I wonder if you stayed here every day if you would eventually meet all the people you ever knew. Just as I thought that I see the same red headed young woman from my recent trip. I think it is the same person, though I saw her just as she was passing by me on the way to the end of the Pier. Now I will go walk along the beach for a while and watch the ocean.
On the way back not too far from the Strand I see a small band setting up in a place reserved for larger groups of Street Musicians. The guy who seems to be directing everything looks familiar. I look closer and it is Jared I think, Aiden’s friend I met those many months ago at the NorEastrr Inn. I wonder if he remembers me. I don’t say anything not wanting to disturb his work and start to walk by. “Willson, you made it through I see.” I stop and see a big friendly grin. We shake hands as he continues “I saw Aiden last week back in Nations’ Capital. I have some time before we play, let’s catch up. Tell me about your trip.” We go sit on a wall next to the Strand. “Aiden says he met up with you a couple times after I saw you.” I ask about Aiden. “He made his escape from LoneStar after he was sure his daughter got through and made it to the basin. She is around here somewhere; I just talked to her a while ago. She was with some group from that big university that is over this way.”
“Has
Aiden finished his research in LoneStar then?” I ask. “Yes and I think
just in time. He thought he better get out of LoneStar. You must have
inspired him. He said he found it increasingly difficult to keep his
thoughts to himself. So he left after some near danger. What finally
did it was some overheard comment he made about fat women and blue
hair. He just got out of the building before the husband got his gun
out. So we had lunch in Nation’s Capital when he stopped on his way
back to his university up in New World. His work observing cultures
undone by chicken sandwiches and guns is finished.” I offered that he
would have a lot of fun looking at things out around here then. “So
tell me about the rest of your adventure; Aiden told me some.” So I
briefly went over the things I did with Aiden and then told Jared in
detail about what I saw and did in New Sonora and Czonaloqkos. He was
particularly interested and amused in my experience with the job
interview at the ‘Corrections Campus.’ He had a good laugh about that.
I asked him why he was in Nation’s Capital and he said I would enjoy
hearing about that after my Corrections Campus experience.
This would take some explaining he said. We buy beers from a passing
vendor. Jared went to Nation’s Capital because he got a job with the
National Security Bureau. Fightin’ Bubba got him the job on a diversity
basis. Bubba wants to show his like of all peoples on his record for
his likely Presidential run. And this was a chance for Jared to see
directly and up close the genius of Nation’s Security Principal Advisor
Druhl. To see how History is made up close. Druhl’s is an inspirational
success story. He was Chief Briefcase Carrier for the Assistant
Undersecretary for Public Conveniences and Rest Stops for the
continental highway authority in Old World. He wrote a letter from
there giving some realistic unsentimental International Relations advice to Advisin’ Bubba Boro, at that time a Presidental aide.
The advice became as famous as it was seemingly simple: “In the final analysis never forget that a Nation will act in its own self-interest.” This
was a profound revelation to “Advisin’ Bubba and he immediately had
cards printed with the saying so that all his staff could carry them
around in their wallets and purses. Posters and billboards with the
saying became prominent. Articles in learned journals expanded upon the
idea. The Cockh Bros. themselves asked Druhl for an in-depth briefing.
Quickly they became a patron of Druhl and arranged for him to immigrate
to Nation’s Capital. Soon after Nation’s Security Principal Advisor
Advisin’ Bubba invited Druhl to become his Advisor and Special
Assistant. Druhl quickly rose to prominence as a result of his
realistic unsentimental advice on world affairs.
As
Nation’s Security Principal Advisor Druhl does rare but strategic
appearances on the Cockh’s Cable News Network. He stays long enough for
a few unintelligible statements on a matter and then the commentators
spend the rest of the day remarking at the brilliance of the man. Since
Druhl has held office he has initiated a sequence of diplomatic and
military actions the World over whose results so far have ranged from
blunders to crimes. The Cockh Network commentators use these as
examples of his subtle genius. These are such intricate strategies that
the full realization of their brilliant results will take years to
understand. The seeming disasters are necessary for the long-term
results. Anyone who criticizes them because of a few unfortunate things
that happen in the process is either uninformed or unpatriotic.
Druhl says that the world is an evil place. So if you do foreign
intrigue you have to do it in an evil manner. And so his staff has to
also act evil to do evil. Always have an evil look on your face while
at work. When you encountered co-workers you look evil at each other
and cackle evilly. It helped your image even more if you rub your hands
together as you cackle. Jared did not ever catch on to this corporate culture
of the Bureau. So he says he just lost a job there because he smiled
and seemed happy too often. He would be smiling all the time and his
bosses got tired of asking him what was so pleasant. So funny. So they
fired him. Now he has free time to start up his Region Music band again, named The Bad Apples.
To get back into practice they decided to come to the coast and work as
street musicians at the Pier. We agree to stay in touch.
That time on the Pier yesterday was, as always, a good place to think. Make decisions. What did I decide? Enough! No more job interviews for these non-work jobs. After the telephone ‘pre-interview’ with that last company. Keepers? Really! This one wants ‘keepers’ to supply to corporations that have found it necessary to pay for ‘adult supervision’ of their valuable clients. As examples. To be sure that superstar professional athletes that speak for companies don’t rob gas stations on their way to appear in product endorsements. That well-known religious ‘divines’ with tastes for more sophisticated diversions don’t get found out by their less ‘worldly’ congregations. And so on. So I cancelled the next part where I had to go in and talk to them. And now it is on to National Research Center as I knew it always would be finally. But not today. Today I am off to meet Reuben for our desert adventure.
As we start Reuben picks up the thick binder of papers he had on the
seat next to him so I have more room to sit. He says he won’t be
needing this in the desert and tosses it to the back seat. “Why? What
is it?” “A Movie Script. I
keep my script right next to me in the city in case I am stopped by a
traffic patrol officer. I can say ‘sorry Officer and so on’ but I was
distracted thinking about my script, ‘the transition between Act Two
and Three.’ And show him. If he seems interested in the least I go on
to explain ‘my protagonist is caught in an impossible situation but is
saved by one of the sub-plot characters, a seemingly weak and timid
guy.’ At the end of Act Two the hero has to be in an impossible
situation Willson. So I go on to say that ‘I plan this as a surprise to
the audience but I can’t just have this character come to the rescue.
That would seem contrived. I have to have something much earlier in Act
Two that would not be obvious, but looking back after the movie the
audience would see why the seemingly weak and timid persona became a
hero. And I am stumped about how to write this scene.’ If the cop is
still listening by then I ask the how he would do it, etc.” “Does this
ever work?” “Well that depends what you mean by ‘work’ Willson.
The only time I have been able to test this I had a long conversation
and the Officer even showed me a copy of his script that he keeps in
the Patrol Car. We talked about plot device. We talked about character arc. Then he wrote me a Citation
anyway, handed it to me and said ‘see you at the movies’.” I laugh and
he laughs at length. “Now in the desert I set the radio on a Region
Music station. Just in case.”
I offer that is should be an intelligent informative speech because the
audiences in Spring Desert City are older. Brightly will want to
impress people who have lived so long and have gained wisdom from
learning life’s lessons. Long years of thoughtful reflection on the
political process and Democracy. Reuben gives me puzzled look, but does
not say anything. After a while he looks quickly at me again, and sadly
shakes his head. “Willson we’ll stop for a drink afterwards.”
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(To be
Continued)
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