ZipWits
Noble Choices

1 Approval

seeking acceptance from others or ourselves

Goals

To critically assess …

  • How the scenarios relate to retribution, revenge, honesty, and disgust
  • The merits of each of the four options or courses of action
  • Which rules of duty and utility are most relevant to the scenario
  • Which option best suits to the identified rules of duty or utility

Spider Cider

A spider plopped beside her cider. Emily felt disgust. It could crawl the wall and fall on her. She felt it surely must.

Squishing makes her squeamish. The crunch sound is the worst. Sophie’s outside, so she could hide the bug in Sophie’s purse.

Avenge her trampled trilliums, delicate and scarce. Her sister gets what she deserves, and thinks it nature’s curse.

How marvellous, thinks Emily, to even up the score. To hold Sophie accountable, to trample trilliums nevermore.

Suppose Emily must choose:
  • teach Sophie a lesson with the spider
  • hide the spider because it’s disgusting
  • smack the spider with Sophie’s purse
  • scold Sophie about trampling trilliums
What would Keri & Milo advise? What would you do?

Pasta Haste

The luncheonette is frequented, by folks between their flights. Tight schedules test the patrons’ cool, though most folks are polite. 

The airport Pasta Luncheonette, serves luscious chicken salad. But what waiter Al Dente did, made even Al turn pallid. 

Al dropped a plate intended for a guy surly and cranky. It plopped upon the kitchen floor, Al scooped it with his hanky.

Arrange it neat and serve the dish, or offer a free meal? The patron was unsavoury, why not return the deal?

Suppose Al must choose: 
  • substitute a more expensive dish
  • serve the dropped pasta to the surly patron
  • offer to pay for a free meal for the customer
  • re-order and blame the delay on the chef
What would Keri & Milo advise? What would you do?

Faux Fashion

Sally bought a brand new dress of vomit coloured hues. It matched her tacky plastic purse and polka-dotted shoes.

She thinks it’s great and sure to set a trend in what to wear. So she struts with head held high when others stop to stare. 

Her friend Marcelle has fashion sense. His input’s often sought. Does he love the artsy clothes that Sally just now bought? 

In honesty he sees the clash, so should he tell her so? Or maybe spare her feelings, saying ‘yes’ but meaning ‘no’? 

Suppose Marcelle must choose: 
  • tell Sally that her clothes clash 
  • fib to make Sally feel good 
  • fib, but refuse to be in public with Sally 
  • be vague, then shop with Sally to give tips
What would Keri & Milo advise? What would you do?

Noble or No Bull

Sadie strolled the Spanish cobble, part of Matt’s final wish. Though cancer held husband’s future, today was a gift to cherish. 

Matt Adore came for the bulls, to witness here an ancient fight. It holds him strong, gives him courage, before he slips into the night.

Sadie finds the fight repulsive, just watching makes her ill. Sadie never told Matthew so, and hopes she never will.

But does she urge him go alone, or deny him this final goal. Could she attend and risk revulsion, life to Matt, death to the bull.

Suppose Sadie must choose: 
  • suggest Matthew go to the bullfights alone 
  • refuse to go and guild Matt into staying away 
  • go along and try to avoid getting sick 
  • refuse to let him go and explain why
What would Keri & Milo advise? What would you do?
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About Me

Roger Kenyon was North America’s first lay canon lawyer and associate director at the Archdiocese of Seattle. He was involved in tech (author of Macintosh Introductory Programming, Mainstay) before teaching (author of ThinkLink: a learner-active program, Riverwood). Roger lives near Toronto and is the author of numerous collections of short stories.

“When not writing, I’m riding—eBike, motorbike, and a mow cart that catches air down the hills. One day I’ll have Goldies again.”