The True Meaning of Life

I got to thinking of my friend, Larry, who I worked with in the drafting department of a steel construction business while I was going to college. Larry and I would play cribbage at lunchtime and swap stories. One day I told him of a story I had read for Religion class. It was the story of the old Buddhist monk who was teaching the young monks. He ask them to tell him the meaning of life, and to each explanation he said "No, that is not the meaning of life."  Another old monk had joined them during this questioning and was asked the same question. He put his sandals on top of his head, rose and walked off. The teacher then said "He is right."

A few days later the head engineer came in and gave us a glowing report on a project we had completed. He commended us on our fine work which we received with appreciation because it was an uncommon occurrence at this firm. A few minutes later the head draftsman returned from an install of another project.  He stood in front of the room and read us the riot act for what seemed a very long time. He told us how  no-good, lazy, stupid, and worthless we were. I have to pause here and tell you that this was before the advent of computers and we used pencils and pens on our drawings. We all kept a roll of toilet paper at our tables for wiping up spills. Well after the head draftsman finished chewing us out, I looked over at Larry. He reached for his roll of toilet paper and put it on top of his head. It stuck me as so funny I burst out in laughter. I didn't get fired but probably only because we were so short handed.

I really miss Larry,. He died of multiple sclerosis a year of two later.