Click the book cover to continue down the rabbit hole. Click this link to read Manley’s Chatbook.

A few weeks ago, I walked with the wizard to the front door during the ice storm that hit Austin. We opened it, and there stood Manley Miller.

The airlines had canceled his flight. A few minutes later Manley said. “Beliefs don’t have conflicts, but values do. You can hold two opposing Beliefs in your mind simultaneously. But Value conflicts require you to make a choice.” This made my ears perk up because the wizard is fond of quoting Frances Frei of Harvard, who says the opposite of what Manley said. She says, “You cannot change a person’s behavior until you first change their beliefs.” But the wizard didn’t correct Manley; he said, “Tell me more.” When Manley was done, the wizard said, “Now sit down and write all of that. I’m going to put it in a little book for you.” While Manley was writing, the wizard and the Princess and I sat on the back deck and watched the squirrels. I hopped up onto the lap of Princess Pennie and said to the wizard, “Why didn’t you tell Manley what Frances Frei says?” The wizard said, “Most disagreements result from the lack of definitions of terms. When Manley says ‘beliefs,’ he means something entirely different than when Frances Frei says ‘beliefs.’ I agree with what Manley says, and I agree with what Frances Frei says. I believe they are both right.”

I said, “That sort of proves what Manley was saying, doesn’t it?”

The wizard just nodded his head and sipped his tea. – Indy Beagle