Anthracite is a type of coal,
he definitively says, and I
am tempted to tell him that
aa and pahoehoe are types
of Hawaiian lava, but I don’t
because I am reasonably certain
that he wouldn’t care, or that
he has an issue with volcanic islands
but doesn’t want to discuss it further.
He will also tell me that Gitega
is the capital of Burundi and I
will nod, and tell him that San Juan
was the name Columbus gave
the island, but some bureaucrat
back in Spain decided the island
was a rich port and changed
the name to Puerto Rico, all of which
is an object lesson in the problems
that bureaucrats can cause
when given unfettered control
over things we all thought settled.