Thursday. Out early cutting out dead honeysuckle limbs, some three inches in diameter. Today is the day for the city picking up limbs and such so Carol was on top of it. Still mid-morning, much to your surprise.
I thought it was around eleven or so, not even close. It is another warm day, Florida warm, especially with the humidity – I’m sure it doesn’t help the swollen joints, especially in the right foot. I need to call the doctor’s office and see when my summer appointment is, I assume June (15 June.0930). Glad Carol reminded me as I had not made an appointment, even the office had thought I had made one.
** **
The new June Harper’s came today so you read it. Three things came to light. In the Harper’s “Index”:
Percentage of Americans in 2009 who believed the free market “is the best system on which to base the future of the world”: 74%
Percentage of Americans who believe so today: 59%
Percentage of Chinese who do: 67%
as well as,
Chances that a convict will be granted parole if his case comes up right after a judge has had breakfast: 7 in 10
Chances right before lunch: 1 in 4
and from Harper’s “Findings”:
Americans who have just ridden an up escalator are twice as likely to donate to a charity as those who have just ridden a down escalator.
** **
It is surprising what breakfast and an up escalator have in common with human behavior. The more positive one is (even subtly) the more charitable. I like my marsupial humanoid political system as it gets to the heart of the behavior problem. Every adult is paid one hundred thousand a year for being civilized and doing service for the civilization. People work three days a week ten hours a day. If they are raising children that is more hours of course, but mothers or fathers receive the same pay. Marsupials live in small communities of five to fifteen adults. It is easier because they are biologically built to share. The females tend to leadership because they are more aggressive sexually. Males are not aggressive sexual at all. They would rather focus on making their world more efficiently run for the good of themselves and the greater community. (I haven’t thought about this stuff for awhile.)
It was not easy early on for their transition. They ran out of food and many starved, it had been a dog eat dog world, so to speak. Here is what they did.
In order for people to better accept a common sharing, money was used to buy them off (this had worked well in the old economic system). Some people thought this was a free lunch as might be expected, but when you sign your life away there are bound to be some conditions. The one that was the most telling was, at sixteen each signed a contract for more money for more adult-like services rendered, one of them being a college education through a masters. To give an added sense of adulthood each was psychologically put back into that old dog eat dog world. To shore up a sense of responsibility one was given two pills, each appeared similar. No one could tell the difference. Take one pill and it makes you sicker than a dog, so to speak, for a period of three to six months (usually) then you gradually improve with a new perspective of what life can be like. If you take the other pill (pain free) you are dead before you hit the ground if you are standing. If your plight is such that you forget and take both pills you are still sicker than a dog for up to six months or so. When you recover you will find you have two new of the same pills for future consideration.
This gives people reason to be concerned about their friends’ mental health. If you take the pill and die you are treated with respect in that you could not live in the marsupial’s present world and decided to sacrifice yourself for the good of the greater community. The point being is that people sacrifice their lives in a number of ways for a number of private reasons even given free choice in the matter. Life was still harsh. No picnic. If you decided to live you were forced into caring for others along the way, after a while it became the natural order.
The economics cost a tremendous amount. People paid ten percent of their one hundred thousand to taxes. No more. Profit free corporations and businesses of all kinds also paid ten percent tax yearly. The system was still tremendously in debt but no one could come up with a fairer way. The added a strong sense of embarrassment as the numbers could never balance like they felt they should, and this added to a great deal of humility as a species. So, they forgive the world debt once a year (not for individuals or corporations and the like). The focus was to deliver goods and services efficiently, honorably and humanely. People deserved a good life with a good education and good social services along the way. They also deserved a private life which they earned doing service for the community. Young people eventually earned jobs with better work conditions through experience but not better pay. Every so many years everyone changed jobs or morphed into better jobs, jobs they were more personally satisfied with. I could go on and on, but I’m talked out. It’s in the books more or less. The point is that the roses still had their thorns.
Once again you got carried away in the moment.
I just keep thinking there ought to be a better way for humans to live even if it is in a fiction. I know better.
These were your ideas orndorff but I put them to use. Others have better ideas. More later, old man. – Amorella.
Dusk. I do get carried away, but not now. Ready to watch Bones at nine then perhaps The Mentalist and save CSI for when we return. Maybe I’ll get in some dialogue after Bones. Maybe not. I don’t believe things, that is me. I can hope but I don’t see the point in believing something that cannot be proven.
That’s part of the dialogue, boy. Now, who does that sound like, Takis or Mother? You tell me?
It sounds like Mother. I assume a shaman has to be a believer in order to begin.
So, there’s the argument. Later or whenever.
***
Continuing first draft of scene seven:
A shift in thought. Another shift in thought. “Grandfather, do you believe the story you told is the Tree’s story?”
“No need to go any further than the Betweeners and the Groves. That is the statement. This Tree is not connected with the Dead.”
“That is a fact?”
“It is clear to me. The illusion of Elysium is that common human consciousness created it. I say this Place was created before there were any Living, before there was any universe at all.”
“This is supposition on your part, Grandfather. You told the story. I heard your voice, not the Tree’s voice.” Then she muttered, “A dream is not a reality.”
“Being dead is not a dream, child. Why would you think such a thing?”
“You are a reader. You know things. You believe things that you know. We are not the same Grandfather. I do not think like you do.”
“You were here first. I came here knowing you.”
“I died first.”
“You did.”
“I went someplace else. Others, human-like in composure were already there. If the Tree’s story is correct as you say, Elysium was already here. Why didn’t I come here first?”
“I do not know. The story did not acknowledge that.” He paused, “However, it is I who suggested this place was here. I said we were in both places at once. You told me then that the concept changed your life.”
She mellowed. “It did. I believed. . . .”
“There, you see, child. You believed first. Why you were delivered to a stranger’s place I do not know. But you realized the mistake.”
“It was a fact, Grandfather. I was there with other Dead. Their hearts were just like ours.”
“Minds are less than hearts.”
“Your mind set you to realize the heart was not as common as you first thought.”
to be continued . . . .
(Thursday night; Blogspot still offline)
** **
Friday night. You are in Cleveland and getting ready for bed after supper at Five Guys and a lot of playtime with Owen. Blogspot has been offline for some many hours, including this morning before you left Mason.
I thought I would have more done but I am tired. Owen is a little character. Home from supper and he ran around the back yard laughing as he ran. Then he saw a mud puddle from the rain, and it was so much fun watching him investigate the water -- within five minutes he was sitting in the puddle splashing and laughing. Good to see him happy and healthy this time. We ought to have a good time tomorrow.
I thought I would have more done but I am tired. Owen is a little character. Home from supper and he ran around the back yard laughing as he ran. Then he saw a mud puddle from the rain, and it was so much fun watching him investigate the water -- within five minutes he was sitting in the puddle splashing and laughing. Good to see him happy and healthy this time. We ought to have a good time tomorrow.
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