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Sat 18 Mar, 2006 09:16 am
San Sepulcro in 1994.
I was in Italy in '94, on vacation, and my travels took me to the town of San Sepulcro. There were a bunch of accountants partying like crazed animals in the courtyard below my room.
One of them stood on top of a table, hoisted what appeared to be a two gallon glass of beer, and shouted, "HERE'S TO THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST BOOK WRITTEN ON DOUBLE-ENTRY ACCOUNTING!!!"
He then poured the entire contents of the glass over his head, trying to swallow as much as he could. The rest of the accountants were screaming and running around and a few of them loosened their ties.
I remember there was one guy crunching some numbers on the waitress's breast.
His tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth and his face was a study of concentration.
I heard the waitress say, "Why don't we go to my room and you can finish the equation as I sprawl naked on my king-sized bed?"
The guy says, "No, I believe I have it almost finished. Ah, there you go, quite simple really, just a matter of manipulating a few pesky numbers."
The waitress rolled her eyes and walked away.
I chuckled and the guy heard me and looked up. He said, "What? That equation was correct!"
And now, all these years later, I realized that that accountant that stared up at me that fateful day in Italy was none other than our beloved roger.
How could I not have made the connection earlier?
is roger good at ab crunches too?
No, and neither was Luca Pacioli.
He invented spreadsheets, too, though they weren't so named till much later by fur trappers in the American West. A spreadsheet, in that context, was a stretched and dried animal skin. You know, the things they used to drag behind them to obscure their tracks.
Conan the Bookkeeper
Gus
I never realized that being in the same room with Roger could be such a thrill. He is a sly rascal, isn't he?
BBB
Damn, now I know why my poppop always went to those bean counter conventions.
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