The Balloonist and the Hiker

Piccole letture in chiave umoristica e/o filosofica

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One day a man, who was travelling in a hot air balloon, realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman hiking down below. He descended a bit more and shouted, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The hiker, shouting back, replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon approximately 30 feet above the ground. Your position is about 30 degrees north latitude and 90 degrees west longitude.”
“Hey, what are you, a technician?” yelled the balloonist.
“Yes, I am,” the hiker shouted back. “How did you guess?”
“Well,” shouted the balloonist, “everything you’ve told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information! The fact is, I’m still lost, and you haven’t said or done a single thing to help!”
“Ah, you must be in management,” the hiker yelled back.
“I am,” shouted the balloonist, “but how did you guess?”
“Easy,” the hiker yelled. “You don’t know where you are. You don’t know where you’re going. You’ve risen to where you are thanks to a large quantity of hot air. You’ve made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect me to resolve your problem. The fact is you’re in exactly the same position that you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s all my fault!”

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Author: Tony

Born and raised in Malaysia between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Educated at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, England. Living in the foothills of Mount Etna since 1982 and teaching English at Catania University since 1987. View all posts by Tony