The Iron Lungs
At that moment, the old men in iron lungs were playing bridge. The man with the wooden spleen won.
At that moment, the old men in iron lungs were playing bridge. The man with the wooden spleen won. He said give me five dollars. The man with the ivory liver said no. I’ll give you my iron lung. What am I going to do with two iron lungs? The man with the ivory liver thought about it and said okay. Let’s trade.
So the man with the wooden spleen took out his spleen and handed it to the man with the ivory liver, who took out his liver and handed it over to the man with the wooden spleen, only the man with the wooden spleen was no longer the man with the wooden spleen, he was the man with the ivory liver. And, worse, for him, the man with the ivory liver was no longer the man with the ivory liver, he was the man with the wooden spleen.
The old men sat there awhile in their wooden lungs. What do you think said one. I dunno, what do you think said the other. Both men were dying, because one had two spleens but no liver, and one had two livers but no spleen, but that was okay, because neither man could remember who (or which) he was any more, and so nobody wanted to live. They also didn’t want to play bridge any more.
Until the man who had been the man with the ivory liver thought about it and realized Hey, since I’m not the man with the ivory liver any more—since, in fact, I’m the man with the wooden spleen—didn’t I just win a game of bridge? Don’t you owe me five bucks? Both men thought about it. The man who had been the man with the wooden spleen and was now the man with the ivory liver said no. I don’t think so. But I do have this here liver lying around I don’t need, so how bout a trade…
Dutton
I like this. A lot.
Damian
LOL, nicely done; an interesting story.
LB Andrich
Hahahhahha….this is so fantastic.
It reminds me of a story i wrote a while back involving a city dweller selling his lung for toothpaste on the black market.
maybe i’ll dig it up.
Meanwhile, i’m reading all this to my sis.—she loves it too