Today, for the twenty-fifth week of Trinity the Bach Chorale sings J.S.Bach's cantata BWV 26 Ach Wie Flüchtig, Ach Wie Nichtig. Emily Scharf, Mrs. Dowager, one of the tenor ringers and Zack sing the arias. Zack planned to fondle Emily's buttocks during her aria, but landed on Mrs. Dowager instead; this earned him a smack in the kisser after the service.
The text of the opening chorus is a contemplation of the transient nature of human existence:
Ah, how fleeting, ah, how emptyMr. Nichts of the Theology department delivers today's inspirational message, the title of which is Party Tonight, God May Zap You Tomorrow.
Is the life of mortals!
As a mist which quickly riseth
And again as quickly passeth,
Even thus our life is, witness!
After the service, Roderick bumps into Lily Chang just outside the Chapel. She's wearing a tight-fitting sweater and jeans, and the sight of her inspires a jumble of images in Roderick's mind: sweater, buxom, surprisingly, Minneapolis, Negroes.
He greets her. "Hey, Lily! Sorry I had to leave the meeting after refreshments the other night. Betsy Whistler and Emily Scharf wanted to sleep over and I had to go meet up with them."
Lily purrs. "Wow, you're a Republican, play the clarinet and you sing. I just may have to beg you to tear off my clothes and ravish me."
"That's very tempting," says Roderick. "But can I take a raincheck? I've promised Molly we'll be each others' 'first'".
"Want to have lunch with Mr. Parvulesco and me? We're meeting at the Old Ivy Inn in an hour."
Roderick readily agrees, in part because he's really interested in hearing what Mr. Parvulesco has to say about politics and it's a little awkward when girls throw themselves at him. It's flattering, of course, but he's made a pledge to Molly and plans to keep it. You have to have a code.
Lily, Roderick and Mr. Parvulesco sit in a quiet corner of the Dining Room at the Old Ivy Inn. Roderick has heard that Mr. Parvulesco's table manners are something to marvel at -- somewhere between 'piggish' and 'disgusting' -- and he's promised to make a full report to the rest of the gang.
Lily kicks off the conversation. "I'n concerned about some of the things you said the other night about tax increases. How can raising taxes possibly be a good thing?"
"It's not a good thing," says Mr. Parvulesco between bites of a turkey drumstick. "But sometimes we have to choose between a bad thing and a worse thing. Is it worse to raise taxes or is it worse to borrow money? Republicans used to stand for fiscal responsibility, which distinguished them as the grown-up party compared to the Demoocrats, who think money grows on trees. Keep in mind that all government spending is paid for with taxes. The only fiscal decision we make is whether to tax today or to tax tomorrow."
Roderick asks a question. "But with long-term interest rates near zero, isn't this a great time to borrow?"
Mr. Parvulesco stops biting the turkey leg and pauses to belch. "That would be true under a free-market model, but global capital markets don't operate that way. Central banks intervene in various ways to control and manipulate interest rates; as a result, when things unravel it happens so fast that policy options are limited. Basing fiscal policy on the current cost of borrowing is like asking the fox to watch the hen house."
Lily interjects. "Why do we have to choose between raising taxes now and borrowing? Why can't we cut spending?"
"Well of course we should cut wasteful spending," says Mr. Parvulesco, wiping a stream of gravy from his chin. "But the question is what Republicans in Congress should do today. Republicans have been talking about cutting spending since 1980, but have accomplished little. Back in 1995, after Republicans took over Congress, there was a lot of talk about cutting spending, but they could never carry the debate. Under President Bush, with Republicans firmly in control of both houses of Congress from 2002 through 2006, spending grew faster than ever."
"Does that mean we should stop trying?"
"It means that there is no real public support for spending cuts. Elected officials aren't stupid."
"So what should we do?"
"For the answer to that," says Mr. Parvulesco, licking his plate clean, "you should invite me out to another meal." He winks at Lily and departs.
That evening, in Roderick's room, Molly stands completely naked before the full-length mirror. "Roderick," she asks, "do you think I'm pretty?"
Roderick, who is in the middle of a chapter in Mr. Rothschild's History of Banking text, pauses. Placing a bookmark, he bounds over to Molly, flings his arms around her waist and rests his head on her shoulder.
"Not pretty...gorgeous, I think."
"Have you always thought so? I mean even when we were kids playing with Laddie at Beauneville Park?"
"Well I don't know...our feelings change over time, you know. When we were little kids we didn't think much about such things."
"But you do now?"
Roderick nods.
"Do you ever want to tear off my clothes and ravish me?"
"Well I hardly need to tear off your clothes, do I?"
Molly smiles. "No, I guess not."
"And as for ravishment...", Roderick details exactly what he would like them to do, something that could be described as ravishment except that Molly would be an active participant.
Molly's eyes widen. "Oh!" she says. "We should do that some time."
