::: Optimistenbond van het Koninkrijk België :::

One day a limousine drove into a sleepy town. A tall slender man in a dark suit with a green hat, unknown in town, asked for directions to the local limousine dealer. Arriving at the dealer, he ordered three new limousines just like the one he had arrived in. Without much hesitation. The dealer promised to deliver in four months.

When the tall man had left, the dealer could not contain his joy and run to inform his wife of the good news. “Go to the jeweler,” he said , “and order a beautiful collier for yourself.” The wife of the car dealer ran off with the good news about the tall slender man in the dark suit with the green hat who had ordered three limousines and ordered a collier to be delivered in four months. The jeweler could also not contain the wonderful news and ran off to the butcher to buy the best meat. And so the good news spread, as no one was able to contain it and keep it to themselves.

Within a few days the sleepy town was vivid. Within a few weeks everyone was involved in the new lively movement. Within a few months the boost had inspired everyone. Then, after three months, a limousine drove into the town with three men unknown in town. They asked for a tall slender man in a dark suit with a green hat. Of course, everyone in town knew that a man like that had come to town to order three limousines. So, they directed the three men to the car dealer.

The car dealer explained that they were arriving too early, the three brand new limousines had not yet been delivered. “That is not the problem”, one of the three said, “we are here to find this man, he will not come to collect the limousines, because he escaped from an asylum and he is still on the run, making purchases all over.”

“No problem at all,” said the car dealer. “He is a beneficiary of our town. Three months ago our town was sleepy with little activity. In the old days, we used to be creating, collaborating and trading. We had nearly stopped doing so. But then, everything shifted after the tall man had bought three limousines. I have done more business since than in the whole previous year and so have all my fellow citizens.