My first place finish in yesterday's wrestling tournament was a pleasant validation of my physical prowess. I see now that formal recognition is important for anyone, no matter how confident one may be. I had grown so accustomed to being deluged by awards and accolades in my academic career that I hadn't really noticed their relative absence in my new "adult" life. In retrospect, I wonder if much of what I had done in the years since my graduation wasn't an attempt to prove myself... to myself. Certainly the government had never asked me to translate all of the census forms into ancient greek for them. And a month ago, I lifted Evelyn Waugh over my head because I was curious if I could do it, not because I wanted him to see that sparrows nest, which is what I said at the time. Those things, like so much of what I have done were embarrassing "show off" moments that I shall try to avoid in the future. If I need validation, it shall be in officially sanctioned events, like organized sport, or international science fairs.
My recent athletic achievement did not come without cost, however, and my training methods have left me in need of a new automobile. (I removed the engine from my Cadillac Victoria, and practiced flipping it on its roof as a means of increasing my grappling power, and was unable to restore it to working condition when I was done.) Rather than buy a new car "off the rack," I decided to have one custom made for me. If the bespoke kimono is a superior product, why wouldn't the same be true for an auto?
I hired a plane to Detroit this morning, and had a private audience with Alfred P. Sloan at GM by early afternoon. As it turns out, a lot of my ideas cannot yet be implemented in automobile design in a practical way, so I will have to make do with a car with wheels instead of metal paws, at least for the time being.
He did seem genuinely appreciative when I showed him my plans for a device that would allow the hubcaps to keep spinning, even when the car is stopped, and I expect to see those on even their mass market models by next year. I was also able to choose my own color scheme, and the red, black, yellow, and white exterior is truly hypnotic. As a safety measure, I also requested that the horn sound like an angry bobcat, to shock deer out of the slack-jawed reverie that may overcome them when they look upon my car. For what good is technological advance, if it is not tempered with humanity? And what is humanity without charity towards deer, nature's dumbest creation?