"Chessplayer" [antikvár]

Lenin to TVotsky:Now this is the truth, and I can refer you to many authorities. When Catherine Second and her royal entourage sailed down the Dnepr in 1787 to view the New Territories, the Field Marshal Potemkin created sham villages of cardboard and other devices along the river bank to give the distinguished visitors a false impression of reality. We want no more Potemkin villages.TVotsky to Lenin:On the matter of the Potemkin villages I must disagree. They were real, and this is the truth, for which I can cite many authorities. The illusion that they did not exist was created by historians, who are the source of most of our illusions about the past.Lenin to TVotsky:Dear Comrade, what does it matter who was responsible, my Field Marshal or your historians? In either event, somebody was rudely deceived.1Brdnowskj had dropped a passenger at the Cannon House Office Building off Independence Avenue and was cruising north on First when the man hailed him from the mall in front of the Library of Congress. Brdnowski pulled to the curb and leaned over to open the rear door. "I'm suburban. Can only take fares going across the D.C. line."The man was fiftyish, balding, and carrying a leather briefcase. "National," he said hoarsely, and began to cough.Brdnowski banged his flag. "Sounds like you got a cold.""I'm in a hurry. That's the main news.""Right." Brdnowski eased around a stalled van with its hood up. The driver, a man in brown twill coveralls, was hunched over the engine checking wiring. Brdnowski half-turned in his seat. "Catching a plane or meeting someone?"The passenger, who seemed to be waving casually at a pedestrian farther down the mall, leaned forward to study the TD permit and tiny photograph on the sun visor. "Is your name Brdnowski?""Right.""I figured it probably was. I have this kind of talent for reading TD permits."Okay, wise apple, Brdnowski thought, I don't have to talk to you either. The tip was going to be lousy, he knew that nowabout enough to buy a hamburger at 1930