Waiting for the Last Train

Illustration made by Will Jacques, designed for this story!  Awesome!

There was one train yet to arrive.

He knew that if she wasn't on that one, he would never see her again.

The first train arrived at nine that morning.  The only passengers to disembark were an elderly couple.  There were nobody he recognized.  They seemed confused.  Maybe they had gotten off at the wrong stop.  They finally went off with Pastor Dan.

The second train arrived at noon.  One man got out.  He looked very frightened.  He said that everyone was warned to get out.  Because they were coming.  They would be in there in less than twelve hours.  And if you had not left, you would be either be killed or become enslaved.  Despite this warning, many were still hesitant to leave.  The man said he had friends here he was hoping would be waiting for him.  But they had not shown up yet.  He tried to use a cell, but there was no reception.  He got mad and threw the phone onto the third rail.  An hour later, his lover Branders showed up and took him away.

The third train arrived at three.  A young girl of twelve got out.  She had been sent by her parents to meet her Aunt Petrice.  The girl had on a tartan skirt that came to just above her knees, a white blouse, and a blue beret.  She seemed to be a little shaken.  She said there had been some scuffling at the station.  She thought she heard shots as they were pulling away.  He tried to ask if she knew who he was waiting for, but the little girl did not recognize the name.  Her Aunt Petrice came and after some tears, she took her away.

The fourth train arrived at six that evening.  Three women got out, but none were the one he was waiting for.  The women were very frightened, and their clothing was torn.  Their faces had streaks of ash and dirt.  They looked at him as if they were not sure where they were or what was going on.  A carriage came, and a man dressed like a nineteenth century servant guided them into the carriage.

The fifth train arrived at nine that evening.  Parts of the train were on fire. He could see the burned corpses in the first car.  From the second car emerged a young boy and his father.  They said there would be only  one more train.  Everything was breaking down.  The things they feared were only a few hours away.  No one came to pick the boy and his father up.  They just left the station and wandered down the street.

She promised she would leave.  The last conversation they had before the cells stopped working assured him that she understood the urgency of escape.  But she said she had some things to finish up first.  He knew she had a lover she saw there.  He didn't care.  He just wanted her back again.

Midnight came.  It was time for the train to arrive.

Nothing.

A half hour after midnight, he heard the explosions in the distance.

There were no more trains.  The place they had come from was no longer there.

Nevertheless, he found he couldn't leave the station.  He didn't want to give up.  He didn't want to lose hope.

Two days later, Pastor Dan told him he would need to leave.  They were coming.

He didn't leave.  He stayed.  Until they came.

And then the waiting ended.

Discussing Abortion Saturday Political Soap Box 41

Some issues are more divisive than others.  They hit to the core of who we are and what we believe.  It is hard to be compromising on an issue that one feels to be on the other side is tantamount to murder.  

Ah, elections!  The time when we should be discussing issues but instead focus on birth certificates and dogs on roofs of cars.  When the latest inadvertent misstatement is more important than the direction they'll take the country.  When the election of the other guy will lead to a thousand years of darkness.  In the face of that, I will continue to try to focus on some basic issues and what I believe is the direction we should take. And yes, I am taking a sacrifice in number of page views by going this route instead of the Mittbot Thurston Howell route or that darn Kenyan Socialist route. 

I believe that abortion is wrong and immoral, under most circumstances.  But I see no value in criminalizing the relationship between a woman and her doctor.  We need to increase our support and understanding of mothers and their children in this country, and we need to increase the availability of birth control.

My feelings on this issue will please no one who are adamant on either side of this issue.  Yes, when the DNA zips, life has begun.  A unique entity, however early, has been formed.  A combination of traits that will never occur again.  I do get upset when people talk about "it's my body, I'll do what I want"  That's true in a way, but there is also another entity to take it account.  Just because it is not independent yet does not mean it should not be taken into consideration.

At the same time, those who seem to be concerned about the fetus but drop all support of the child infuriate me.  If you are going to be anti-abortion, then support of the mother and child become paramount. don't bitch about welfare mothers, cut education and family support, treat people like lazy, worthless sinners.  Do something to make things better AFTER the birth of the child instead of harassing abortion clinics, or trying to guilt-trip people.

Abortion is undeniably mixed up in sexual politics.  It is part of a host of positions designed to diminish the importance and political/social power of women.  It is another way for men to control women, by taking away their sexual control.

Laws eliminating abortion are about as effective as the laws to prohibit alcohol. If many people don't feel like it's wrong, or that they are compelled by life's circumstances to make this choice, they're going to find a way to make it.  I don't women dying because of back-alley or self-induced abortions.

Biblical commentary on abortion is very limited, and some passages take some imaginative twisting to get out of it what religious anti-abortionists what to get out of it.  Jesus did not directly address this.  Neither did he address something even more horrifying that was more clearly and frequently going on at that time.  Infanticide was practiced in that culture.  Parents would abandon to the wilderness babies that were not of the sex or health they wanted.  In modern terms, one of the worst, most morally offensive things they did at that time.  and what did Jesus say about it?  Nothing.  Not word one.

The best thing to be done, in my opinion, is to improve the cultural conditions in society that people don't feel like it is their only choice, support mothers and children and stop creating a society that deliberately impoverishes people, to promote birth control and intelligent reproductive choices, and for both sides to reach out with love and understanding instead of hatred.

Rippping Good Yarns: Sunday Fall TV

Finally!  After some delay, I'm finally wrapping up this series with a review of Sunday Fall TV.  A very crowded night, particularly when you throw in offerings from cable.  As usual, since Ripping Good Yarns focuses on fictional storytelling, I will have comment, good or bad, about the reality programs on Sunday.

On prime time broadcast TV, the two series watched most faithfully at our house are Once Upon A Time, in it's sophomore season, and The Mentalist, in it's fifth fall season.  Once Upon A time has been great fun, and is almost Lost-like in it's back and forth structure.  It even had kind of a smoke demon at it's end.  Where it will go this season is anybody's guess.  The show could get a lot better or a lot worse.  We shall see.  The Mentalist has two major things going for it; one is the Red John story-line  which helps increase it's status as a Ripping good Yarn, and the character Cho, whose stoic understatements makes him one of my favorite characters on TV.  In a bizarre way, he reminds me of Mr. Spock.

The new show I most looking forward to is 666 Park Avenue.  A horror series structured like an anthology. I'm intrigued by the premise, a haunted hotel in New York City.  I'm reserving judgement until I see the series, which I've recorded and have on DVR, but have not seen yet.  I'm afraid with Robin Hood practice and everything my DVR is going to accumulate shows at a much more rapid rate than I am going to be able to watch them.

I do not believe there are any other new shows on Sunday.

Returning are The Good Wife in it's fourth fall season (is the premise that she's married to a Senator or something?); Revenge in it's second season, which I have not seen but Rippers tell me is very good ( I have DVRed the first season recap and the first episode).  There are the four animated comedies on Fox; The Simpsons (23rd season!), Bob's Burgers, Family Guy (8th season) and American Dad (8th season). The animated characters age slower and have fewer salary demands.

But then we get to the cable shows.  Showtime's Homeland, which won the Emmy for best series.  Don't get me started on the difference between short-form and long-form series.  On HBO there is Boardwalk Empire and Treme, both outstanding shows that I watch.  But the biggest treat is AMC's The Walking Dead  Don't let the title fool you.  This is the best show on basic cable.  It is character driven, with great stories and writing.

The Nights of Zanzibar

A knight was travelling afar.
Across a land he knew not well.
Passing desert and mountains
forest and bogs
steppes and rivers
deltas and glades
legions away.

In the foothills of the Gormek
He saw a castle glimmering
He saw a light shimmering
Mayhaps, at last
Someone was there.

Up to the castle gate.
No one to stop him.
No one to warn him.
No one to shout, "Stop! I say!"

Through the castle gate.
Into a court yard overgrown.
The tawanga vine is everywhere

There appears from the tower
A ghostly light
An amber hue
Mayhaps, at last,
Someone was there.

He climbed the tower
His armor clanking
His breath becoming harder and deeper as he climbed.

He opened the tower room\
And there she was.
The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.


Who was sleeping.
And snoring
Her bare feet sticking out from under the covers.

What would wake her?
Many had tried.
All had failed.

But this knight had a secret tool.
This knight knew.
The woman loved stories,.
She would wake from her centuries old slumber,
If only he told her the right story.

He had with him an extraordinary book
One with a thousand stories
And one of these would wake her
He just knew it.

The Nights of Zanzibar by Randyll Meriweather.
That was the book he brought
May be the only copy on Earth

He began'
"Far off the golden pathway. past the gardens of Raymthia,
there was a village of quiet dimensions, a place where magic would slip through."

Did she stir?  Was that a brief flutter of her eyelids?

Only time will tell.

Robin Hood and His Merry Script

Robin Hood and his Merry Band rehearse their first scene together.    From left to right we have Noah Cook as Friar Tuck, our number one pickpocket; Benjamin Strait as Little John Montoya, the loyal best friend; Blake Barnhill as Robin Hood, the very first Robin Hood who is also a Pokemon master; and Eli cook as Big John Eli, Little John's big brother and stalwart guardian of the forest.

Look, Ma!  We got a script!  Villagers and henchman in a scene, including Susan Whitaker, Christian Jarrad, Amara Grace Jeffords, Emma Jacobs and Ryann Durrance.

It took some effort, but the Robin Hood cast finally has a complete script to work from!  Seven scenes in each act, it is a play that tells an important story about standing up to bullies, and also has plenty of fun songs and lines for children and adults.  It's going to be a great blast, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all come out and support the Flying Dragon while being entertained by thees hard-working and talented young people!

Contradictory Stances: Voting Against One's Own Interests

Why, oh why, do people vote against their own self-interests?

This is a popular theme of the left, the political position I most often find myself on.  It's a subject of much discussion, and has helped generate such books as What's The Matter With Kansas by Thomas Franks.  It most often centers on the idea that many middle-class and working poor voters vote against their own economic interests by voting for Republican policies that favor the wealthy over everyone else, that would dismantle the safety net that they have come to rely, and would destroy their workplace protections.

Yes, it does seem to appear that way.  But I am a little bit sensitive to the idea that everyone in a certain group would logically vote that way.  Voting, like everything else, is based on a complexity of motivations and interests that may not reveal themselves by a simple superficial analysis.

Take myself, for instance.  On the surface, it seems illogical to be where I am.  How many Southern white CPAs are on the progressive side of the agenda?  I can tell you, from my own experience, you have a better chance of spotting a unicorn. Yet, to me, being a liberal makes infinite sense.

Yes, I see the insanity of government bureaucracy sometimes, but I also see it on the private side as well.  I see people of good will on both sides trying to make the system work.  And I see charlatans and ne'er-do-wells on both sides too.  What is needed is a system of checks and balances.  Because ultimately that is what my profession is about - a sense of fair play and rules of the road that help us all drive safely.

But my sense of numbers is not the only thing that drives me to the left.  Like everyone else, I am so much more than that.  I have religious, moral and civic philosophy that drive me to highly value civil rights and equal opportunity. My foreign policy view that leans towards diplomacy and a small, more efficient military does not stem from being a CPA.

An example where my different influences do blend is in health care.  I see it as a moral imperative (and as a Christian one, based on my understanding of the faith   that we have true universal health care.  I also, partly due to my CPA background, see it as the alternative that is most cost effective.  A perfect blending of moral and economic imperatives.

So I see teachers who vote for politicians who wish to abolish public education, artists and culturally educated people who buy into philosophies that seem to be bereft of empathy or anything that I think make people a great artist, religious voters who seem completely blind to the fact that the biggest sin mentioned in the bible is that of the exploitation of the powerless by the powerful, those whose job conditions and pay are better because of unions turn their back so vehemently on those unions.  There are many examples of seemingly contradictory voting behavior.

But the onion has many layers.  It is hard to peel them all away and see to the core of what people are actually doing.  And all that peeling is just making me cry anyways.

Charging Through Time and Other Monday Musings

This is October first.  How the heck did that happen?  Where in the world did the month of September go? We push through months so quickly now.  I was startled to see several houses with Halloween decorations already up.  I have seen postings on Facebook already promoting haunted houses.  Halloween City is up here in town, and  friends have already talked about getting costumes.  The store are rife with Halloween displays and candy.  And I'm just thinking - isn't this at the END of October?  Why are we already pushing things that far that fast?  I mean, what's next?  Christmas displays?

Oh......yeah...they probably are.

There are events in November that are ticking closer.

My son Doug's wedding is coming November 3rd. Plans continue afoot for that.  Even though it's coming in a hurry, the planning for it has been at a more involved level than anything I've been directly involved with. It will be on the beach at St. Simon's near The King & Prince   It will have a mix of Hindu and Christian traditions.  Once the planning is done, it should be quite fun and memorable.

The Adventures of Robin Hood will perform the weekends of November 9th and November 16th.  I hope that whatever events are competing with this production (the fair, the latest Twilight movie) will not overwhelm this production.  We have a great cast, and I think it will be a fun and entertaining show.  Of course  I am tremendously biased, as the script was written by myself and Karissa Cook.  It is exciting to see these young thespians already bringing our words to life.  If you are in the Waycross area, you will want to see this show.

The election will be Tuesday, November 6th.  Things are looking up for the Democrats right now, but there are a lot of negative, vile ads yet to be run.  The most discouraging thing to date so far has been to watch the press focus on the debate coming up this Wednesday night.  Everything looks like it's going to be focused on who has the best one liners and zingers.  Hey, kids!  Policy don't matter!  It's like we're electing Head Comedian instead of the leader of the free world.  There you go again, mass media AND low-information voters!

The charge through time continues in other ways.  We attended a nice event at the Okefenokee Heritage Center, honoring the 100th anniversary of Ol' nine the train that is there, and the newly restored Hilliard House   While there, we completely lost Benjamin, We searched the train and the entire grounds.  We had the announcer use her microphone to call for him.  Alison was starting to scour the parking lot.  Then, after many minutes, I saw him coming up with a girl around his age, a girl who had been assisting with the event.  He told me that she had taken him on a "private tour" and that they had been inside some of the buildings there. Benjamin will be 12 December 7th.  I don't believe anything untoward happened, but I have to tell you, I am so not ready for this.

But it doesn't matter.  Time keeps charging forward,  ready or not!