Sky High (a story)

Sky High

Franklin was appointed crew chief of the build. And he was excited when he arrived the first day. He counted things the first day. He had the plans and the number of the architect on speed dial. He knew the names of all the local inspectors and their reputations so he knew what they’d be looking for when they showed up. He had hired and spent time with all the trades and sub contractors. And he had checked out the local depots where he could route his supplies thru and who could get him something he needed in a pinch. He had even looked at a few pizza and chicken delivery joints for when he wanted to give the guys a treat. Cuzz he didn’t want them going off site and getting drunk on his dime or time. That just begged for an accident. He and his family had tasted it all and his kids said it was good enough it went on their family’s menu. High praise from them!

He laid out the base of the build with chalk lines so everyone knew exactly where to dig. And marked off all electrical and gas lines. And he walked every inch of the marked area to look for any unusual changes in the land. It looked like each bit was within the same time frame. But just in case, he filmed his walk and sent it to a friend who was an archaeologist to see if he noted anything that might lead to the site having to be closed for investigations.

So when the guys arrived, he was ready. He shook all of their hands and spent some time with the union rep and the lead hands. He told them how he liked to run his sites and got their blessings.

Then they met with the architect and went over the plans together, and laid out the first week’s schedule for who would be doing what on the site. So they wouldn’t be running over each other. This first week would probably be the easiest one to keep on track.

Everyone was getting excited by the project which filled Franklin with hope for the work. But then how could you not when they knew the world would be watching as they built something so challenging, innovative, and important.

They were building the first completely green super mall. Complete with solar panels, recycled air, store dividers that could be easily changed/dismantled, toilets that had smaller tanks, sinks that paused flow when no hands were under the tap, green spaces with indoor gardens including trees. All kinds of features that would make it a model for future malls. To say it could indeed be done. When this mall was up, there would be no more excuses.

Oct 1 – Travel Restrictions re: Covid Lifted in Canada

Is it a meaningless show for the CONVOY crowd? And to get the Conservative Party off the govt’s back about opening mandates?

It may indeed be an empty gesture. Because the USA is on the other side of the debate. And they still require vaccines etc. While it’s true that the CDC has lifted federal mandates, it left the door open for states and municipalities to keep requirements in place if they are experiencing an upsurge in cases.

And Canada has consistently kept our cases lower than the USA.

Can the Canadian traveller go to other countries, just because our borders are open? Nope, sorry. Their borders have to be open to receive. And some of them have tighter rules than Canada ever has. Some people in Canada have the Oxford vaccine which has caused them issues in access to other lands. They weren’t recognized.

But funnily enough, it isn’t people who are frequent flyers or even take trains or buses to the world or USA that have been calling for the border to open. Not really. The worst complainers have been the Convoy crowd. Who TBH don’t have the money to travel. They just want something to whine about. To call PM Trudeau a dictator over.

And it suits the Conservative Party to let them do their work for them.

The people most affected are those who cross the border, by car usually, because they have a job or family on the other side. And like I said, the USA border still has mandates. Their case numbers are still too high to let that go.

So folks? You still aren’t going anywhere if you don’t have your vaccines up to date. And depending where you’re going? You still may need to wear a mask in public places when you get there.

And that isn’t because of PM Trudeau. So maybe lay off the guy?

Was it a Demon or an Alien? (a story)

Was it a Demon or an Alien?

In the after times, the children were told many tales by their elders about the early times. The children shook their heads and giggled a little. Knowing this is the way the elders spoke about the past, the great past. So they took everything said with a grain of salt.

But the buildings and tools were there! So when the story was over, the children went off to play and compare notes. Some supreme being had come along to the people, usually with flashes and circles in the sky, and taught them what it took to survive. Or at least survive better. They helped them make the tools they needed, showed them how to use them and how to make the buildings. And when it was done they asked a few elders to come with them in the circles.

The elders were scared, but these beings had helped their people. So the elders were willing to be the sacrifice. That’s what the elders did for their community. They hugged their children and rode in the circle to the sky. There were flashes and the elders and their helpers were never seen again.

But what were the helpers? Why would a demon help them? To spite the gods maybe? Weren’t the people meant to know how to build these cities? Was their a bad thing about them? Why would an alien help them? So some day maybe they could trade with the people? Or was there something they were doing when the people weren’t watching?

The children thought and chatted. The elders laughed at their thoughts and chatted. But no one knew for sure. It could even be a fairy story that never happened. But they knew that at different places on the planet, the same experience was being talked about. Why?

It wasn’t the water. Or the food. And even their language and culture were somewhat different. So why did the same story make it around the world? And why did the temples and cities look so similar? When these people had never met?

It’s a ponder that many elders and children consider. Right up till they see the circles come back across the skies and land in the pasture where they now had a few animals and the elders went out to see what these beings wanted now. Were they the same beings?

No one would ever know. But they were wondering if they would be taught something else? Or if this time the bill was coming due?

In the Time Before Time (a story)

In the Time Before Time

Monkey stood up and used the tools he’d been working on for awhile to make something more than a layer of leaves to make his tree naps nicer.

He laughed and joked with other monkeys as they worked. They spat in the clay, but that wasn’t enough. So they carefully gathered the wet clay from the edge of the water. Between laps of the tide. And ran screaming out of the area when the water got too high.

Sometimes their work took too long and they lay beside their lumps for a nap. And soon realized that these lumps were easier to work with. So they began using them and held them in place with the muck. That worked so much better.

The monkeys found it easy to climb up and down their walls so the building went well. They build walls that stood, then put a roof on them. Sure there was a slight slant to them. But it’s not like they had a miter or even a ruler to level them. Or the gained experience to change what they did and make it better. So mostly they just prayed to their gods that things would hold while they were under them. And they did.

…..

Many years later, in the next time, the people found these odd structures in the tree lines. And they thought some animal had lucked out. They didn’t see the effort and practice it had taken to get one or more to stay standing. But they did think it was a good idea. So they took their levels and miters and made a structure that was a little better. A little higher and called it a temple. Because they had said many prayers while making them. And they wandered the earth, placing these temples everywhere they settled for awhile.

…..

And in the next time, the people came to these first and second time structures and wondered about them. But thought they were a good idea. So they took their slaves and miters and made some buildings that were taller and straighter. And kept adding to them till there were cities in the oddest places. Places that would never survive if there was a disaster. They planned them for convenience and pretty views.

…..

And along came the aliens in the after time. They looked at the ruins of these many buildings and found it hard to tell which had been made by monkeys and which had been made by people.

Prancing For the Crowd (a story)

Prancing For the Crowd

Georgie was a card. He loved to show off and everywhere he went, he danced. He’d hop to the left and jig to the right. He loved it when he caught people watching. And bowed if they clapped. He practiced day and night, in front of a mirror. Prancing down the street. Over and over, he did the same steps. Looking for any sign of improvement.

Till he caught someone in the crowd doing the same step; Then any hope of him getting better at the step was gone. He stopped doing that step.

You might ask why, and that would be a fair question. Georgie wanted to be an ORIGINAL, ya know?

Whether his follower was good or bad at the step, whether Georgie liked them or not, that step was done and Georgie never did it again.

Sometimes people forgot that Georgie was the FIRST. And Georgie was ok with that. The follower could have the glory. He no longer wanted to be associated with the step.

Maybe Georgie was irrational, but he was scared their reputations would be aligned. Then what would happen if the follower was a beast as a human? Then Georgie would forever be associated with a beast and he couldn’t have that.

So it was gone, and Georgie danced with one less step. And maybe one less fan?

Georgie also wasn’t a joiner. There were cool dance clubs in his area. He’d go in once or twice to see who was there and what kind of dances they did. Then he was done with the place. He carefully made note of anything he did that might be thought of in their light. And changed his routine. He didn’t want to be committed to their style, so he was cruel in his elimination of their style.

And now and then, Georgie would have someone approach him for lessons. Georgie refused. He said he didn’t want to teach someone his own bad habits. He’d feel like he was responsible for them if he took them on.

Georgie was a radical. And finally it caught up with him. When he got accused of being a plagiarist, no one knew or cared enough about him to defend him. But Georgie didn’t care. Since he wasn’t invested in anyone, he just danced on down the road. And waited for the next opportunity to prance on his own, whether they watched him or not.

And now he had an experience to add to his thought. That you just cannot do the same as anyone else. Even if it seemed like they were the one following.

In the search for saints, heroes and villains

Most of these searches take the person out of their context and blame them for everything going on at the time.

They get the blame for it all, whether or not they have any power or influence.

They are morphed into something superhuman. They never have a bad day, or have to reach a compromise with their adversaries.
It seems like they can snap their fingers and have their wishes (or more to the point, the wishes of their followers) come true today. Without a sweat.

And they can do it all alone. Because any added person it takes to complete their task lessens their heroism.

They must be all that and a bag of chips. All good, with no flaws. To the 7th generation. They must be as good today as they might have been in another era. Even if what you ask of them would be completely out of touch in another time.

And their whole family must be good too. They cannot take one step out of place.

Sighs. Don’t you just get tired of people that are that linear in their assessments of people?

Hegel – Lord and Bondsman – Some questions about The Roles of Master and Slave

(implied mistress, dominant and domina)

How intertwined are these roles and when does this begin? What are the factors of this dynamic and it’s authority? Is each person self-autonomous thru the relationship? If not, when does this change?

It’s an interesting thought exercise, even if you’re not familiar with this theory of Hegel’s, from a M/s D/s POV.

History – The Continuous Line Between the First Person and the Last Person

The lessons of history keep getting shoved at us. But do we learn? Are we capable of learning?

We know that empires/civilizations, esp those that are falling and trying to hold their place, get really aggressive about it.

What common causes are there to fallen civilizations?

many historians point to three patterns in the fall of civilizations:

• internal change,
  Like shifts between neo-liberal and conservative/fascist ruling?
• external pressure, and
  Globalism, threat of WWIII, cold war
• environmental collapse.
  pandemics, climate crisis, societal restructuring
  source

They hold tight by defining what the ‘perfect’ citizen looks like. And who they’ll tolerate inside their borders and institutions.

…..

• uncontrollable population movements;
  refugees of war, and climate crisis
• new epidemic diseases;
  new (Covid) & resurging (Measles, Polio, TB)
• failing states leading to increased warfare;
• collapse of trade routes leading to famine;
  wars and climate issues, drought, fires, floods,
• and climate change.
  source

People feel less secure and attack outsiders and people that are different than them. And they look for people to blame: the govt, nat’l and int’l, their boss, whoever. And they look for explanations.

I’m sure you’ve noted that esp since 2019, more and more we see these patterns in the world. Long held positions of thought are giving way. Not toward better ends, but instead to conspiracy theories and rising bigotry/attacks.

People are adamant on keeping hold of what they now see as the best things they had. Even though that was what set destruction in motion.

But they saw the world evolving and thought we were becoming enlightened. Were we? In the course of empires rising and falling, what have we actually learned though?

I guess we have better toys to play with? But that might be the very thing that is burning us to the ground. Along with the planet.

Q = Which is more relevant when you are evaluating your life? Sensory experience or pure thinking?

Some people are more intuitive, impulsive than others. And some consider every possibility before they act. And some it depends what the issue is they are addressing.

Some people may have goals they shape their life towards, whether they pick impulse or thought. And some can barely decide which shoes to put on in the morning without help.

Somewhere in this frame is you.

Who do you think is most influential in how you process your decision-style? Do you seek their advice if you can? Or do you have a good sense of what they’d say?

Has your style changed as you’ve matured?

Are you more independent in your decision-making now than you used to be?

And are you less prone to peer pressure now?

No need to answer, just something to consider.

Q – In a Pluralistic Society – What are the roles of left and right?

Most people understand ‘left’ to be a worker alliance to form their world and it’s resources into one that includes everyone. And ‘right’ to mean a corporate alliance to shape the market place.
Supposedly anyone with talent can access it? With talent and hard work. But that doesn’t always happen with things like trends and fads. Timing is key.

Does this change across religious/cultural groups? Possibly. If the focus isn’t on work, or selling their goods, what would be the point of the alliances of left or right? They’d look at you weird if you even offered it.

And both of the alliances exclude entire groups from a humanistic POV too. People who are no longer able to work, or even need temporary support don’t get covered by either alliance. (Injury, illness, pregnancy/child rearing, ….) They don’t get community resources, unless they can make themselves useful. In that frame, the alliances would value it as unpaid labour. To an extent. More so if resources are fairly flush at the time. But in hardship, tempers flare and patience with those in need becomes a rare commodity,

The govt’s role in this is to keep everyone (or the majority at least) moving along. And they use the police/prison system to control society. They’d find that a LOT easier if they didn’t become a bureaucracy that’s so formidable that you try to work around it instead of following the rules. And is so costly it takes half your year’s salary to pay for it.

Because it’s not a clear division between left and right, we seem to waver back and forth in cycles and nothing really changes or gets done.

So I guess the biggest question is, is there a way to change things? So we actually have a humane society with reasonable levels of freedom? (You may notice I don’t post an answer here? It’s cuzz I don’t have one. I think I stand in good company though!)