The oldest trick in the book

It was the oldest trick in the book. First I arranged and then I exerted and wouldn't you know, something happened! What that is, remains to be seen. It took me a long time to come to any kind of consensus on even this, the most vague interpretation of events available to either myself, others, or some third category of being that cannot be expressed by mere pronouns alone. What I would like to say first and foremost, is thank you. Thank you! Thank you for the ingenuity and foresight and all of that shit! Thanks for encyclopedias and how to manuals! Thanks for cook books and textbooks and seminars and lectures and all of that shit! And proceeding from there, we must congratulate all those involved in the process. Am I right? What else? I guess there is little left to discuss. This is the oldest trick in the book, but I am uncertain of which book and where it currently resides. Did I lend it to you?