A Trio of Photos - A Meeting - P. A. Nolte

1/ The exterior of an abandoned cathedral in a small European metropolis.

Caption (Younger): Why must we continue meeting in these... places, uncle?  I do not understand your fascination.

Caption (Elder): Ah, irony is lost on the young.

2/ Inside the decrepit building, standing amidst the remnants of what was once an elaborate chancel but is now a mass of splintered planks and fallen plaster are two men.  The elder is admiring the lone statue of a robed woman, presumably Mary Magdalene, though we cannot see her face.  The younger is pacing nervously.

Elder: The clergyman of this establishment was so very keen to appeal to the masses, he began to misconstrue the messages of his own beliefs so that he might retain his ever tenuous grasp on his congregation, and found it lost regardless.

3/ The elder grins at his disciple, shrugging in a very human fashion.

Elder: Oh, well.

4/ The younger man rolls his eyes.

Younger: You avoid my question, uncle.

5/ The elder has turned to face the younger.  He stretches out his arms wide, gesturing proudly towards the dilapidation surrounding them.

Elder: Do I?

Elder: What lesson have I tried to impart time and time again?

Younger: "The safest road to Hell is the gradual one-- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

Elder: Indeed.

Elder: Come.  We shall further your education over a meal.