantasy; there remain tax incentives here which encourage people to buy extra heavy vehicles. Hence, the plague of Hummers. Provided you can prove you are an Independent Contractor, a purveyor say of Popperian Philosophy and Croissants, by appointment, the U.S. gummint will allow you to offset up to $25,000 of the purchase price of your Zamboni against tax liabilities.

Get one while you can, is my advice.

David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon

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