IT'S YOUR MOVE
A man with two hands learns nothing.
Two elderly men play checkers every Saturday morning at the Westside Zoo. They sit at a small concrete table near the lions, who pace, prowl, and sleep in the cooling shadows of their manmade dens.
The two elderly men intently eye the black and red squares before them. Each move has implications and outcomes, and they have seen their fair share of triumph and tragedy. Few, if any, of the zoo's visitors notice them.
In the periphery, they see a much younger man approach the towering wrought iron fence imprisoning the lions. He climbs to the top and drops lightly into the lion's den below.
You see what I see, asks the first man.
Sure do, says the second man. Crown me.
The young man approaches the first lion he sees. Man and beast stare into each other's eyes evaluating their options. The young man tentatively reaches his right hand out to stroke the lion’s majestic mane. The lion bites his hand off. The young man reaches his left hand out to stroke the lion’s majestic mane. The lion bites his hand off.
Without looking up, the first elderly man observes, some men are just slow learners. He is missing his right hand.
Yep, says the second elderly man, who is also missing his right hand. It’s your move.