Monday, January 26, 2009

The Vulgar Display of Excellence

Passing through Grand Central Terminal on the way back from mass, I noticed a large Plexiglas cage installed in what used to be the waiting room and in it were two men (along with referee) playing Ping Pong. It turns out this was a tournament and moreover, the players were Ping Pong professionals. Who knew there was such a thing?

Ah, well, to each his own. It brings to mind the philosopher Herbert Spencer's famous sour-grapes adage concerning billiards, addressed to his opponent after he was soundly defeated in a game: "A certain dexterity in games of skill argues a well-balanced mind, but such dexterity as you have shown is evidence, I fear, of a misspent youth."

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