Week 9 Story: The Unfortunate Man

 One day, a man was walking down the street and saw a great big neon sign for a coffee shop. He decided to give it a look and walked in. Once he entered the coffee shop, he browsed around for a seat so he could sit down and enjoy the good smell of coffee. Little did he know, this was no ordinary coffee shop and once you enter, you cannot leave until you resolve your issues with someone that has a differing opinion. This man was a very easy going person and did not have very many conflicts with others so instantly, he thought he was going to be stuck there forever. 

He finally found a spot and sat by himself, but there were two people nearby that were going at each other's throats. Based on the conversation he overheard, he was able to determine that one man was a die hard conservative republican and the other was a raging liberal. Unfortunately for the man, he was a registered independent and was unable to pick a side. However, the man had an idea; he was going to use his impartial thoughts on the topic and attempt to resolve the conflict. While this task seemed impossible, it was his only hope to escape this terrible coffee shop. 

After many hours of trying to solve the issues of the two parties, the men had gotten absolutely nowhere. Fortunately for the arguing men, a beautiful woman walked into the place and they could finally all agree on something. As soon as she walked past their table, all three men said "damn she is very attractive." As soon as they muttered those words, they were all allowed to leave. 

(arguing)

Authors Note: I took inspiration for this story from "The Unfortunate Man." I read this story and found it quite interesting. I liked the idea of the animals being trapped in the original and arguing with each other in the hole. I wanted to incorporate that idea but with a more modern and relevant topic for today's society. I chose politics because I find it very funny how people can get so heated over topics and refuse to listen to one another. I added the independent to the story to show that maybe if everyone could think like an independent and want the best for everyone, our political system would be much better. Realistically, both political parties have some good values and some bad values. Why is it so difficult for us to take the good from both parties and get rid of the bad? My thought is that people have too much pride and if they were to ever compromise, they would feel that they "lost." For that reason, I never had the men compromise over politics, but I had them all agree that a woman was attractive. I can promise that regardless of any mans political beliefs, if they see an attractive woman, that will instantly give them joy and something to talk about. I hope you found some humor in this light-hearted story. 

Bibliography: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).