Duck Theology, parts 1030 - 1033

1030. You may think he was just trying to insult and belittle Aunt Jemima but if so you have not been paying attention. As was mentioned many paragraphs ago, Buboni was developing a distinct attraction to Aunt Jemima, so if he was attacking her story as being entirely false, his intention must on the one hand have been to compliment her in some way, and secondly, to show off his great knowledge.

1031. "You may know," said Buboni, "the price of Coromo's art supplies, and by the way, Cadmium Red can be had for ten dollars. You may know about interior decoration and the odd habits of tropical tourists, but how do you explain your knowledge of what the manager thinks about when he listens to classical music, and lastly how do you know the very words of Coromo's prayers, and the underlinings in his Grandma's Bibles?"

1032. It was true that the longer Aunt Jemima's story went on, the more complicated it became. Just in the telling of it, she seemed to delight in making up more and more elaborate details. I am sure we all wondered if there really was a chain-link fence covered with primitive paintings, and if there really was some dining room at a resort in which a character like Coromo was selling pictures to families with names like Pontormo.

1033. But, most of all, how could it be that Jemima knew the very prayers of this character she seemed to be inventing with such interest and passion. Buboni was not sparing in his praise of her story, but he wanted to make the point that she deserved the credit for its invention, and that it was not just her good fortune that she happened to be acquainted with such an interesting person.