gistfile1.txt

I showed Tim around. Ordination certificates. Membership cards. Nearly
completed mechanicals for the cover of the Neo-American Church
Catechism and Handbook. Michael had just done his original drawing of
The Great Seal, showing a three-eyed toad with the motto “Victory Over
Horseshit” below it, and Wendy was whiting out ink spots and smudges.

“I don’t like your motto, Art,” Tim said, looking over her
shoulder. “Victory? Over? Horseshit?”

“What’s wrong with that?” I asked.

“It isn’t a gentle love message,” Tim replied, with a straight face.

“Well, I’m going to add this explanation,” I replied, trying to keep
my face straight also. I showed him a paragraph I had written
describing the difference between horseshit and bullshit:

Our victory is over horseshit rather than bullshit. Bullshit is a rare
and valuable commodity. The great masters have all been superb
bullshitters. Horseshit, on the other hand, in the common parlance,
refers to downright crap. The free, playful entertaining flight of
ideas is bullshit; and more often than not will be found afterwards to
accord perfectly with universal truth. Horseshit is contrived;
derivative, superstitious, ignorant. We might take Gurdjieff as an
example of a master bullshitter and Meher Baba as an example of a
master horseshitter.