"Rudy Harrington, an avocado dealer in Chicago, is ready for a new life. His daughters are grown, his wife has died, and the idea of running an avocado grove in Texas suddenly seems infinitely more appealing than the rambling house and the wholesale produce business that have sustained him so far. So a new life it is. Rudy leaves home and heads for a part of the world where he knows scarcely a soul. But he has a guide: a slender book one of his daughters has given him called Philosophy Made Simple, each chapter highlighting the ideas of a different philosopher. As he plunges into his unknown future, Rudy meets his challenges philosopher by philosopher, beginning with Plato and Aristotle and ending with Schopenhauer and Sartre. But no amount of philosophy can prepare Rudy for the surprises that emerge as he arranges for his daughter's Hindu wedding and gets to know Norma Jean - an elephant with a talent for painting who is abandoned to Rudy's care. Norma Jean's vast heart opens up Rudy's spirit and leads to his encounter with an extraordinary woman and the prospect of a new love."--BOOK JACKET.