XI. Day Thirteen…A Kaleidoscope of Emotions
(Wherein our correspondent undergoes, alternately,
delighted astonishment, a brief respite of relief, new suspicions,
and ultimately a resigned exhaustion)
Gary Johnson at Knossos, Crete September 20 at 6:34am ·
You want Ancient? Well, Crete's got Ancient....Back when Plato and his buddies wanted
Ancient, they took a road trip to the ruins of Mycenae....And when Mycenae' s King
Agamemnon took his dysfunctional brood on a family outing to see something historical, he
brought them here...to Knossos. This place is FOUR THOUSAND years old, give or take a
handful of centuries...even older if you count the Paleolithic folks who left a considerable
amount of litter here....We call the people of Knossos Minoans (after King Minos) but they
didn't call themselves that. For all we know, they called themselves Knosties (although that's
also unlikely)....What we do know is that these Knosties were doing things in art, sculpture,
architecture, pottery, engineering, religion, sports, theater, and even board games, that equal
the achievements of people who came many centuries later....and that doesn't even count the
Minotaur.....
• Gary Johnson: The palace is spectacular...working toilets and all. Roto-Rooter could learn a few
things here...
• Jim: Working toilets are the basis of civilization.
• Gary Johnson: Well, yes...but their cruets and cups were filled with something you also might
appreciate, Jim...
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Gary Johnson at Λιµάνι Ηρακλείου Κρήτης September 20 at 1:20pm ·
Well, the election is over, and my intrepid traveling companion and I have managed to stay
remarkably free of any major violence and/or bloodshed as of this evening... However, a
couple of Aussies are now on our tail. They have followed us into two different restaurants on
two successive nights, and they were never very far away during our visit to Knossos... This
war corresponding is getting to me... (You might have noticed that I have cleverly hidden my
location by using an indecipherable script...)
• Lily: You are 007!! Well, you should be...
• Gary Johnson Yeah, I'm shaken, but not stirred...
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THE CONE - ISSUE #7 - FALL 2015