The art of breaking rules

Vietcong rubber sandals
This pair of sandals, its soles crafted from tough rubber tires and its straps from rubber interior tubing, was standard issue for South Vietnamese guerrilla fighters during the Vietnam War. I saw it as a symbol for breaking rules.

I remember an anecdote about breaking rules that I read somewhere, so long ago in my youth I no longer remember from which book or magazine. But the story struck me so deeply I still remember the details like I read it just yesterday.

An American writer is visiting Paris, and one evening he takes a cab to attend a late-evening dinner in another part of the city. The French cab driver, it seems, is fluent enough in English to strike up a conversation with him, and the writer is happy to oblige as he wants tips on how to get around town. So they talk sporadically about random topics. Continue reading “The art of breaking rules”