Sometimes it is better to watch¹⁴

Twenty minutes before the semi-finals of the 400-metre race, my Filipino friend told me that the officials had allowed more people to join, and that I was definitely qualified to participate. When they announced that everybody was allowed, he said that he was prepared to compete. But since I had not qualified in the heats, I had not come prepared to run. Even if I had been prepared, I would not have been able to compete with those really good runners. Sometimes it is better to watch than to run.