The Parable Of The Hotel

Once there were two friends; John was a resort operator, Prometheus built hotels. John and Prometheus met for beers one day. Prometheus told John about a superhighway that had just been built. Prometheus says to John "Let me build you a hotel beside the highway, it'll be very profitable."

John agreed. So Prometheus built John the hotel. It was very profitable. The hotel was so busy that John had to hire a manager for the hotel. The manager's name was Dick.

One day Prometheus comes into work at the hotel and finds Dick drilling holes into the foundation. Prometheus calls John and Dick over "John, Dick, you shouldn't drill holes into the foundation. It's very dangerous. You could hit a power, water, or gas main. You could also cause the building to collapse, hurting yourself and your guests. Let me drill the holes. I built the foundation. I know where it is safe to drill."

"I know how to drill. I am a very good driller. I am going to drill." says Dick.

John says nothing.

Prometheus doesn't know what to do. He is worried about his friend and his hotel guests.

The next day Prometheus once again finds Dick drilling into the hotel foundation. Prometheus thinks to himself "How can I convince my friend John how dangerous it is for Dick to drill into the hotel foundation?"

So Prometheus says to John "John, if you let Dick keep drilling into the foundation of the hotel I will stop working for you. That is how dangerous I think the situation is."

John gets very angry. He snaps at Prometheus "This is my hotel. You think that because you built the hotel that it belongs to you. You think that you know better than anyone. I think that you are trying to burn down my hotel. You are fired!"

Prometheus turns and walks away. He is sad to think his friend had so little trust in him. As Prometheus walks into the distance he can still hear the sound of the drill biting into the concrete. Ream ... Ream ... Ream ...