Bob considered himself to be a thinker. He regularly tramped through the streets with an intense look on his face as he pondered the transient nature of life. The transition from life to death fascinated him greatly. He used to be a very fat man but after a triple heart bypass he walked regularly and had transformed himself into a trim fellow. He felt it was quite a triumph controlling his body in such a way and he planned to exercise his mind in the same way. He wanted to transcend the limits of the human mind and felt that the trick was to ignore the physical world as much as possible. He would transact lengthy conversations with himself about both trivial matters and matters which he considered of great importance. He felt sure that thought was a treasure that most men undervalued. There was a growing trend to treat intellectuals as trash. Bob planned to take a trip to try and find a place where he would be more welcome, but he never seemed to have the time. He dreamed of a place where great minds would pay tribute to each other in poems and the transfer of ideas would be swift and steady. He found the common topics of conversation to be a trifle. The men he met talked about cars and sport. They had no time to discuss the transient nature of life and when Bob spoke their boredom was transparent. According to Bob these common men would all benefit from brain transplants, although where these brains would come from was not mentioned. Bob was slowly shunned by the community. They felt that their children were unsafe around a man who seemed to be obsessed with death and also quite mad. Rumors started to spread about Bob. People believed that he transmitted signals to outer space and they felt he may be the trigger of some terrible events. The townspeople called an emergency meeting. They didn’t want this madman to be with them any longer. They voted unanimously to dispose of him. The Mayor of the town was well connected in various circles. As Bob wandered the streets mumbling to himself, he was unaware of the whispering behind his back. The Mayor made some calls and called in some favors. The next day Bob discovered how transient life was as he was hit and killed by an unmarked car.