Expensive Bottle

A man was given as a birthday gift a beautiful and very expensive bottle of wine, of which he was very pleased, grateful and proud. And he had every right to be. Anyway, it was later produced and poured out, and drunk appreciatively. But then, naturally, after the bottle was emptied and the wine drunk only the bottle remained. But he was still proud of his bottle, it wasn’t the kind of wine he’d be getting every day, or to be honest any day, most likely, and so - and who will blame him - he took to buying his regular and lesser wines and pouring their contents into its bottle, it made him feel good I suppose, the illusion, this I suppose it was implied was his level. And if guests were ever present, at least the right kind of guests, the bottle would be produced, and all would be pleased to partake in its glory, so to speak. And if there were any doubts as to the quality of the wine matching its exalted label, well, understandably, those doubts remained silent. Who would gain by mentioning them? They would all lose.

So I suppose things will go on like this as long as no one is so clumsy as to knock over and smash the lovely bottle. And maybe also as long as no one is uncouth enough to come along and express doubts as to quality and exaltation of the wine. Though I’m sure, however much discomfort they might momentarily produce, they could always be ignored, forgotten about and maybe not invited again.