At the map on the bear, Poison Pie pointed out our current location. "We are here," he said, "which reminds me of a quote from Kobo Abé's novel, The Ruined Map." "Oh boy, here we go," I mumbled mostly to myself, ignoring the sideways glance from Mr. Pie. He says a single map for life is all you need. It's a saying of his. The world is a forest, a woods, full of wild beasts and poisonous insects. You should go only through places where everyone goes, places that are considered absolutely safe, he says. When finished with the quote, Poison Pie bobbed about like a proud peacock. Lynn circled the map, studying it. After a while she said, "That's pretty depressing advice." Lynn looked at me. "David will show you how to give truly good advice." Poison Pie fixed me with a dirty and wholly underserved glare. After all, it wasn't my fault that I am a grand optimist. Put on the spot, what could I do? I tried my best. He says a single poisonous insect is all you need for absolute safety. It's a saying of his. The world is only a map of a forest, full of wild wooden beasts. Everyone should go through places where you go, places that are considered life-like, he says.        Needless to say, my advice was not well received.