If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.
― Henry David Thoreau
This Fool hears his own tune and follows it (thankfully he has a service dog as a companion). It's not easy to live outside the beliefs and norms of society, unless your eccentric behavior makes money. Then people think you're the new brand of awesome innovation. But can we ever be happy if we are constantly following everyone's wishes and ignore our own head and heart? For sure the Fool's way is filled with bumps and bruises, but on his path there is adventure and a sense of carefree contentment as well. Speaking of potholes on the path, Mariana embodies one. A character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure and a subject of Tennyson's poem, she represents a jilted lover. Her woeful self-pity is heard in the verse: "to be all alone, to live forgotten, and love forlorn." But the Fool walks in, tears off a piece of his cloak, and tells her to wipe her eyes. He's heard of a website called eHarmony, and he declares they should make a profile for her immediately. Go ahead and jump Mariana, the service dog is still nearby. Otherwise you're going to need a boat for all those tears you're shedding.
