He looked at the title page with puzzlement and
growing unease. MY UNDERSTANDING OF TRUTH, by John Chambers, was neatly
typed and centered on the sheet, and that was all right, but he had for
some reason pasted two photographs below it. One was of a door — he
thought it might be the one at Number 10, Downing Street, in London —
and the other was of an Amtrak train. They were color shots,
undoubtedly culled from some magazine.
Why did I do that? And when did I do it?
He turned the page and stared down at the first page of his
Final Essay, unable to believe or understand what he was seeing. Then,
as understanding began to trickle through his shock, he felt an
escalating sense of horror. It had finally happened; he had finally
lost enough of his mind so that other people would be able to tell.
MY UNDERSTANDING OF TRUTH
By John Chambers
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."
-- T. S. "BUTCH" ELIOT
"My first thought was, he lied in every word."
-- ROBERT "SUNDANCE" BROWNING
The gunslinger is the truth.
Roland is the truth.
The Prisoner is the truth.
The Lady of Shadows is the truth.
The Prisoner and the Lady are married. That is the truth.
The way station is the truth.
The Speaking Demon is the truth.
We went under the mountains and that is the truth.
There were monsters under the mountain. That is the truth.
One of them had an Amoco gas pump between his legs and pretending it was his penis. That is the truth.
Roland let me die. That is the truth.
I still love him.
That is the truth.
"And it is so very important that you all read The Lord of the
Flies," Ms. Avery was saying in her clear but somehow pale voice. "And
when you do, you must ask yourselves certain questions. A good novel is
often like a series of riddles within riddles, and this is a very good
novel — one of the best written in the second half of the twentieth
century. So ask yourselves first what the symbolic significance of the
conch shell might be. Second --"
Far away. Far, far away. Jake turned to the second page of his
Final Essay with a trembling hand, leaving a dark smear of sweat on the
first page.
When is a door not a door? When it's a jar, and that is the truth.
Blaine is the truth.
Blaine is the truth.
What has four wheels and flies? A garbage truck, and that is the truth.
Blaine is the truth.
You have to watch Blaine all the time, Blaine is a pain, and that is the truth.
I'm pretty sure that Blaine is dangerous, and that is the truth.
What is black and white and red all over? A blushing zebra, and that is the truth.
I can't go home again unless I find a stone a rose a door and that is the truth.
Choo-choo, and that is the truth.
Choo-choo. Choo-choo.
Choo-choo. Choo-choo. Choo-choo.
Choo-choo. Choo-choo. Choo-choo. Choo-choo.
I am afraid. That is the truth.
Choo-choo.