Corporate Globalization

My First Post, Actually 4th paper in RHT101 lol.

My First Post, Actually 4th paper in RHT101 lol

We the People of the United States of America,

In Order to Form a More Perfect Corporate Globalization.

                There has been a lot of discussion recently about the process of the globalization of companies and the advantages that this process has with it. Sadly though, we do not see the economic forest for the fires of greed and personal power that are consuming it. Generally it’s believed that the movement of jobs out of the U.S. and other developed nations to the “third world” countries as not being such a bad thing. It translates to cheaper products at home, and honestly who doesn’t love a deal. We are on the verge of what could become either the next great installment of the story of America or staring headlong into a chasm that could one day be defined as one of the darkest moments in the history of America, or perhaps even mankind itself.

The actual process of the company globalization has been going on for a long time, in one form or another. The East India Company of British fame had been trading goods around the world from sixteen hundred until eighteen seventy four.  The real problem isn’t in the globalization itself. It is the way in which it is being done.  Companies these days search for the cheapest labor and production costs they can find. Although, this would certainly fit into any business model one might chose in order to have a successful business. The current companies that are vying for world domination of their products might very well find it in their own best interests to deter warfare in the countries where they have planted the flags of their corporate empire.

They still need those countries to continue providing cheap labor. In fact the cheaper the better, they routinely look the other way while their host country violates the rights of its own citizenry and keeps their average citizen impoverished and why not, after all cheap labor is one of the founding principles behind what former President George H. Bush called The New World Order.  Where the men and women in charge of these behemoth companies find that oppression starts at home, spreading outwards form there with a draconian zeal not seen since the Middle Ages.

According to Amnesty International,“two thirds of the world does not have access to justice. Fifty four countries have a trial system that is considered unfair. Ninety eight countries are accused of torture or severe mistreatment.  Eighty nine countries restrict freedom of expression.”  Unfortunately, these are the types of countries that have cheap labor and leaders willing to exploit this for their own personal gain.This is current business model for many companies seeking globalization of their business’ and the expansion of their profits.

Oppression starts at home?  Yes unfortunately these days it does. Let’s take a second to look at what has been going on here in the U.S. over the last few decades. It is a sad and enraging picture that needs to be brought into focus so we can truly begin to understand the current underlying problems with the current efforts in globalization, we’ll start back in nineteen eighty one. Then President Jimmy Carter had lost his bid for a second term as President of the United States to Ronald Reagan.  Reagan’s presidency would on the surface be a lot of chest-thumping to such slogans as “America is Number One” and other patriotic catch-phrases.While behind scenes the country was being set-up to be plundered in ways that would make the Vikings of old look like sissy disorganized street thug wanna-bees.

Reagan spent a lot of time looking for a fight. His antics included arguing and posturing with the Soviets mostly over already obsolete cold war issues. The eventual and even without his help, inevitable tearing down of the Berlin wall. Finally, Reagan got his war in the U.S. invasion of the tiny third world island country of Grenada over reasons though stated, were not entirely clear.  All of which was spun to put on a good show of how effective and benevolent a President Reagan was for the American people. Meanwhile Reagan, his friends and political allies quietly began the process of neutering the general populace.

They did this in what can be deemed a multi-pronged attack. They started this by First breaking the labor unions ability to conduct strikes, a sometimes necessary tactic that allowed them to influence companies to treat employees fairly. The long term effects being that companies were able to more rapidly devaluate all of the jobs they desired to, without the fear of reprisal that strong labor unions could bring to bear. Second, they pushed legislation through making it easier to move jobs out of the country.  Third, they began deregulating the mortgage and loan industries allowing banks and other financial institutions to increase the debt load on the American people while allowing these companies to both maintain paper control of real estate, and destroying the average Americans use of home ownership as an asset towards retirement or other personal ventures, by essentially wiping out any true profit made by having a home that is worth more than they paid for it. Ultimately, giving the illusion that although salaries were dropping and benefits were going away, there wasn’t initially any big change in quality of life for the average person just a widening of the gap between the American people and those who control the money, and what they do with it.  They also assisted with setting the stage for this new stronger incursion into the global markets.

These actions further facilitated the globalization of companies most of which were controlled by their friends and political allies. They did this in a way that allowed the heads of these companies if they so chose, like the rulers of old, to plunder the economy and in essence subjugate the people, all to their greedy heart’s desire.  Prior to Reagan, American companies had to play by a very different set of rules.

The nineteen seventies was another important time in corporate globalization. Like today the companies themselves were strong. However, back then the companies had the unions and the government as well as other special interest groups watching them.  This forced them to require that employees in their overseas operations be treated similarly to their American counterparts.

For example a coalition was formed by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, United Steel Workers, United Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, Joint Furriers Council, International Longshoremen and Warehouse Workers, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, United Mine Workers Union, and The Polaroid Revolutionary Workers Movement. They worked with companies like General Motors, U.S.Steel, Polaroid, and thirteen other major U.S. companies at the time to put pressure on the government of South Africa to end apartheid.

This joining of Unions and Companies caused the South African Government to make changes resulting in the raising of the quality of life for many in the severely oppressed black population in South Africa.  For the first time blacks were being paid fair wages for the work they did. They were able to advance at the American companies in areas that would not have been possible only a few years earlier or had they work for a South African company. Some of them were even able to get out of the ghettos and buy homes in formerly white only areas of towns. All because the South African Government and the South African companies doing business with the Americans wanted their business more than they wanted apartheid.  With all this happening, it was still profitable enough for the U.S. companies to be willing to stay while the evils of apartheid slowly but steadily disappeared. They stayed until the rest of world led by the U.S. imposed sanctions against South Africa for its unwillingness to swiftly and completely abandon apartheid.  Then things started unraveling and apartheid was reinstated full-force, taking at least another ten years before they finally and correctly abandoned it for good.

In today’s globalization there isn’t the same concern over the exploitation of the workers both here in the U.S. and abroad. Yes in some ways for the overseas workers their quality of life is raised, when they work for a global company as opposed to companies local to their own country, but that has more to do with the company’s own ideas of how subjugated their workers should be. In other words, they step from one bottom rung to another bottom rung with only the definition of how bad, bad should be as the only real distinction of progress.

Even in America the backlash of the global exploitation has reverberated here. Average salaries are dropping to all time lows. People are having a hard time finding full-time employment having instead to rely on multiple part-time jobs with no little or benefits. According to some economists the average American worker is making the same level of income that people did in two thousand and one, ten years ago. However, inflation and overall costs of living have continued to go up. The same economists are reasonably confident that in another ten years this will all straighten itself out. Can you wait that long?

American companies claim they have jobs available, but there aren’t enough people available with the required skills to fill these positions. Why is it our country can still produce some of the top educated graduates on the planet. Yet have trouble filling these positions? That’s simple; education in America works best for those can afford out of pocket the education they desire. But for most of the American people education beyond high school can end up becoming a series of compromises between trying to get themselves educated, verses their ability to qualify for assistance such as grants and student loans. If their unable to qualify for these they have to attend school while working one or multiple part-time jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table and pay their tuition, while they try to attend school in hopes of bettering themselves. You cannot blame the schools for these issues.They have to survive this current economic hardship just like everyone else.

Companies should have been and should be, more vested in the continuing education of their employees. If they had been, there might not have been this shortage of people trained in the areas where they’re claiming a shortage is now.  But they’re not.  The reason is cheap labor here is as important to them as cheap labor abroad. Look at all the people who earned MBA’s through those streamlined programs and are now competing for low level management jobs that a few years ago they would have baulked at. Too often in America higher education is viewed as something unobtainable, either because of the intellectual demand it places on people or the misguided notion that something is potentially wrong with the types of people who seek higher degrees, that they’re perceived as socially inept, not to forget the high costs involved and possibility that there might not be a job waiting for them when they do finally graduate.

Even if some of these MBA’s decide to try their hand as the owner of their own business, the problem arises that small businesses are the canaries in the mines of the business world.  Unless you’re opening a Dram Shop or one of the other types of businesses that can thrive in economically depressed times. Most small businesses in down economies struggle worse of all.

So how can we as a people, a nation, or a world survive this process of globalization? Is there a way that an enlightened business world and an enlightened people could be created? In a way that will give some measure of guarantee that global companies will not be exploiting their employees and that all employees of the company can feel they too have a chance for advancement and toshare in the good life.

Yes, but like almost all real solutions to real problems, there are no perfect answers, no answers that will work in all cases or situations. Nor is there only one specific way to achieve the ultimate end. There has to be a dialog between people, companies, and their representative governments that will give a balanced approach to the process of globalization.  Companies cannot be allowed to make up the rules. That needs to be done by the individuals whose jobs are to make the rules. The rules for the process must be standardized in way that promotes compliance by companies, governments, and the people that comprise both.  There also needs to be a representative body that watches over and assists in employee/employer disputes. It could be Unions or some other labor based organization.

Sadly over the last twenty years, Unions have been much maligned. Sadder still, Americans forget the days when American children worked ten and twelve hour days in deplorable conditions earning  pennies a day just to help their families make ends meet. Many Americans’ in that time were lucky if they could boast an eighth grade education. Americans also tend to forget how hard those people fought to get unionized, how companies hired Pinkerton guards to not only lock the workers out of their jobs but to beat up protesters, harass and beat union organizers and other even worse atrocities. Is this where we’re willing to let ourselves backslide to? If the current form of globalization is allowed to continue and take hold, don’t think it couldn’t or wouldn’t happen.

Beyond the unions or another form of employee organization, governments need to step up too.  Without a positive influence from governments,who are willing to take the responsibility to assist in watching over and also making sure that both the people and the companies are not being taken advantage of nor are the ones taking the advantage. Without their critical participation any system of checks and balances simply will not work.

Finding in that balance a triumvirate of people, government and company to insure fairness and equity for all.Will certainly not be easy, but as President John F. Kennedy said during his speech about why we would go to the moon he stated. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”  The task that lies ahead if we choose is not an easy one but it is one that the American people can rise to.That if they do other nations would follow, and the ones who would resist would find themselves compelled to comply. Allowing all of us to live in a world where everyone has a chance to better themselves, keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

When a disaster strikes somewhere in the world America and its allies send help.  When somewhere in the world needs peace-keepers, America and its allies step in. When the world needs someone to step in a put globalization on the right track why can’t America and its allies step in, man the switches and the signals and keep corporate globalization running on the right track.  If America and its allies took up this noble cause even the countries that didn’t want to conform, would find themselves being compelled to comply or risk being ostracized and isolated by the other countries while perhaps risking open rebellion at home.

“Societies exist under three forms sufficiently distinguishable. 1. Without government, as among our Indians. 2. Under governments wherein the will of everyone has a just influence, as is the case in England in a slight degree and in our states in a great one. 3. Under governments of force: as is the case in all other monarchies and in most of the other republics. To have an idea of the curse of existence under these last, they must be seen. It is a government of wolves over sheep. It is a problem, not clear in my mind, that the 1st. condition is not the best. But I believe it to be inconsistent with any great degree of population. The second state has a great deal of good in it. The mass of mankind under that enjoys a precious degree of liberty and happiness. It has its evils too: the principal of which is the turbulence to which it is subject. But weigh this against the oppressions of monarchy, and it becomes nothing. Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.[1] Even this evil is productive of good. It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourishes a general attention to the public affairs. I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote that as part of a letter to James Madison in seventeen eighty seven. It still has meaning today. We are still barely holding on to the number two form of government that Jefferson described. However, we are clearly heading towards number three. It’s not too late for us to start the process of correction and the redirection of our efforts making the process of the globalization of American companies, a positive and profitable force for the good of all Americans and our partners abroad wherever they may be. As Americans we like to think we’re living in the best country, and in a lot of ways we are.  Our country was founded on high minded idealism with a hope that it might one day become a utopian model for the rest of the world, with the wisdom to understand that it might not. They did their best to give us the tools to set our own destiny, while knowing that misuse could be our undoing.

As Americans we went to the moon, liberated Europe from the influence and domination of Nazi Germany and ended Germany’s slaughter of its Jewish population and since then countless other acts of bravery, heroism, and compassion. Not because it was easy, nor did we do it just because it was hard. We did them simply because it was the right thing to do.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

Citations

“amnestyinternational.org.” amnestyinternational.org.N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.                                     http://www.amnestyinternational.org

Rogers, Harold. “U.S. Trade Action Against Apartheid.” Conference on Solidarity with Liberation                                Struggles of the People of South Africa [New York] 1 June 1976: 1-8. Print.

“The History Place – Great Speeches Collection: John F. Kennedy Speech “We choose to go to the                            Moon…”.” The History Place.N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.           <http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/jfk-space.htm>.

“Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.N.p.,n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.                  <http://www.monticello.org>.

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[1]Roughly translated from Latin: I prefer dangerous liberty to quiet servitude.

The Story of Gurth

22 October, 2011

Milord, dost yon Swineherder bear both sword and chain?

                In the book Ivanhoe by “Sir Walter Scott” He introduces three minor characters in the first chapter of the book. They are “Gurth the Swineherder”, “Fangs “his dog, and “Wamba the Fool.”Out of all the characters in the book both major and minor the actions of Gurth are perhaps the most defining of the true ideals of chivalry. The book itself is set against the backdrop of medieval England and tells a story of Chivalric perfection and the short-comings and desires of the men who aspire to reach that perfection.  It’s set during the time of King Richard I (the Lionhearted) in a time of conflict between the former ruling Saxon nobility and their “new” Norman overlords and their allies and tells the story of Wilfred of Ivanhoe a young Saxon noble who is estranged from his father Sir Cedric of Rotherwood because he felt he was chivalry bound and so left to fight in the crusade with King Richard who is a Norman.  As the story unfolds Ivanhoe returns to England and attempts to set things right with his father, and marry the woman Rowena who is a ward of Sir Cedric and is promised to Sir Athelstane another Saxon noble and last descendant of the last true Saxon King.

Scott’s introduction of Gurth paints a picture of an uneducated, foulmouthed, thrall to Sir Cedric who has not time, inclination nor desire to be in the company of either Knights or landed gentry, instead he tends his herd with as little outside contact as possible, he physically describes him as “His garment was of the simplest form imaginable, being a close jacket with sleeves composed of the tanned skins of some animal on which the hair had been originally left, but has since worn off.” Save only for his friend Wamba who is also a thrall of Sir Cedric and the company of his old semi-lame half-wolf dog Fangs. Gurth is loyal to Sir Cedric and when he is not herding can be found tending to other matters in Cedric’s manor. It is here that Gurth shows yet another chivalric trait which is courage. After being instructed by Sir Cedric not to allow “Isaac of York” and his daughter “Rebecca” to leave the manor, he risks severe punishment and lets them go showing a measure of pity on Isaac and Rebecca. He does because the person guiding the pair is Ivanhoe disguised as a Palmer and Gurth’s sense of duty to his once and future master.  Not only does Gurth show courage here, he also shows loyalty to Ivanhoe, another act that would have gotten him severely punished.

As the story progresses, Gurth makes several more choices that bespeak of his chivalrous nature. At an even greater risk and sacrifice to his person that his loyalty and sense of duty require him leave his service to Sir Cedric, an act that if he were caught carries the direst of consequences.  Courageously venturing forth alone and basically unarmed into dangerous areas full of outlaws to track down Ivanhoe and serve him in whatever capacity Ivanhoe would let him.  When he finally does find Ivanhoe, his former and now current master is so moved by Gurth’s loyalty at he appoints him to be his squire, to assist him during a tournament that Ivanhoe hopes that in winning will allow him an opportunity to end his estrangement from his father. After the first day of the tourney Ivanhoe sends Gurth is see Isaac with a payment for the horse and armor lent to him by Isaac. Gurth complies with the request. Unbeknownst to him at the time, after he paid Isaac, Gurth is forced to display great courage when he is confronted by “Robin Hood” and some of his merry men. Gurth has to prove to Robin that he and his master are honorable and worthy of not having all the money won taken from him by Robin. He does this by faithfully standing his ground to them and winning a quarter-staff fight against one of Robin’s men. Gurth continues to faithfully serve Ivanhoe through-out the tournament.

It is however, after the tournament that Gurth really begins to develop his chivalrous side.  After the tournament Ivanhoe is unmasked and seriously injured, he is under the care of Isaac’s daughter Rebecca who is a healer of great repute. Gurth so loyal to his wounded master and unsure of his whereabouts begins searching for him giving little concern to the fact that he himself is not in his disguise and is subsequently captured by the cupbearer of Sir Cedric and returned to him. Gurth penitent of his actions allows Cedric’s men to bind him without a struggle.  He is even co-operative with them while awaiting his fate. That is until Cedric makes a perceived personal insult to Gurth by attempting to kill Gurth’s dog “Fang” that he decides he can no longer continue in any form of service to Cedric.  Even though Cedric could have him put to death for leaving or refusing to resume his service as the law of the day required. Gurth manages to escape from Cedric’s group just before it is attacked by a group of outlaws, Gurth sees this and decides to see if he can free Cedric. When Wamba asks Gurth why he would return to assist Cedric after renouncing his service to him Gurth replies “that was but while he was fortunate-,” so he elicits the aid of Robin Hood and his men to help the now weak and defenseless Cedric.

With the help of Robin Hood and others Gurth manages to free Cedric and some of his companions. However, Ivanhoe, Rebecca, Isaac and Rowena are still trapped by the Templar Knight DeBracey. Gurth again risks his life to aid his master and former master in their rescue. When Gurth, Cedric and their companions finally breach the castle walls, Cedric places Rowena in Gurth’s care to get her out of harm’s way. A task that Gurth swiftly and steadfastly completes with the assistance of his loyal friend Wamba. For this heroism Cedric grants Gurth his freedom, a small tract of land and raises him officially to the status of Ivanhoe’s squire.

It is after this event that Gurth returns to a more secondary character in the book, until the very end where he appears at the wedding of Ivanhoe and Rowena, Scott describes him as “Gurth, gallantly appareled, attended as esquire upon his young master whom he served so faithfully,” the contrasts between the two, both in the physical and mental ways Gurth develops from swine herder to squire is the most the poignantly different of all the characters.

The Chivalric ideal is thought of as a person who is loyal, respectful, and honorable in both action and deed, with a willingness to help those in need even at a great personal risk to one’s self. A person who by their actions shows themselves to be in control of their emotions and not ruled by their passions.  Although, all these traits are hard to maintain at all times it is how a person deals with them that can determine whether they are thought of as chivalrous.  Gruth demonstrates this throughout the book and in the end is duly rewarded for his efforts.

My Dog Freya, yep you’d should have known there’d be a dog post coming…… LMAO!

Freya

My Dog Freya

This is Freya she’s a mixed breed dog who is six years old. Her mother was a chow chow and her father was a Labrador Retriever.  I got her after a friend of mine had to get rid of her because his wife did not want a dog. Generally, Freya is a great dog she listens well and obeys most of the time she’s also not the least bit aggressive. The exception being thunderstorms, when she’s inside she’s terrified by them, outside surprisingly she handles them much better, although she’s still not happy with having them going on around her. I can walk her without a leash and she is better behaved when she’s off one. While leashed she’ll pull every which direction trying to check out stuff. It’s like she’s trying to show me the world through her eyes, I say this because when she’s off the leash she stays near me, follows me when I’m walking and watches everything I do. When we’re at home she stays with me room to room for the most part. She seems happiest as long as she can see me.

Freya is quite a character, she loves chicken, loves it more than beef, pork, or fish.  She loves it boiled, fried, baked, roasted, skinless or not, light or dark just as long as it’s chicken.  I swear if given the choice between a 16oz steak and a chicken wing she’d choose the wing every time, of course after she’d consumed the wing then she’d go after the steak. Fortunately for me she’s not much of a chewer beyond that, we got through her puppy years at the cost of only one power cable for my scanner and nothing else chewed. The scanner cable was outputting only 9 volts so I’m sure that she got a little shock but thankfully nothing more.   She also loves babies, puppies, hot peppers (yes, I said hot peppers, especially sport and giardiniera), and small animals of all sorts. When my nieces were babies she loved to go up to them while they were in their carrier and lick them all over their faces. They loved it too my nieces would laugh and giggle the whole time. Now that their older she still loves to spend time with them, she’s very patient with them while they give her hugs and play with her.  If she hears them coming she’ll jump up all excited and want to go greet them.  She also loves to chase squirrels, she doesn’t want to catch them just run behind them and sniff the ground. One fall she caught a big squirrel that was ready for his winter hibernation in the backyard. The poor squirrel thinking he was about to become lunch took off running but was too big to fit through the fence and to slow to get to the gate so as he’s making his made wobbling dash trying to exit the yard there’s Freya inches behind him just sniffing the ground as he ran away from her. The squirrel did make it through the opening at the gate and we never did see him in the yard again.

Her favorite game is to run along the fence racing the dogs in the yard next door. She started this game with a German Sheppard that lived next door.  They’d run back and forth as quick as they could barking the whole time, sometimes much to my chagrin late at night! These days, there is a different dog next door, a little dog named Rosie, Freya scares her away with all the running and barking, poor Freya can’t figure out why Rosie runs away whenever she approaches the fence. Her current tactic is to sit or lie there quietly and wait for Rosie to get close but in the end she jumps up and starts with the running and the barking and Rosie takes off for the other side of her yard leaving Freya very confused and frustrated. Fortunately, these days Rosie is coming around to the idea that Freya just wants to play, but she’s still not entirely convinced, so now they have this odd dance of Freya running back and forth along the fence and Rosie charging the fence and then running away. It’s amusing to watch because Freya doesn’t know how to act when she’s doing this, so she’ll sometimes swing out from her normal running pattern to avoid little Rosie’s oncoming charge.  On the other side there are two small poodle mixes that will play with her the way she wants to play so they all go running back and forth in a much more orderly fashion which suits Freya’s thinking about how the game should be played. The downside to their playing is there is also a mud puddle there, Freya being a dog just runs through the mud and gets herself, especially her paws coated in it, which of course means I have to wash it off of her.  But overall I can’t complain she is a great dog.

A Freya at rest tends to stay at rest!

Like all dogs she likes her rest. Of course if she can hook that together with looking out the windows it’s all the better! Couches are of course her favorite “daybed” she’ll sprawl out across them and just enjoy the cozy comfort. Which leads to another one of her more interesting views on how her world works,  she won’t jump up on my bed when I’m in it (unless there’s a thunderstorm, hey sometimes the rules just need to be broken!) but as soon as I leave, up she goes! She’ll snuggle in next to my pillows and go back to sleep. However, when I come back it’s off the bed and back to the floor (her dog bed) again.

She and I talk from time to time, well ok not actual vocal conversations but we have a sort of sign language that we use. It starts when comes and sits where I can see her, after I acknowledge her she’ll do something to tell me what she wants, this is something she developed on her own. When she wants a treat, bone, food or water she’ll open and close her mouth just once, then I have to ask her what it is that she wants by naming the items above. When I choose the right item she’ll make a gesture kinda like a dance but she’s still sitting. If she wants to go out she’ll turn her head motioning towards the door. If she wants attention or she’s afraid of something she’ll come up to me and touch my leg and then sit. It’s easy to tell if something is scaring her you can see it in her eyes as she’s looking at you. If she’s tired and ready for bed she’ll go stand at the bedroom door and if she really doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone she goes in her crate.  If someone is hurt she comes running up to me motioning me by running towards the injured person and then back to me so I can follow and help. If it’s me that’s hurt she’ll run to the closest person she can find and try to get them to follow her by dancing around while crying and heading off in my direction then run back and forth until they follow and help me. )ne time I was staying at my sisters and Freya was there with me, I was swishing water around in my mouth and she thought I was in trouble (I wasn’t) She took running upstairs into my sisters room jumped on the bed and her to wake her up, of course my sister had no idea what was going on or that Freya was trying to get her to follow her. Needless to say my sister was rather upset.  In the end it all got straightened out, I still laugh about it.

I’ve been trying to think of a good ending for this piece, it’s rough because the story itself doesn’t have an ending yet and hopefully won’t for many more years to come.  I’ve had some great dogs over the years but there is something about Freya that sets her apart from the others.

Don’t make her angry, You won’t like her when she’s angry!

One Aspect of Emergency Management

18 May 2012

Emergency Management

Throughout time the coordinated efforts of groups of people trained in disaster relieve have varied widely in the scope of what kind of assistance they could offer. Historically these individuals would merely block the road and send people away from the affected area until it was safe for them to return and attempt to salvage whatever they could from the ruins of their now former homes and begin the tedious process of reconstructing their lives.

As societies grow and evolve there events that constantly threaten them and may even in some cases cause their extinction. Such things as earthquakes, tidal waves, tornadoes, fires, volcanoes and plagues just to name a few of the naturally occurring problems ever looming in the background. Also, we should not forget other societies encroaching, raiding resources, and outright conquering of territories, and all the mayhem and disorder that comes with it. It has been mankind’s struggle over the centuries to get a handle on both the natural and manmade disasters and the problems they create.

These days’ communications move at the speed of light and this improvement has greatly increased our ability to respond quickly when the need arises. One of the biggest problems that have plagued those people willing to step in and risk their own life trying to help others has been communication.  For most of the history of mankind important things like messages reporting on the situation and maps showing what is going on where had a finite speed and that speed was very very slow. Usually only as fast as a man could run or a horse could carry him, in most disasters that’s just not fast enough to save lives. It’s only today with all of our advanced radio, cellular, and satellite communications are we finally able to effectively transfer information back and forth from the site of the event to the command center, then from there to the services needed to be sent at the earliest opportunity to send them.  It is within the advances of telecommunications the science of Emergency Management is born.

For example, a fifteen year old boy and his friends are playing basketball when he collapses, his friends knowing he has a serious asthma condition, realizing that he is having great difficulty breathing make a mad dash for the police department located in the park where they’re playing. They burst through the doors of the station and begin explaining to the dispatcher at the desk what was happening. The dispatcher hearing the boy’s story punches a couple of buttons on phone and he’s immediately connected to the fire department across the street from the park. He explains the situation to the Fire Department’s Lieutenant, who immediately sends two EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) sprinting from their station to the basketball courts a half a block away.

While he’s doing this the dispatcher has moved one of the powerful security cameras on to the boy lying on the court, he begins reporting to the Lieutenant, that the boy appears to be motionless.  The dispatcher has also used the radio to summon his units to assist the EMTs & Firefighters with crowd control. He also used a digitally secure connection to inform his Shift Commander of the serious nature of the situation. By this time the EMTs are on the scene and sirens from the ambulance and fire truck can be heard as they race to assist their comrades. From the camera view the EMTs appear to be struggling while working on the boy as he remains unresponsive. The problem is that his airway is so blocked they can’t get air in with normal cpr and assisted breathing. The fire band radio crackles as an EMT gasps out orders for additional gear to be brought from the newly arrived ambulance. All the EMTs and Firefighters from the station are now on scene, and working in an organized effort to save the boy. The action is furious as they work, they all know that time is critical in these situations, yet all they seem to try is for naught.

The decision is made for an escorted trip to the local hospital three miles away. So two city police cars and one from the park district will escort the ambulance in a mad dash for the hospital where it might still be possible to save the boy. The police will keep two squads ahead blocking traffic while one stays with ambulance adding a second pair of eyes to aid in the ambulance’s progress. Sirens wailing away and lights flashing in all directions as this last chance for life effort begins. By now the surrounding towns have all heard over their radios what’s been happening. The towns that the emergency convoy will travel through begin to take steps to assist with their progress.  The normally noisy radio is eerily quiet as officers are holding back to allow the convoy’s transmissions priority on their trip. The transmissions from the squads are fast and emotionally intense as officers fueled by adrenaline trade off blocking streets.  Quick progress is made and the group reaches the hospital.

The hospital having received phone calls from both the police and fire departments is ready and a path to the ER has been cleared. An emergency room doctor and staff await the ambulances arrival. The boy is rushed in where the doctors and nurses go to work.  Yet even at the hospital where even more technics and technology can be brought to bear, the situation shows no sign of improvement.  In the end all efforts are to no avail, sadly the young man is pronounced dead at the hospital.

The effort to save the boy required the use of seven Firefighter/EMTs, five police officers, two dispatchers and additional police support from two towns, plus the doctors, nurses and support staff at the hospital. Everyone involved putting forth their best effort, including extraordinary means, that in the end all the valiant efforts still couldn’t save the young man’s life.  Situations like this are daily occurrence somewhere in the U.S. where police and fire department’s combine efforts to try to save lives. Without good communications equipment such attempts dangerous as they are would be even more so if there were no radio or phones to notify people of wants going on and what they can do to assist.

Now imagine for a minute that there are thirty people in serious condition, three hundred more with injuries, and unaccounted for masses possibly still trapped in a natural disaster that is underway.  This is all another day on the job in the field of Emergency Management. It is a concept conceived by colleges working with agencies of the federal government. The idea is to promote inter-agency coordination and cooperation during times of large scale emergencies while providing federal and private organization assistance.

When the average person thinks of emergency services they think of Police and Fire departments. For a long time that was what was available to people unless the local National Guard stepped in to provide further assistance.  Police and Fire departments have borne the brunt of societies biggest disasters for a long time now. The modern Police Department came into being in 1829 when Sir Robert Peel then the Prime minister of England convinced the English Parliament to pass his Metropolitan Police Force Act of 1829 through this modern Policing was born and many of the original precepts still exist today thanks to the efforts of men like August Vollmer, the father of modern policing in the United States.  For the Fire department their founding father was a man by the name James Braidwood when in 1824 he established the first modern fire house in Edinburgh, Scotland. At the time communications were primitive, watchman on streets for the police and watchmen in towers for the fire fighters. Modern ambulance service started about 1830 in Spain using carts both human and horse powered.  Since their creation these fundamental stalwarts of society have done their very best to trying and keep a handle on the natural disasters that have befallen the areas they’re responsible for. Sadly though, it had been evident for awhile that there needed to be an over-seeing agency to help coordinate the valiant efforts of local public safety units with an agency that can bring into an area additional support and supplies tailored to the situations as they develop  or after they’ve passed.

It is in response to this need that organizations like F.E.M.A. (or Fema) the Federal Emergency Management Agency were created to help with efforts to supply an area with such important things as electrical power to key centers such as hospitals, schools, government buildings or areas where emergency shelters have been set up. They also can provide those shelters if none exist due to the total devastation of an area. They can also supply food, potable water, clothing and by coordinating with local National Guard units services like additional security for areas and air cover for emergency medical transport and the like.

FEMA was founded in 1979 during that time the communication systems they used although state of the art then are now obsolete. Back then they had teletype machines that noisy typewriter like machine that could transmit simple typed documents over the air much like modern fax machines do today accept they were transmitted one keystroke at a time.  They also had ship to shore radios that are basically small low powered shortwave radio that could be mounted into vehicles or boats, and early chunky extremely low powered hand held walkie talkies.

These days almost all the old gear is no longer used. The exception being radios, the radio both portable and mounted has proven repeatedly their value in emergency situations. The radio is even more valuable than a cellphone in a disaster.  As long as its battery keeps going the radio can keep transmitting. Loose the cell towers and no amount of charge is going to get a cell signal out beyond its mile transmit radius and you could find yourself in trouble.  Today’s radios are also considerably better than those of the 70’s. They’re smaller and lighter in weight and can run up to eight hours on a single charge as opposed to their older counterparts. Today’s radio can transmit as high as 6 watts for extended periods, when they used to be only 2 watts. Vehicle radios have also improved in quality over their predecessors, including the use of a repeater to boost car transmitters as high as 100 watts giving an effective range of up to 25 miles. Also repeaters can boost the signals of portable radios near them allowing a portable the same range as the “in car” unit. Computers can also be run off of a radio this allows images like maps and photographs to be sent quickly between the people in the field and the command centers, allowing real-time monitoring of situations as they unfold to send help where it’s needed and rapid information gathering and deployment of resources in the aftermath.

Of course any radio is only as good as the person who uses it. Every department out there has some form of training to teach their new hires how to effectively use the radio.  As an example according the 2010 Manual for Dispatch Personnel of the Memorial Park District Police Department states;

Speak clearly and at a moderate speed. Giving information too quickly will cause potentially important information to be lost. Remember, frequently officers are trying to listen to you while having other people (Subjects, Victims, Officers) talking to them and they’re contending with other sounds (traffic, music, the radio) around them as well. (chap. Reading Back 27’s & 28’s)

                Some of the biggest obstacles that people have had to deal with over the years with communications equipment has been both the limitations of the gear and ability of the operators. These days though, new technologies are in use by Fema and other Public Safety agencies to assure that when local services are down they can continue not only to function and in most cases offer assistance to the down agencies. Fema does this through Mobile Recovery Disaster Centers. These are essentially mobile homes (the RV type) that have been outfitted with the latest in satellite technology they provide both phone service (multiple lines) and internet access as well, this allows people in effective areas to make calls, go to websites and aid in the process of helping themselves.  In fact the MRDC has generators on board that will also allow it to power an additional structure besides the MRDC itself.  This allows FEMA the ability to better organize its efforts and more effectively assist people, by bringing everything they need with them.  The states themselves have a limited number of similar vehicles some designated for similar roles as the one used by Fema, and additional units are available as part of the state’s National Guard communications units.

The MRDCs are the frontline tools that FEMA uses when it’s time to mobilize.  They are sent out through the Logistics Management Directorate, a division of FEMA that decides what type of equipment is needed and how much of it needs to go. The LMD dispatches not only the MRDCs they also send shelters, emergency food rations, and medical supplies to areas they deem in need.  LMD can also issue satellite based phones that can be used not only by FEMA but by other organizations that FEMA’s representatives deem in need of the technology. The recent technological boost to FEMA allows for them to better re-act to problems for example this is an excerpt from the FEMA report on the Greensburg tornado of 2007;

Response to Kansas Tornadoes…  Limited access remains for the city of Greensburg. A curfew has been set which begins at dusk.

The state reports fatalities are now at 11 with approximately 100 injured.

Most citizens in the city of Greensburg lost their homes. The exact number of businesses damaged… is not known at this time. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is participating on the Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) that began on May 6… due to the severity of the tornado.

Two American Red Cross (ARC) shelters are in operation. On the morning of May 5 the reported population was 78.

The entire water and electrical power system for Greensburg is shut down. Emergency generators are providing power for incident command, emergency communications, and lighting. The hospital was severely damaged. All three schools (elementary, middle, and high-school) were severely damaged or destroyed. The school year has been terminated. A fuel terminal in Great Bend (Barton County) was destroyed.

The Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) and incident support team arrived at Greensburg on the evening of May 7, 2007. Force protection and security support is being provided at staging areas and during tactical search and rescue operations. The US&R logistics support push package being deployed from Logistics Center (LC)-Ft Worth. Water and MRE’s are already on site. FIRST satellite and cellular phones are activated. The base of operations is set up for the task force and incident support team.

Land lines are down in Greensburg with limited cell phone availability. 911 communications are being provided by a Kansas Department of Transportation vehicle. A mobile low frequency transmitter has been sited near the 911 temporary communications center. The Kansas National Guard Mobile Incident Command Vehicle is on site, as well as the Kansas department of transportation Communications-On-Wheels (COW) to assist in restoration of communications systems.

Sprint has established a portable cell phone tower and unit in Greensburg.

At 1000 CDT May 9, the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at Barclay college in Havilland will open. This will be a full-service DRC with SBA, Red Cross, crisis counselors, State’s Dept of Revenue and Vital Statistics to assist with driver’s license, identification documentation replacement and other support…

                As you can see from the report in their initial set-up the responding agencies began to install temporary communications as soon as they could. In this case, along with the set-up of the satellite communications, the state of Kansas and the Kansas National Guard sent additional communications equipment. Sprint and American company was tapped to install and operate a temporary emergency cell tower in the town to allow for greater accessibility for people and the responding agencies to get calls out and help in.  Also low watt transmitters were also set up at the temporary site for the Greensburg 911 call center as well as the National Guard units sent to assist with recovery.  The additional radios allow for better communication especially between the 911 call center and its units who are used to radios as their primary communications tool.

These days the types, styles, and manufacturers of these advanced communication tool are constantly changing, though industry giants like Motorola, Quaalcom, Kenwood, are still in the game. There are new companies throwing their hats in the ring all the time. The newest technological advancements get pushed into the emergency responders circles as fast as they’re available.

Perhaps, more than any other advancement in the field of emergency services, its communications that allow for more people to be effectively helped as the need arises. Beyond what is used by agencies like FEMA, there are new communication devices in use in Police and Fire Departments that assist with everything from remote fingerprinting to providing emergency room doctors the opportunity to have input at the sites where EMTs are working.  The end result is that now more than ever lives are being saved when in the past they would have been lost. As all of these technologies change it will be the people in emergency management that will lead the way in implementing the changes and assisting in making sure that everyone that needs to, knows how they work.

All this work and effort has its pay-offs in lives saved. Today’s advanced communications make the world a smaller and faster responding place. Even when all efforts seem to have no beneficial effect there is the Father of the boy who came into station just hours after his son passed away who after hearing from the boy’s friends about the efforts made on behalf of his son, wanted to take the time to thank those who put forth the effort trying to save his son.  While choking back tears he also wanted them to know that the doctors had been telling him and his son for years that something like this could happen, they knew risks and that he was blessed for the time they had together.

Citations

“Robert Peel: Biography.” Spartacus Educational.N.p., n.d. Web 3 December 2011.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRpeel.htm

“James Braidwood: Biography.”  The Gazetteer of Scotland. The editors of the Gazetteer of Scotland.

Edinburgh. University of Edinburgh. Web ©2011. 30 April 2012.

Wiegand, Martin J. “Reading Back 27’s & 28’s” The Official Memorial Park District Police Department

Manual for Dispatch Personnel 2010. Bellwood, Self-Published 01 July, 2010.  2 May 2012

“Mobile Recovery Disaster Centers” FEMA VIDEOS, Office of Homeland Security.

 Washington D.C. Webcast.  03 May 2012. Web.  www.fema.gov/medialibrary/collections/944

“National Situation Update: Wednesday, May 9 2007.” Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Washington D.C.   10 May 2012. Web. www.fema.gov/emergency/reports/2007/nat050907.sthml

My first and only attempt at poetry…. From my SCA days

My first and only attempt at poetry…. From my SCA days.

My first and only attempt at poetry…. From my SCA days

The Bardic Circle

The fire is lit.

A circle we form.

Music, jokes, and tales to entertain and inform.

Mead, wine, and beer to drink.

A time to smile.

A time to think.

A circle of friends to celebrate.

Laugh and love.

To fill the plate.

A banquet of joy.

A feast of hope.

Our minds we toy.

Our hearts we rope.

As our sounds travel the night.

Our hearts all take flight.

By Lord Toben Wanderbursche

Troy Maxson Vs Archie Bunker, Men of Their Day?!?!

17 April 2012

Men of their Day

August Wilson once said; “confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.” And in his play Fences he does just that by examining the life of Troy Maxson a fictitious character who was a former baseball player in the negro leagues, but is now a garbage man with a family eking out modest a living in what is presumably the town of Pittsburgh. Although it is never stated which town it is, Fences is part of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle of plays.

Wilson describes Troy in the opening narrative of the play as;

Fifty-three years old, a large man with thick, heavy hands; it is this largeness that he strives to fill out and make accommodation with. Together with his blackness, his largeness informs his sensibilities and the choices he has made in his life. (1.1.)

Furthermore, Troy had spent fifteen years in prison prior to the time in which the play is set. Wilson often stated that he believed that there is a large division between black and white cultures in America, that black Americans are often required to give up too much of their own cultural heritage to fit into “white” society.

However, the image of Troy painted by Wilson bespeaks itself less of the differences and instead demonstrates the commonality in us all.  In fact Troy is much like another character, this one from an extremely popular television series that first aired just few years before Wilson started writing his play. Archie Bunker and Troy Maxson share some of the same personality traits and it influences the world around them and how they inter-act with it. There are also some significant differences between the two.

Archie Bunker one of the main characters from the television series All in the Family was a blue collar family man who is fifty years old and World War II vet when the series starts. Like everyone else, both Archie and Troy are shaped from the experiences of their lives, but it is in their childhood where the similarities begin. Troy describes his early life as an abusive one. In fact both he and Archie had abusive fathers. Troy is able to recognize this Archie however is not. Troy’s abuse stemmed from physical beatings from his father, as Troy describes it in the play;

When my daddy turned to face me, I could see why the devil had never come to get him…’cause he was the devil himself. I don’t know what happened. When I woke up, I was lying there by the creek, and Blue… this old dog… we had was licking my face. I thought I was blind. I couldn’t see nothing. Both my eyes were swollen shut. I laid there and cried. I didn’t know what I was going to do. The only I knew was the time had come for me to leave my daddy’s house…  (1.4.)

although Archie was mentally abused by his father and he can describe the abuse he suffered, he because of his denial seems to have difficulty understanding he was in fact abused.

According to the Child Maltreatment Report conducted by Cornell University and published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services in 2009, out of 6 million children there were 3.3 million cases of possible abuse. Of those approximately 24 percent were substantiated. Their statistics also showed that 30 percent of abused children go on to abuse their own children, both Troy and Archie much to their credit do not, although both of them are extremely controlling over their children.  There are many additional after effects of abuse, the abused tend to be arrested in their maturity, they also tend to be controlling as well as exhibiting other abnormal behaviors,  depending on type and severity of abuse. Both Troy and Archie exhibit an extremely narrow view of the world around them, because of the abuse that each of them endured because of their fathers, for them this could have been a significant factor in helping to shape that narrow minded view of the world around them.

Additionally both Troy and Archie share an inadequate educational background, Troy had to leave home and thus school in his early teens because of conflicts with his father and Archie had to leave school about the same time to help support his family during the Great Depression. Their lack of education further affects their views on the world and the people who live on it. However, even here there they not only share things in common but they also have their differences too. Their lack of a full secondary school education causes each of them to display a lack of trust or even faith in the world around them. The difference here comes to play in in how they view what education means to their children. Troy wants his son Cory to move on and become someone better than him. Archie although supportive of his daughter going to college is jealous of the fact that his son in law also goes to college, even though unlike Troy, Archie could have gone back to school through the G.I. bill, he didn’t.

Troy was a talented baseball player but felt that life passed him by when because of his age he was unable to get into the Major Leagues after the “Color Barrier” was broken by Jackie Robinson. This disappointment fuels his desire for his son Cory to stay out of football, because he believes after his experience with professional sports Cory was probably going to be taken advantage of, and in the end have nothing to show for it except angst and sorrow, something that Troy seems to know all to well.  Wilson shows this in the play in a discussion between Rose and Troy:

ROSE: Why don’t you let the boy go ahead and play football, Troy? Ain’t no harm in that. He’s just trying to be like you with the sports.

TROY: I don’t want him to be like me! I want him to move as far away from my life as he can get. You the only decent thing that ever happened to me. I wish him that. But I don’t wish him a thing else from my life. I decided seventeen years ago that boy wasn’t getting involved in no sports. Not after what they did to me in the sports. (1.3.)

Archie was a talented high school baseball player that had to leave school to help his family, and because of this he was not able to further himself in the game either. So both of them harbor regrets and anger over the careers they could but did not have.

Troy and Archie’s similarities continue Troy spent time in jail and Archie in the army, although these institutions are more evolved in how they handle the men and women under their control now, during this time in history both taught discipline with a violent edge and did not do much to promote education. Which greatly contributes to both the aggressive and uneducated sides of both men, also contributing to their aggressive natures and how they deal with them goes back to when they were abused. Troy like his father before him is a more physically aggressive person always ready for a fight this attitude can be seen in the scenes where Troy argues with Cory, and in his monologues with death.  Whereas, Archie probably also not unlike his father, tends to avoid physical confrontations instead he usually mouths off his aggression, and though he does a lot of physical posturing, is rarely ever physically aggressive.

Although both men love their wives, Troy is definitely more open about his feelings on the subject, this is apparent in his conversation with Bono and Rose on the porch;

TROY: Aw, woman… come here. Look here Bono… when I met this woman…I got out that place, say “Hitch up my pony, saddle up my mare….there’s a woman out there for me somewhere. I looked here .Looked there. Saw Rose and latched on to her.” I latched on to her and told her-I’m going to tell you the truth-I told her “Baby, I don’t wanna marry, I just wanna be your man.” Rose told me… tell him what you told me, Rose.

ROSE: I told him if he wasn’t the marrying kind, then move out the way so the marrying kind could find me.

TROY: That’s what she told me. “Nigger, you in my way. You blocking the view! Move out the way so I can find me a husband.” I thought it over two or three days. Come back-

ROSE: Ain’t no two or three days nothing. You was back the same night. (1.1.)

Whereas Archie says he’s not into all the “mushy stuff.” It isn’t until after Edith’s death from a stroke that he shows how much he really cares for her, when he finds one of her slippers under the bed and goes into a mourning monologue, sobbing about how he wanted one more chance to say to her “I love you.” However they both do things to prove to their wives their affection for them. They’re also unfortunately a great source of grief for their wives, for Troy this happens when his wife Rose finds out that he had an affair and a child with another woman. A child that will be coming to live with them since her mother died in child birth, and also when he drives Cory away from home.  For Archie’s wife Edith it happens when he forges her signature to purchase a bar and he also had a problem with another woman, he strayed just once, nearly having an affair with a female friend, Denise.

Both men love their children Troy demonstrates this when he constantly gives money to Lyons, all the while bemoaning the fact that Lyons doesn’t have a steady paying job and when he keeps Cory’s football in the closet even though he fought Cory tooth and nail about getting involved with football in the first place, and ultimately threw Cory out of his house, the football was there as a reminder of his now estranged son. Archie like Troy reveals a weak spot when it comes to Gloria his daughter. He allowed her to marry Michael even though he was Jewish, and capitulates frequently to what she wants. He in fact shows Gloria more open affection during the show then he does his wife Edith. Which is opposite of Troy who shows great affection for Rose, while showing almost none to Cory or Lyons.

Troy and Archie both have their racist/bigoted side. In the play Troy uses the word cracker to refer to white people and Archie labels everyone around him for example, he refers to black people as colored. Neither man though commits any known act of violence against anyone over their beliefs. In Archie’s case he was offered the chance to join a hate organization but refused citing his disdain for the appalling way they conducted themselves. Instead they’re both portrayed as men of their day and speaking in ways that were common then and in some instances are still common today.

There is one last important similarity between these two flawed individuals it is perhaps the most important thing that allows these two developmentally arrested victims to be called men. Troy shows a great depth of character in the way in which he deals with his brother Gabe. Gabe was wounded in the Second World War and the injury, a head wound, left him unable to truly care for himself. Although Troy did take money from Gabe to use as a down payment on his house, and regularly took portions of his check for other expenses. He also gave Gabe a place to live and cared for his brother he watched over him, bailed him out of jail, went to court with him to plead on his brother’s behalf and when he realized that he might be getting too old, or that he was going to have new responsibilities with another child on the way. He did have Gabe committed, but he never threatened his brother nor did he ever strike his brother, or turn him away from his home. His compassion for Gabe is perhaps his most redeeming quality.  Archie’s bout with compassion comes when he allows Edith to take in her nine year old step-niece Stephanie. Even though Archie disapproves of it in the beginning he warms up to the girl and even allows her to continue practicing her religion which is Judaism. Something earlier in the series Archie would not have wanted her to do.

For Troy his story sadly ends with him dying and issues from his interactions left unresolved. The fence itself is finished, except in the end it only keeps in those who wish to be there. Although, Troy’s daughter Raynell does allow Troy some room to grow, and to re-define the world around him through her.  Troy is never quite able to get away from the devils in his past. To that end his exodus leaves a dark hole in the lives of some of the people around him. The end of Archie’s story shows that he is able to move ever so slowly forward as he goes from laborer to foreman to business owner to adoptive father and widower. But even as we see the last of him, he too like Troy is still some ways trapped by the ghosts of his past.

So it can be said that there may be cultural differences between Blacks and Whites, there are also similarities too. It in those similarities that we are reminded that all humans are beings no matter what others may think and as much as we can see the differences between the Troys and Archies of the world they’re basic two sides of the same coin and if that is extended further, it may also see that in all other things and with all other people the differences that divide aren’t that big after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citations

 

Cornell University Researchers. “Child Maltreatment Report.” U.S. Department of Health and

 Human Services. 2009. Web. WWW.HHS.gov/cb/stats.research/index. 12 April 2012

Nadel, Alan. “May All Your Fences Have Gates.” Essays on the Drama of August Wilson. Iowa

City, University of Iowa Press. © 1994. Web. www.scholar.google.com 24 April 2012. Google Scholar.  ISBN 0-87745-439-0 (Paper.)

Sparknotes Editors.”Sparknotes on Fences.” Sparknotes.com. Sparknotes LLC.n.d..Web.

www.sparknotes.com/drama/fences/canalysis.html.  12 April 2012

Tv Land Contributors. “Carrol O’Connor” Tvland.com. Tvland LLC. n.d.. Web.

www.tvland.com/shows/all-in-the-family/bios/carrol-o-connor, 17 April, 2012

Wilson, August. “Fences.” Literature and the Writing Process. 9^th ed. Elizabeth McMahan,

Susan X Day, Robert Funk, Linda S. Coleman. Upper Saddle N.J. Pearson. ©2011. ISBN-13: 978-0-205-74505-0

Wikipedia Contributors. “Archie Bunker.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 April, 2012.

Web.  En.wikipedia.org/wiki/archiebunker.  12 April, 2012

Wikipedia Contributors. “August Wilson” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 April, 2012.

Web.  En.wikipedia.org/wiki/augustwilson. 12 April, 2012

 

I don’t usually mess around with poetry analysis, but I’ll try anything once……

Mixed Doubles Anyone?

                Poet Roger McGough in his dimensional poem “40 ——————— Love,” cleverly paints a sad picture of two middle aged people that may appear to the reader at first to be spending time playing tennis and enjoying each other’s company.  However, as his brief story unfolds the truth is that other than tennis these two people may have little or no connection to each other. According to Wikipedia the word tennis originates from the French word tenez, which means to “take heed” and it is here that we must consider is the author attempting to warn all of us to take heed?  These days’ men and women have a larger pool of commonality from which to draw from thanks to the changing ideas of what in the gender roles are, and to what degree they should be followed.

He shows equal cleverness in the way he structured the poem. Like the title McGough’s poem has only two words per line and he organizes them into two distinct columns. The first word of each line in aligned under the number 40 in the title and the second word is aligned under love. He also aligns the words so that they form rectangle the shape of a tennis court, he does not though give the reader a representation for the net, this is most likely due to his point that the net real or imagined is always there, regardless of whether you can see the net or not.

 McGough also plays with the words themselves to further his thesis, the word Tennis stands as a one word line and is split syllabically into Ten and nis, he also splits the word between into be- the second word of a line and tween the first word of the line below it. By splitting the words he creates power imagery that allows for him to give a solid viscerally visual representation to the division between men and women.  It also provides a vehicle for an effective demonstration furthering the idea that even when men and women are participating in an event together they’re still separate, allowing the attitudes of the time to stay status quo.

Furthermore by using this structure McGough forces the reader’s eyes to dart from left to right much as the reader might do if they were watching a tennis match. The act of darting one’s eyes back and forth allows the author to draw the reader in the story by re-enforcing the significance of the tennis game.  This as insignificant as it might really seem it appears to be the only flimsy bridge between them. They stand opposite each other and have an exchange across a distance that cannot be spanned because of the net. So each of them stays on their side and only share a little bit between them (represented by the ball.) in a back and forth exchange, where occasionally one of them gets to make a point. It’s because of the time in which the poem is set that one could assume the 40 points belong to the man, as during the time of the poem men were truly in a more dominate position in society.  Love, which in tennis means that individual’s score is zero, can also be both a reference to the position that women had in society and also to the area of what was considered to be a woman’s domain. It also furthers expresses the poet’s views to the reader by giving them a bit of a window into the narrow monotonous empty life the subjects of the poem themselves dwell in.

The poem written in 1971 is truly a reflection of the times. Back then the division between men and women was great, for many people bridging the gap between the sexes was an insurmountable task and resisted openly in such areas as jobs, clubs, and other organizations.  Many men and women back then felt that it was not proper to involve themselves in things their spouses were doing.  For example the men felt they had to be the bread winner, head of the family unit and it was deemed unmanly to do house work, or cook indoors although grilling outdoors was considered a man’s job.  The women were still the homemakers, child raisers and general domestic engineers. Even though the decade before was the starting point for many of the major movements to end inequality based on race and sex.

To that end many of these people grew in a situation of comfortable strangers with their spouses, a situation where both of them feel the obligation to their families and personal reputations require they stay together, put on the brave front of being a happy couple even though they’re not.  The point’s common to those couples besides the children they raised usually fell into a sport like golf or tennis or maybe a night of card playing with other couples in the neighborhood. In most cases the connections were fairly superficial unlike in today’s society were the lines between the roles of men and women are blurred. This point is brought to light when McGough states in him poem;

When                                    the

Game                                    ends

The                                        net

Will                                         still

Be                                           be-

Tween                                  them

They’ve finished their game. The net that will still be between them is the attitudes of the day. To that end their conversation will probably be a brief synopsis of the game perhaps followed by each of them taking turns summarizing their days and future plans regarding life and any problems looming on the horizon. Unfortunately though little actual bonding occurs between them.

Fortunately today the lines between the roles of men and women are less concise but they also came at a cost, perhaps a considerable one.  In the forty one years since the publication of the poem our society has under gone a series of changes some of them subtle, some more dramatic.

Today men and women both compete in the job market more than they have in the past, wages and the ability to be promoted and move up have gotten significantly better, though still not considered completely equal. Today’s high divorce rate has sadly played a role in so far as more than ever before many men and women not only have their own residences, they also maintain them themselves.  Doing so requires each of them to take on tasks and roles that cross the traditional gender roles.  Back in the time of McGough’s poem the divorce rate was low there was a significant stigmatism towards getting divorced. The stigmatism was so severe that people especially women could become ostracized by their families, friends, and society in general. It ruined their personal reputations as society generally thought the process somehow corrupted them because of their inability to maintain a solid marriage.  So people were more willing to compromise and attempt to find workable solutions to marital problems.

These days for most people the stigmatism is gone, many people no longer feel obligated to make an attempt to correct the problems in a failing marriage. A quick no fault divorce and people are free to move on and try to find that new person of their dreams. This, if there are no children involved allows them to perhaps find that special someone. However and unfortunately this is not always the case.

When children are involved they become innocent victims of the attitudes of today’s society not entirely unlike the man and woman described in the poem.  If fact, one could almost look at the poem if had been written today as being more relevant if the game had changed to a doubles match with the parents competing against their children.  Was this side effect really worth it? Could it have been done better? Yes, if people take the time to realize that they need to keep their priorities in order the responsibility to one’s children needs to remain the first priority in their lives. Though sadly this is not always the case, as people lose sight of the needs of their children and instead focus on the needs of themselves.

There is one last image that the poem reveals to us, the last highly visible barrier between men and women is professional sports, currently there are no women competing in sport directly with men, unless you count sailing, horseback riding, and shooting which are Olympic sports and not really consider to be in the professional vein. Yes there are women’s teams, and women do like to be able to participate in sports just like men do.  Even in tennis the most unlikely of sports for the contestants to come into contact with each other. Still has men competing against men and women competing against women.  Demonstrating just how far we haven’t come from the poem’s perspective.

Roger McGough’s one sentence poem may have lost some of it timeliness over the years. It does however continue to provide a point of discussion, and exploration of ourselves and our society, both in who we are and how we perceive the world around us, including who we were, and where we came from.  Not everyone of that time was trapped in the loveless relationship that the poet describes. Not everyone today has found that perfect companion for themselves. As attitudes and beliefs change they tend to bring new problems with them. Hopefully, those problems are less severe than the ones from before.

If we all “take heed” of Mcgough’s poem and continue the process of change we all may one day find the only nets left in our lives are the ones on the court.

Fin

 

 

Citations

McGough, Roger. “40———Love.” Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahon…[et al.] 9^th

 ed. P.cm. Upper Saddle River. New Jersey. ©2011. Pearson. ISBN -13:978-0-205-74505-0

Wikipedia contributors. “Real tennis.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia, 28 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 May. 2012. En.wikipedia.org/wiki/real_tennis

 

 

 

 

29, March 2012

Collisions of the Huddled Masses

                In the movie Crash the opening scene is of a massive freeway accident in Los Angles California. The director uses this scene to tell the story of the previous twenty hours of each person touched by the crash. Its focus is on the crises of the victims and how they eventually came to peace with or at least achieved a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Perhaps for the viewer though, the most outstanding and striking issue that the movie deals with are the concepts of racism. Movie handles the subject in an appropriate and forthright way that allows the viewer to question the scenes and as Martin Luther King Jr. said; Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. As almost every character regardless of who they are in the film makes open potentially inflammatory statements regarding the race of the people their dealing with while they’re struggling to come to grips with the issues they need to resolve in the film. The Writers and Director of Crash handle the subject of racism so well and in such an open matter of fact way,  that it can be used as a starting point to begin honest dialogs of the issue of racism itself.

It allows us to ask ourselves; Does the old definition of racism still fit? Are we in need of new one? Is racism ever going to completely go away? How far have we really come in removing from our society?  All of these questions are valid in today’s society, especially since we often pride ourselves on how far we’ve come. However, in order to make sure the progress that we all think has been made has actually been achieved we all need to take a second and assess how far we have truly come. To this end we’ll focus our examination mainly on one individual and his interactions with “his” group characters from the movie.

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines racism as;

• The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
• Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief.

The Oxford’s definition still seems to fit in a fair amount of situations but not necessarily all, so this leads us to the next question. Yes, a change in how we define racism might be warranted. Perhaps to further the scope of the definition to exclude comments made when a person is under extreme duress, when they’re lashing out because of their own fear or pain or they have found themselves in a situation that is beyond their control.

Officer John Ryan played by Matt Dillon is the character from the movie that most needs to be looked at. His story starts when Ofc. Ryan is trying to get his father’s insurance company, an HMO to approve and change in doctors for him because the doctor he’s currently seeing seems to be doing nothing to treat the medical problems his father is having and in fact his father seems to be getting worse.  There isn’t much Ryan can do for him at home, which he very frustrating as his fathers condition slowly deteriorates before him. As a result of his home situation and his anger and frustration with the slow and tedious process the insurance company is putting him through he adopts a angry, self-righteous and condescending tone while questioning the woman on the phone as to her ability to properly do her job, also questioning her qualifications for the job, and even how she got the job. He also tells her she’s keeping people who are qualified to do her job from the position.

Because of his actions could he be considered racist? It’s probably fair to say that on some level he is either knowingly or unknowingly letting racism influenced his thoughts on some level.  Or perhaps he’s just trying to cope with a difficult situation that would have left most of us extremely angry and frustrated.  Perhaps, racism like people who use it either by intent or unconsciously cannot be defined by so narrow a definition if one is looking really get a handle on how and why we think, talk, or act in ways that can be described as racist, even when generally our actions and attitudes would not lead others to believe that of us.

So where do our racist inclinations come from? Is there some special section of our brains reserved just for our racist feelings? No, they’re part of a larger section of our psychological make-up, the part that helps all of us define ourselves as who we are, helps determine our sense of self-worth, and motivates us to take action to achieve the things we want and need. the section of the brain that tells us we’re the best at something or that we’re better then another person or at least the one next to them, that we are that way because we’re male or female or maybe we’re White, Black, Asian, or Latino, or maybe because we’re smarter than them (or at least perceive ourselves to be.), or better looking, more social, etc. etc. etc.  If you have ever said I’m the best at something, felt or expressed your superiority regarding your abilities then you’re using the same part of your brain where at least partly your racist ideas come from.  In psychology they call this the Ego.  In the movie, Shaniqua Johnson played by Loretta Devine is the woman at the insurance company that has her Ego bruise by Ryan. She then returns the favor to Ryan by refusing to capitulate to him. Without a healthy ego the average person would constantly be “pushed aside” by others and generally incapable of functioning normally in society.

However there are two other important psychological aspects that help reign in our ego so we don’t bully everyone around us, or take things we have no right to take,  or chide and berate those around us whom we feel don’t measure up to our standards. They are the Super Ego & the Id. In the movie before his big self-actualization Ryan is a character highly driven by his Ego.

The Id is that part of our brains where our instincts come from, and in part some of our baser emotions especially those regarding our own sense of self worth, and self preservation.  The Id gives us our core set of instincts for survival and problem resolution as well as self-image.

It is the Super Ego that allows us to learn behaviors that can replace or modify our instincts and allow us to control them so they do not control us.  Therefore it is here that all of us learn to control our anti-social behaviors and to develop the understandings that given all that we are, we still from time to time need others, and need to be able to successfully interact with each other in ways that do not promote conflict.

Perhaps the most compelling scenes in the movie are the between Matt Dillon’s character Ofc John Ryan and the Thayers. Cameron Thayer played by Terrence Howard and Christine Thayer played by Thandie Newton.  Ofc Ryan is very upset over the fact that he can’t get his father’s insurance company to approve him to go to a different Dr. because the one he’s currently using seems to be doing nothing towards treating his dad for the medical problems he’s having. He’s so upset and frustrated with the situation and he berates Shaniqua Johnson who works at the insurance company by telling her that the only reason she has her job is because she’s black and that her inability to do her job properly is causing his father not to receive the medical attention he needs.  Rightly so this upsets Shaniqua and she stops trying to help him.

The Thayers drive a black Lincoln Navigator like the one that gets car-jacked from the D.A. and his wife. So when the call comes out over the police radio that a navigator had been stolen Ryan decides to pull over the Thayers even though his partner Ofc. Tom Hanson played by Ryan Phillippe is certain that the Thayer’s SUV is not the one they’re looking for.

Ryan decides that he going to take out some of his angst on them. He was upset and angered by a black person so he decides to take out that anger on two other black people whom he feels can’t or won’t retaliate.  His ego has taken a bruising from Shaniqua and he wants to feel more I control of his own destiny to satisfy his Id. When they pull-down the car they realize that Christine Thayer is committing a sexual act on her husband and this seems to fuel the fire for Ryan. He gets them both out of the car and after heated exchanges between Christine and Ryan, and Christine and her husband. Ryan is able finally get the control he is seeking  by belittling and shaming them, he asserts dominance of them and to prove it he gropes Christine in front of her husband and makes him ask that they be let go with just a warning. This humiliates both Cameron and Christine who is especially incensed because of the criminal way she’s being handled by Ryan,

Is Ryan a racist? At least on the surface it certainly appears that he is.  But he’s also a person with a lot of serious stress in his life.  The life of a street cop is stressful by its very nature, in most cases when they’re responding to a call they’re never sure exactly what they’re getting into. A Traffic stop can suddenly become a shooting or a high speed chase, a domestic can become a murder or a hostage situation and a suspicious person or vehicle can run the gambit from average honest citizen or delivery person to a thief or worse.  He’s a man trapped in a pressure cooker and he can’t find an appropriate release valve.  Under these types of pressure it’s not surprising that an officer might act out inappropriately, in an attempting to regain a sense of being back in control of his life, career, and relationships.  It is also these kinds of stresses that give police officers high rates of suicide, divorce, and other relationship issues both personal and professional.  According to the website, Badge of Life and their 2008 study of suicides among police offices, made the following determinations:

Estimated Suicide Rates for 2010:

General public          11/100,000

  Police:                     17/100,000  

Army                        20/100,000

Add into the mix the problems at home and he’s a man whom racist or not is ready for a meltdown.  In fact if his department knew of the problems he was having, they probably would have offered him desk time and counseling and shifted him off the streets.  But that didn’t happen. If fact when his partner tries to bring this up to their lieutenant, who is himself a black man he doesn’t want to hear it. If fact he spells it out for Hanson that he has no intention on following up on his allegations about Ryan because it would or could hurt his (the Lieutenant’s) career.

To further cover for Ryan the lieutenant transfers Hanson to his own squad under the claim that Hanson has bad flatulence and needs to ride alone.  However, before Hanson leaves on his first solo patrol. He and Ryan have one last conversation, during which Ryan tells him in essence that the job will change him, that it has an effect on everyone and that the person he is now won’t be the same person in a few years. This conversation demonstrates that this is a turning point for Ryan.

As the movie progresses it’s revealed that Ryan knows his own short-comings he reveals this to Shaniqua when he goes in person to try and talk to her he does this the day after his encounter with the Thayers. We see him shift from running on Ego & Id and allowing his Super Ego to start bringing him back into balance. He admits his own shortcomings to her and pleads with her help his father regardless of what she thinks of him.  He points out how his father who owned a cleaning service employed African-Americans, paid them fair wages and gave them benefits and how he lost it all when the city council required that all contract be given to minority run businesses. Shaniqua’s response to him after his passionate attempt at contrition was; If it was your father who the one sitting here and telling me all this, I would have signed off on this already.  With her own Ego now firmly in the driver’s seat, she’s telling him in essence that as long as he’s involved with his father and the insurance company he’ll find no assistance from her.  In fact she calls security to have him escorted from the building.

This should have pushed him over the edge, especially if he truly thought she only had her job to fill some quota for minority hires. But it doesn’t, it might even be the point where he starts making the connection between his actions and how they affect everyone around him.

It’s shortly after this encounter with Shaniqua that he and his new partner encounter the multi-car crash that is seen in the beginning of the movie.  He spots a black navigator upside down and leaking gas, gas that’s heading for a burning vehicle.

Without considering who the navigator might belong to, he sprints towards it knowing that if he doesn’t get there and help get the driver out that the person could be burned to death if and when the gas catches fire. It isn’t until he’s inside the vehicle that he realizes who the driver is. It’s Christine Thayer the woman he inappropriately touched the night before.

When she sees it’s him that came to help she initially rejects and resists his assistance madly fighting him off as if she afraid he’ll start up again from the night before.  At this point had he truly been a racist he could have backed off and let her die. After all what did she really mean to him. Dead people don’t file complaints.

He doesn’t though; he keeps trying to explain to her the seriousness of the situation and continues to request to assist her. Even after his partner and another person pull him from the SUV he goes back into the SUV and finally gets her to understand and to allow him to help.  In the end he saves her life.  An act that although in itself does not allow him to atone for his previous actions, it might have served as an early catalysis in allowing Christine to perhaps begin her healing process.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  Those words were spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. said this as part of his I have a dream speech.  Is still a great goal for all of us after all as it said in the Tao Te Ching; A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If Ryan is truly a racist or not that would be for you the reader to decide. He like many of the other characters in the movie becomes a different person by the end then he was when the film started. Does that absolve him of his past sins? That would be the decision of the people that he sinned against.

We have all at times had racist thoughts some of us have made racial statements, and a few may have even acted upon those unfortunate urges.  As people, our wants, needs and desires sometimes over-ride our common sense. It is our besetting sin.  But if we all remember to judge each other by the content of our character, to set aside the stupid, inappropriate comments made during times when we’re not at our best.  We may find that that step is as important to the eradication of this problem as the efforts made to confront it head on.

One last thought from Martin Luther King Jr; Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.  In many ways we are moving forward towards what will hopefully one day manifest itself as an enlightened society.  It can be honestly said that we’ve come a long way, in that there is no doubt about it, but there is still a ways to go.

It can also be said that knowledge is power and that the awareness of the things happening around give us the opportunity to set the example for those around us.  To guide others away from misguided beliefs towards a new understanding of the world around them. In the end making this world a better place for all of us to live and prosper in.

Citations:

“Martin Luther King Jr..” BrainyQuote.com. XploreInc, 2012. 14 March. 2012.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html

“Racism” The New Oxford American Dictionary.2nd ed. 2005. Print

Crash (2004).Dir. Paul Haggis.Perf. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle,

Thandie Newton, Brandon Frasier,.Lions Gate, 2004. Film

“Suicide Study 2008” Badgeforlife.com.  N.P. n.d. Web 29 March 2012

http//www.badgeforlife.com

                                “Tao Te Ching” Lao Tzu. Robert Friedler , thetao.info N.p. N.d. 29 March 2012

http//www.thetao.info

Death and Life of Squeaky Pomme Fritte

Death and Life of Squeaky Pomme Fritte.

Death and Life of Squeaky Pomme Fritte

Martin Wiegand

02, February 2012

The Death and Life of Squeaky Pomme Frites

                Finally everything stops, the pain, the heavy breathing, the desire to get out of the bucket and get away, I float motionless, peacefully suspended in a small container of water and staring up at my freshly returned tormentor, who stares back at me, and my connection to the world around me slips away.

I find my mind wandering back the crazy out of control events of this evening. His expression is a subtle, strange mixture of horror and sorrow as he stares down with an almost blank zombie like visage that in my final moments has me wondering which of us has really gotten the worse of this evening’s Carnaval de Carnage.

Sometimes, the best of intentions by the meekest of people can spiral into a moment that redefines animal cruelty.  What could drive this soft-spoken, nasally, and mouse like man drop all sense of his humanity and embark on a campaign of terror, torture, and inexplicable mayhem while placing the show in the public view sharing with any unfortunate who happens by.

The day started normally enough, I live at the Church and the morning masses are starting to get busy as holiday residents  have started returning to the village. So I decide to start the day out on the fly. I leave my nest dashing to the center isle of the tiny church. I bolt towards the open doors much the gasps, moans and horrified exclamations of the parishioners. I assail myself through the open doors and into the morning sun en route to the field of pointy, odd shaped stones where the giants bury their dead.

I’ve often wondered why the giants bury their dead, at first I thought that maybe they came back later and ate them, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, because I’ve never seen one do that. Then I thought, maybe they’re afraid that the dead will come back and come after them.  After all, they put the body in a locked box before they bury it deep in the ground.

The day frolicking around the field was wonderful, the weather was great, and I had many friends with me.  After a lazy, lengthy, late afternoon nap my friends and I decide to go down to the bistro about three giant nests down from the field we call it Le Grenier Restaurant, it’s located high up in a space above the main part of the nest. The two giants that live there maintain it as sort of an automat,   Grenier’s specialty being noix de Grenoble sur la demi-coquille or Walnuts on a half-shell, for those of you barbarian giants who have yet to learn French, is something not to be missed. They also offer hors d’oeuvres. Mice love hors d’oeuvres so much so that they often forget how dangerous and deadly hors d’oeuvres can be.

The two giants that live in the nest and run the restaurant seem generally pretty decent. One of them rides around controlling some large metal machines that mice have to watch for while crossing the roads. The other giant seems to just ride along. He is generally soft-spoken his voice somewhat nasally and his mannerisms are themselves somewhat mouse like.  I noticed as we entered the house he seemed to be there alone gutting some animal, he already had the skin off and you could see all of its internal organs. He was in the largest room of their nest, the one that allows fires to be built in it. The fireplace itself was big enough that one of them could crawl up or down inside of it but they would have to be careful not to get trapped in there. There was a story going around among my friends that one giant did just that, and he ended up dying inside it. It happened in the next town over. Just ask anyone, everyone has heard about it.  As we made our way into Le Grenier it was late in the evening, and a late supper with friends was just the way to end the day’s festivities.

Once we were upstairs everyone spread out. Unfortunately,   the hors d’oeuvres must have been set out too long as the Camembert cheese had dried to a plastic unappealing glob. The nut pate though still smelled wonderful, especially in the space filled with a layer of drying walnuts just waiting to be shucked and enjoyed. The famous French poet Jean de La Fontaine once said; A hungry stomach cannot hear, those words were playing around in my head while I began trying to decide if I wanted just the walnuts or the works. I toyed with the idea, hor d’oeuvre or main course for several intense, almost maniacal seconds before the decision became obvious.

I shook my head and said, Squeaky, what are you doing? Are you not a frenchmouse? Have both! So I climbed up on the serving tray and sniffed the food again, the smell of which was so wonderful, I leaned forward and took a taste. It was every bit as wonderful as it smelled and soon I was lost in the incredible sampling. Generally the serving trays at Le Genier only ply their deadly ways occasionally, so I felt it was a reasonable risk.  By the time the tray attacked I was caught completely off guard. I turned; I tried to run, too late. I was caught in the trap, I had also passed out for a brief period, but now I was awake and assessing my situation. My hind legs were where my hind legs should be, but I couldn’t feel them at all, but there was a sharp burning pain in the center of my back, it was so intense I almost forgot how it happened, every time I tried to move it was agony, I thought to myself; How could I get unstuck?

I began the agonizing effort of pulling myself around the room; the uneven floor made it a difficult and painful effort. I found myself moving slowly, noisily in circles unable to escape. Then I heard the sound of someone coming, someone big.  I was stuck and had only one chance to escape this painful and life threatening situation.  I tried to appeal to him.

My Friend! I yelled; it’s your good friend Squeaky, Squeaky Pomme Frites, I’m trapped on the hors d’oeurve tray! They were excellent as they always are, but now can you help your good friend Squeaky get free?

No response, but lights came on and footsteps on the stairs were getting closer.  It was then that it occurred to me that the giant and I have never really inter-acted in any way before. We always kept a respectful distance from each other.  Now, that was all about to change. I hoped he already had his dinner. 

At first he did not come, I thought he was coming; it sounded like he was coming; he just never appeared. Soon the sound stopped altogether. Where had he gone? Was he getting a weapon? Did he stop for some noix de Grenoble sur la demi-coquille?  Is it Squeaky’s fate to die a horrific and untimely death at the sinister hands of an hor d’oeurve tray?

Could I have been wrong?  Maybe this gentle giant isn’t so mild mannered and gentle, maybe he’s planning something even more evil and painful for poor little Pomme Frites.  No, no that couldn’t be it. He’s just too timid, he’s afraid he’ll find me horribly mangled, openly sobbing for someone to end my misery and too disfigured and disgusting to even look at. That must be it. I screw up my courage and begin dragging the hors d’oeurve tray around again.

He started making noise again. This time he actually came up and into Le Grenier, He looked down at me for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably more like a minute, There was a look of pitiful sadness in his face, there was also something else there, I wasn’t sure what, fear maybe? He grabbed a box and scooped me and the tray into it. Then carried me off to what I had hoped would become my return to freedom.

The trip ended outside. The glorious outdoors where I loved to play and spend the day! If I survive this I thought to myself, I’ll become a poet.  I could smell the sea in the cool evening breeze and thought to myself Yes! He is going to set me free! Oh Monsieur, Thank you! Thank you! Squeaky will never forget your kindness!  You are truly the gentleman I knew you were! He set the box down and disappeared for a few minutes, when he returned he had a couple of large strange looking sticks with him.  He used the stick with hundreds of little branches growing out it to steady the hors d’oeuvre tray and the second one with a flexible edge to pry up the bar of the tray to release me, or so I thought.

He lifted the bar just far enough that I could start to move out of the hors d’oeuvre tray, then suddenly he let go and the bar clamped back down on my back. Fortunately, the bar came down on my paralyzed side. It startled me and I let out a yell but the pain wasn’t all that bad. I looked back at him and saw him with a shocked look in eyes trying to re-position the flexible edge and was getting ready to try again.  This he held it open more and I was able to side my backside out but as I turned to leave, I placed my arm back on the hors d’oeurve tray to gain leverage, the bar snapped back down and caught my right arm. It landed with enough force that I knew it was broken. This is the point where I went into shock as I howled God! My Lord! Why have you let the devil release one of his foulest of demons upon me! Has poor little Pomme Frittes offended you so? Take me now if this is what you wish but let my suffering end! Think he let out a gasp too, only I’m not sure if it was one of shock or pleasure. His face was all twisted up with different emotions and I had no idea and little cared at this point what he was thinking.

I cried out again, I pleaded to God. I cried out, Lord why do you let your poor sweet innocent Pomme Frittes get caught in the hors d’oeurve tray? I’m just a poor little church mouse that never hurt anyone, I promise, stop this madness and I’ll never scare the old ladies at church ever again!

                I continued my pleas while the giant took a second to assess my situation. He had a sort of twisted sad look about him as looked at me.  I might have even thought he was sorry for the way things were turning out but he was the one who kept injuring poor Squeaky. Leaving me with my now throbbing broken right arm still caught in the trap, he disappeared back into his nest and a moment later re-appeared with two odd looking sticks in his hands that when he did something to them made light shoot from them as he moved them around pointing into the yard to make sure they were working.

I thought to myself, ah Squeaky; it is like that show you and the priest watched on his glowing picture box. This man isn’t gentle at all he’s a Sith Lord and now he probably going to chop you up because you can’t use the force or for that matter successfully extricate yourself from a simple hors d’oeurve tray. Nor can you run away because of your broken body, the body he broke! But he didn’t, he disappeared around towards the back of the nest returning with a bucket.  He had partially filled the bucket with water.

I found myself thinking OH NO! He hasn’t had his dinner. Then I thought, don’t be ridiculous your only one little Pomme Frittes that would never fill him up. Besides, I remember an article I shredded for bedding once that said, frittes are suppose to be bad for you, especially if you eat too many and he has nothing else here to eat.

                He carefully picked up the tray and released me into the water. At first the plunge into the cool water was both a surprise and bit of a shock. The cool weightlessness of it helped my injuries. They throbbed not so much.  I thought I would try pleading nicely to him again to keep this more positive set of events in motion.  Anything that stopped his attacks at this point had to be tried, if I was going to have any chance to survive his onslaught.

Thank you my friend! This feels very nice! It is nice that you’re trying to help your good friend Squeaky! Although, not to sound ungrateful you could have put a little less water in the bucket, I’m having a hard time staying on top with only the one working leg.

It seems to have no effect, I’m not even sure he can understand me, at this point I am in complete shock and terror,  as I observed him from the bucket looking around as if trying to decide what to do next. He reached over and grabbed the stick with all the branches growing out of one end of it and tried to fit it into the open end of the bucket. But it would not fit so with a determined look on his face, he turned it around and began to insert the end with no branches on it.  His expression changed, he face was blank, like he wasn’t thinking about or was overwhelmed by his actions,

A lump welled up in my throat as I saw the stick coming towards me the old saying Watch out for the quiet ones! Was making perfect sense, I could not decide if he was trying to be my savior or my killer, the look in his eyes was that he wasn’t sure either.

He pressed the stick against my back and with a shove I was under water. I held my breath trying desperately to swim to the surface using the one good arm, and even ignoring the pain in my broken one as I madly scrambled trying to get out of the sticks way, it was no use. Finally though, I did somehow manage to wiggle myself free and floated back to the surface gasping for another breath as I broke the surface.  He caught me again with the stick and pushed me back down, I managed yet again to wiggle free go to the surface.  By this point I was so focused on trying to save myself that my physical pain seemed not to matter as the terror that he was killing me took hold.

This time when I got to the surface something was different, there was a light shining on him and the shadows it cast across his face made him look more maniacal than ever.   I also heard one of those mechanical boxes his friend traveled in and thought Oh great, there isn’t enough of Pomme Fritte for one how is he going to expect to feed two.  He started talk to the other giant who moved where I could see him. It wasn’t his friend, it was and older one who looked somewhat familiar, where had I seen him before. Then it struck me. The priest where I lived had decorated his nest with all kinds of colored lights and hung  goodies and plants all about the church with a big group of them in the center they had brilliant red leaves, it was a shame they didn’t taste as good as they looked. The priest and I watched a show on his box that had an old giant like this one save a younger giant from falling off a bridge and drowning in the hamlet of Bedford Falls, Clarence was the old giants name and he was here now to save me! He exchanged a few words with my tormentor and manage to chase him back into his nest after he saw what was being done to me I called to him, Clarence the angel, my friend, you are to save pitiful Pomme Frittes! With my last good arm I will ring a bell for you every day and make sure angels keep getting their wings! I could hear shuffling around inside the nest and they were still talking to each other but I could not make out what was being said.

I was finally beginning to calm down myself and take stock in how bad I was, still couldn’t feel or use my back legs and my right arm was a total mess between the bar breaking it and using it to swim the pain coming from it was unreal, and probably would have been even worse but I was pretty sure at this point I was in shock. The two giants were still inside the nest, I hoped Clarence was giving him a thrashing similar to the one he gave me, though it did not sound like a fight anymore or maybe it never was.  I had been trying to scramble out of the bucket but with only one good arm I kept sliding back in. I kept saying to myself, Lord, why have you unleashed this madman upon me? Was something I said? I did? I am but a poor humble church mouse that never hurt a soul. I also noticed my pain had somewhat subsided, it was there, but not as intense anymore, I thought to myself So Squeaky, this might just be it, maybe in the grand scheme of life this was all that was in store for you.  It was then I felt the vibrations of footfalls, the timid giant and Clarence had returned they spoke for a few more seconds I noticed Clarence gave sad and pitiful glance down at me for a brief second, even he determined I was probably beyond saving.

Finally everything stops, the pain, the heavy breathing, the desire to get out of the bucket and get away, I float motionless, peacefully suspended in a small container of water and staring up at my freshly returned tormentor, who stares back at me, and my connection to the world around me slips away.

 

Fin

 

Works Cited

 

“It’s a Wonderful Life.” Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. 1946. RKO, 2001. DVD.

“Jean de La Fontaine.” BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2012. 23 February. 2012. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jean_de_la_fontaine.html

Sedaris, David “Nuit of the Living Dead” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2005. p.448-453. Print.

“Star Wars episode 1 The Phantom Menace.” Dir. george lucas. Perf. Liam Neeson, . Lucas Films, 2001. Film.