Table

[This is something I wrote years ago and, whatever it’s about, I just had another look at and touched it up a bit.]

There was a table, around which people and upon which a tablecloth, and atop this again cups, saucers, plates, glasses, milk-jugs, tea-pots, spoons, knives, forks and so on, you get the picture. On and on they eat and drink. Is anything ever put away? Stacks and stacks of stuff mounting up. What a mess. "Look, this is getting ridiculous. It can't go on. We'll have to do something." "Getting ridiculous? We’re long past that stage." "Any ideas?" "Well, we could try putting the used stuff away, washing them, and give the tablecloth a wash while we're at it." This tablecloth by the way was in a desperate state, stains everywhere. It was hard to even know where the stains ended and the cloth began, so to speak. But this thought of clearing things away didn’t meet with much enthusiasm, none in fact, and what it did meet with was awkward silence, sullen looks, guilty looks, dirty looks, people looking at their hands, a general sense even perhaps of shame. But then someone piped up, "We could just keep going as we are!" And this idea met with an all but explosive release of joy - out of all proportion you might have thought with its merit as an idea.

And so they made themselves comfortable, and on they went. Tea was served, sandwiches, cake, more and more of everything - on fresh cups, plates, et cetera. And so the stacks continued to pile up, and from the ever more urgent clamour for space whole piles of the stuff toppling and crashing to the by now scandalous floor. Not pleasant but they did their best to ignore these moments of chaos, and so frequent were those moments that they almost in truth did become unnoticed. But not quite, and it all evidently suddenly got too all much for one of them who let out a great animal roar, jumped to his feet, and pulled the tablecloth with all his might. And so everything went flying. There were screams, terror, chaos, tea flying everywhere- on clothes, walls, the floor, people. And then shocked silence. But then ... they started laughing! "Ah, that's it! Why didn't we think of it before? We can make a clean slate of it!" "But will we give the tablecloth a wash though first?" "No need; just put it back. It's fine as it is." And so on they went, delighted with themselves.