Voltaire Sees a Traffic Cone

Voltaire Sees His Very First Traffic Cone

Until today and ever since he returned to his personal pedestal, the great writer had stared at that exact spot. For how long the spot had been blank no one can say. It had always been simply green grass. He often wondered if it was Kentucky Blue Grass, one of the great discoveries in the New World. Not likely. It was simply green grass, mowed as often or as infrequently as necessary. One morning, recently, a little man in a cobalt blue jacket let himself into Voltaire’s little garden. He said nothing. Voltaire replied in kind, also saying nothing, as usual. They avoided eye contact as well, but not this time.

The little man looked Voltaire in the eye, then placed an orange and white traffic cone on the lawn, having eyeballed the precise spot to keep Voltaire’s focus.

This seemed to work.

The little man in the cobalt blue jacket, as silently as he came, quietly departed to attend to his own garden.











(no one ever remembers their first traffic cone)

Comments

  1. robertJune 11, 2025 at 12:55 PM

    Just think about it, Voltaire had been contemplating that spot forever unquestionably wondering what should be there. With a creative mind Voltaire undoubtedly considerer man things that could be there and must have been frustrated to have nothing to look at to fill his vision. The cone, as a utilitarian necessity would certainly appeal to the Voltaire, something out of everyday life. A perfect Voltairean object!

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