The Ultimate Answer to Kings: Now I'm very hungry. And tear-stained.

They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means "The Ultimate Argument of Kings," and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. "We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it's about: You'll do as I say or I'll send my goons to kill you."

I thought about that for a long time. If there's an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I've got bullets - he's got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that's not going to happen. So if there's an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain't bullets.

It finally came to me - and that's when I left the city, abandoned a goodly percentage of my goods, and gave all that was behind me a good, stiff Randian Shrug.

The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Now I'm very hungry. And tear-stained.

4 comments:

Quizikle said...: It wasn't all that long ago the CEO of McDonald's stated they still sold a 15¢ burger - adjusted for inflation
Q; April 28, 2012 at 3:19 PM
Borepatch said...: I don't remember 15 cent burgers, but I do remember 18 cent ones.

And inflation calculators tell us that 15 cents in 1965 is about the same as $1 today. So a McDonald's burger costs about what it used to.; April 28, 2012 at 4:42 PM
MamaLiberty said...: The original "McDonalds" was right across the street from the high school. I don't remember the regular price in 1962, but I do know that they had a special price for students on occasion, and we could get a simple burger for 10 cents. The rest of those prices look about right.

One difference... I think that then the burgers were made with real meat... :); April 29, 2012 at 8:03 AM
Pakkinpoppa said...: Adjust for inflation.; May 2, 2012 at 9:40 AM

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Now I'm very hungry. And tear-stained.

4 comments:

Why the hell did you scroll all the way down here?