105. House Rules

We've all been in a high state of anticipation regarding our first "guest" and I've noticed that even a slight noise coming from outside will cause one or two of us to look out the window. Of course I shared our new venture with the Brothers. They have a right to know and I explained everything after supper on the day Alfred toured the monastery with Izzy. I asked that we vote and the result was unanimous in favor of having a guests at a thousand dollars each per week.

"How many guests at a time?" asked Bouncer.

"There was no discussion of that," I said "but it's our house and we can limit it. I think we would take one at the start and the max might be three, since that’s how many spare bedrooms we have. If we take more than one, each arrival should be spaced a week apart, so that we can asses whether each man fits in. We don't want three problems to arrive all at once."

"Will they eat with us?" asked Harpo.

"Unless we run into a problem," I said, "I'm for treating any visitor like a postulant, except possibly for the chores. So I think they should eat with us and sleep upstairs with us, but each in their own room. They have to attend prayers, because I don't want them wandering around unattended. One or two can have a small desk in The Pit. I think we have spare desks and we can find spaces to put them in. Maybe they should help out, like doing some copy machine work. Or for all I care they can fall asleep in a corner."

“Will any of them be criminals” asked Headless

“Hard to tell,” I said, “but we have nothing for them to steal. As far as physical danger, Alfred assures me that will not be a problem, but we should keep a distance, I think.”

"A monk's life is not for everyone," said Bouncer. "What if they can't take it? They won't even be able to play a portable radio, I presume?"

“I don’t see why they can’t play one low in their room,” said Izzy.

“How will we control what goes on in their rooms?” said Harpo.

"How about we not worry over what they do in their own room as long as we don't hear it?" I said.

"But they don't bring their girlfriends in," said Kickstart

"Right," I said, "no visitors."