And a few secondary comments
Why did I have this dream last night?
Because you were asleep. Actual conversation sometimes as a Dad you can be a bit droll
And just more on why writing the story as you know I always say if the Democrats
and Republicans had been doing their job well over the last four decades the
middle class would be better off than it is, and that goes for just about
everything in our country such as education, race relations, fighting poverty,
overall growth of wealth for the vast majority, less reliance on government to
solve problems (even though they aren’t being solved it is just the reliance)
and so on. We are not getting leadership that cares for the middle class except
for their vote. And because of that we still hold some sway in the future of
our country. At least for now.
And as I alluded to before this story is just another outlet
of my frustration as to why it is so hard to get done what is needed or what should
be common sense.
And back to the story:
So she started trying to befriend the children. This didn’t
go well at first. Most children instinctively knew there were things wrong,
they just didn’t know what. And parents did teach their children not to trust
anyone. The parents knew how bad the neighborhoods were. And that the street
gangs or the boss’ men were always looking to harass someone. They whole system
was based on what someone could obtain from you. No one had anything beyond a
weekly paycheck at best and even those were very scant after all the “withholding”
was taken.
Yet after some time and patience she began to know some of
the children that would walk home after school. They were always in groups
which she understood to be good. At first it would be polite conversation as
they walked by her house while she pretended to water her bushes or trim them.
She learned much. And what she learned scared her. She
realized with no education these children had no chance even in a world with
little chances. So as they walked by she began to educate them. Very little at
first. Most didn’t understand how to write. Yes they could write in short
bursts. Basically only what was needed. Small phrases to use in communication
devices. There was no need for anyone to be able to describe anything
especially since there future would be based on military communication or maybe
some factory work or service work. Why should the schools spend time teaching
grammar, language, more than rudimentary math, or especially any topics like
history, literature, drama, etc…? After hearing about their days she began to
introduce some ideas that maybe they could learn more. She would converse with
them teaching them how to develop a thought pattern or how to answer questions
that began with why? They were all smart, they were just deprived.
The children loved spending time with her. They were soaking
up what she had to say and staying way too late. Some of the parents became
suspicious of her. Others became scared that someone might notice they were
actually learning something and might be considered dangerous. These were the
parents who still had memories of some schooling, that there use to be more to
life. Their parents had tried to instill in them the need to fight what was
happening to society. Over time though no one understood what you would fight
for and for the remnants of people trying to change the way things were
becoming, either bad things happened to them or they just disappeared. Most
people learned one main fact. Survival. So for the parents watching their
children come home late with all sorts of notions of wanting the schools to
teach more. These parents gently nudged their children away from the lady down
the street into more normal pursuits by letting them have more game time ( a privilege
since power was expensive) on the TV or finding other chores for them to do at
home.
Some children would be able to stay after school for some
time and they did start to grasp there was more to the world than they knew,
but no one child could ever really spend enough time at her place to maybe take
a leap forward. Sometimes it was the parents keeping them away, sometimes their
friends weren’t as interested so peer pressure kept them away, and sometimes
because of all the movement of families they just moved away. She never gave up
though. Each day, each week, each month of the school year she would wait
outside after school to converse with the children sometimes letting them try
to read through her books hoping that maybe she could help them out. Or maybe
one or two might be inspired to take on a fight that unfortunately that they
would never be able to grasp was needed
And of course this was observed. She knew the neighborhood
bosses knew what she was up to, but even them were not educated enough to know
she was teaching insurrection in her small way. She didn’t know the few people who
actually knew what was going on were also watching her. They started keeping
real close tabs on her. And it wasn’t hard.
Also her days were kept trying to live her life without
anyone knowing she actually had money and resources. This meant she cultivated
relationships with some of the local shop owners. Most people went to the
superstores. The ones that were located centrally among a few neighborhoods.
These were the largest employers for most people in the neighborhoods. Yet every
now and then in some neighborhoods a few small shop owners still carried on
banded and bonded together in very small clusters. She knew one area and did most of her shopping
with them. It was tough for these shop owners. They were always under the
threat of being robbed if anyone of the gangs thought they had manage to have a
good day’s business. The police existed, but were under instructions not to
help them too much. Every now and then the police would make a show so the
local politicians could continue to justify the outrageous property taxes
charged on the small businesses. The shop keepers were in business more for the
independence they felt from the corporate stores than actually earning enough money
to make the effort worthwhile.
She supported them as much as she could. Easily all her
business would go with them, but many times they just weren’t able to keep the
shelves stocked on a regular basis. The business owners were also pressed out
of goods by distributors forced to make sure the corporate stores received all
the business and only would supply them when the corporate stores were
overstocked. This actually happened frequently since many people’s budgets were
so tight because of their wages being garnished or having withholding for so
much that people just couldn’t afford to buy enough regularly. So this strange
control of people’s wages through tax withholding, insurance, the boss’ payoff
percentage so a person could keep their job and a host of other small endeavors
that were withheld kept some of the people trying to take advantage of the
masses unable to earn enough for themselves. Too much graft and corruption had
emptied the pie most weeks. The stores were always squeezing workers hours to
make up for lost sales so the system was always struggling even though it was supposedly
set up for all to thrive. Lost wages meant less sales which meant less hours
and everyone struggled. Well almost everyone, there were people who managed
this economic conundrum very well. They were very few and far between though.
And they watched for anything that might disturb this world even in the most
minute detail. Yet the small businesses survived because there was always some
overstock items they could receive for their stores. Or was it they survived
because they absorbed mismanagement of goods.
She was a very good
customer and the store owners kept that very quiet. They knew that if it got
out how well she shopped with them they knew the day she shopped would
guarantee a robbery that the police would come out to investigate, but oh so
sorry not be able to solve the crime or arrest anyone because well you know…..
it was hard work police work….. criminals were always very crafty and got away.
But the police always ate much better than the rest of the neighborhood.
She would go early in the morning. Most people did not get
up early because well there wasn’t much to do if you didn’t have a job, but
join a gang and be up all night terrorizing someone or party all night engaging
in some very inexpensive way to “get high” which basically involved ingesting
chemicals so cheaply made that it eventually destroyed brains and killed people
after only a few years at most. The shopkeepers would always get up early each day
in hopes that this might be a day she would come. It actually kept them in good
shape hoping for her business. So with any customer they were very prepared,
aware, and considerate. This made shopping with them by anyone that paid
attention a joyful outing. Much more pleasant than going to the corporate
stores so the small businesses survived.
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