Saturday, April 20, 2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Power Corrupts
Rather than petitioning for a moral high ground, allow me to point out the reason for hope from the basis of one of us who has "seen it all" and adjusted reasoning and reaction just to help it get better.
No, it isn't pretty. But it is characteristically human. Which means it will get worse before it gets better.
Once hardship presides, it's a few short steps to starting over. Consequences for playing rough are set aside, one might say. What other choice is there? The one you make. The Known is expressed by observable actions, be they supported by Force, or its waning strength.
How is it then the meek shall inherit the earth? Because they're still here, and they're mad as Hell. Come and find out.
'O no, you first, I'm right behind you -
And then BAM! a weight like a massive stone descending on its sunken chest, disrupting the FA Cup semi on the biggest screen available in this awkward sanctity, it's gauche decor with some really shoddy lighting ensconced in a musty old basement, cobwebs hung heavy in every corner with dust.
It's the space preserved for the winner's history. A lonely place, one adorned with all the self perpetuated trophies and thoughtless certificates of award to and from it's own image given away like toothpicks at one of those tawdry, low-buck functions, virtues described in a fiction by Louis L'amour, ineffectual and moot. All in all, and one after another, they demarcate the unintended consequences born of a self congratulatory, good old boy board of directors.
A republic, like any other that stood before it, it hasn't spoken to its insufferable spouse for days on end.
As it falls, in slow motion impossibly ridiculous for its sheer, dead weight and fathomless hubris, an arrested scream remains unresolved, stifled in its throat. But for the epiphany of knowing it's too late - there it hangs suspended for what seems an eon, then head first into its plate of beans and sausage, dead dead dead.
the full moon declines
and then
the next morning of spring
春の翌朝、満月の辞退
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Open the Ball
In case you hadn't noticed, the chief of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has claimed the United States, Britain and Ukraine are behind the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
This statement is mirrored by Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev a Russian
politician, security officer and former intelligence officer who has
served as the secretary of the Security Council of Russia since 2008.
Monday, March 25, 2024
spring snow
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Monday, February 12, 2024
Friday, February 9, 2024
Monday, February 5, 2024
Friday, January 5, 2024
WEF, excess deaths - while we're at it, let's debunk this load of Bollocks so we can get on with it, please?
We'll have an incredible mess to clean up as it is. I mean, just who do they think they are? It's not the first time, nor will it be the last. Megalomaniacs have aspired to ridiculous heights throughout history. They rise on the backs of adoringly hypnotized masses (pardon me; the acceptable term is Mass Psychosis. Wouldn't want to ruffle anyone's murmurations). Not to mix metaphors, but soon after things are going swimmingly, aside a few unpleasantries, ranks of polished jackboots lined up, budgets busted and the coffers emptied, plan B once again broken out to start a war to hide that fact and profit besides, what could go wrong? It's beginning to become a cliche after a Millennia or two.
Gah! it must be dizzying to feel all that hubris and control though, aye, until that fatal step when they step on the banana peel of fairness and logic and whoopsie!
Not to kick a Malthusian while he's down, although I would tie his shoelaces together as he addresses the WEF from behind his lectern just for a laugh, what if Bill Gates hadn't gotten guidance from Dad's founding of Planned Parenthood and a hand up from his mother's vast, lucrative corporate connections and deigned not to steal that code that still spies on my Windows 7?
We could all have a chance to play a rousing game of Monopoly™! Stripping our friends blind of all their assets and leaving them in a delicious wake of self-delusion and regret. What are zero-sum games for, after all? I should design its successor; a board game called Total Dependence On The State. I'd include bonus points for successful cheating. I've made some head way into research already.
Speaking of musical chairs, be it noted that every Representative Republic throughout history has failed. Why? We keep voting in our candidates that eventually succumb to overriding corruption. Despite what they say about Biden's schedule or Trump's paperwork (the common factor being Golf) it's a full time job. Please forgive me for mentioning the one you love to hate, btw. Just keep me out of it. I was twice a delegate for Ron Paul. We came this close to brokering the convention in 2012. But in the eleventh hour, baby, we got Schlonged. Yeah, I know, that's what they all say ... is it our Human Nature? One thing is for sure; History does rhyme.
So why board that Karmic Circle Jerk of division for another go-round? If one tears the veil of public relations from their eyes and observes mindfully, we stand in full witness of another of Empire's Great Pratfalls. I say that with confidence since I've watched the markets and history for decades now out of a strong sense of familial responsibility and my own self interest. Yes, I am selfish prick. One might say crude and vulgar, also, but one would hardly notice. Still, keep your cell phone ready. I'm not sure you'll be able to post the snapshots on Meta, though.
We could bandy accusations and creative adjectives of catch phrases for Evil about all day long. One of the most creative writers I've had the good fortune to meet, Karin Bugge, spent her own time teaching me not to over do it.
... oh, Karin, how I miss you. Which reminds me; nobody comments to give me any stick or exchange jibes any more. We had a crew that loved each other and the camaraderie ... have I become too unpleasant? Erm, no need to hurry with your reply.
I was offered a great kindness similar to these the other day. Whatever my declining state of mind, assuming they were witticisms, I'd taken to spouting off the cuff, disparaging remarks, assuming some relevance in my cynicism. A fellow where I was visiting took some umbrage at my insistence. Even I'd noticed a pattern, but, feeling helpless, I was stuck in a rut.
It's quite a bit different from posting diatribes in comment sections. I enjoy a good diatribe, but I don't seek allies on comment boards. A bit of a snob in that regard, sorry.
So appreciative was I that I interjected something supportive later that day. Which caused my benefactor to snap and call me some dirty names. I met his challenge with a lack of concern in my eye. Being a little jaded doesn't always hurt. It's a sign of the times. That is, I didn't meet his challenges in typical fashion. As a result, nothing happened.
I never said relationships weren't easy. Dysfunction can be handed down through generations, as well as by public decree, which is the most wicked form of leadership. It's best avoided. Yet its reach is insatiable.
To merely observe is not enough. Conversely, to deny a common threat, out of fear or dispassionate safety has its own limits. Some villains are real and will not go away.
Sure, you could walk out of the theater into the light of day and a seemingly benign lifestyle.
But only because, in that nostalgic reality, nobody ever got hurt.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Friday, December 29, 2023
last to close
an ass, an ox
the three wise men--
manger in a cardboard box
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
And so it begins: WWIII
“The eastern flank has now moved to the east, and it’s the duty of Germany to protect it,” Pistorius said Monday during a joint press conference. Around 4,800 troops will be permanently positioned in Lithuania, arriving in increments from 2024 until 2027. Pistorius called the move historic and likened it to the troops stationed in West Germany during the Cold War to protect the nation from Soviet aggression. Lithuania borders both Russia and Belarus.
For years, Putin has said that Russia would not respond well if cornered by NATO. He attempted to broker numerous deals to prevent “NATO aggression” and avoid a large-scale conflict. But NATO is not an organization of peace.
“We will ensure reliable deterrence and we will be ready to [defend] NATO. We are sending a clear signal with this step to those who present a threat to peace and security in Europe,” Pistorius commented.
Thursday, December 14, 2023
LIfe and Death In the Construct of a Media Invented Bubble
Upon review of an Armistice Day post I recently offered here, it occurred to me I should include some statistics regarding our involvement of these various wars of attrition and goal seeking status we've become blithely accustomed to in our lifetimes and beyond.
World War I produced 10% civilian casualties.
World War II rose to a 50% civilian casualty rate.
The Vietnam War escalated the deaths of civilians to 70%.
The most recent Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are estimated to have incurred targeted population to a rate of 90% civilians killed.
I feel rather embarrassed.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
now in the context of misinformation (taken to some considerable length)
In response to the New Zealand whistleblowers recent covid vaccine data drop (see two previous posts of December 4) this is a rough draft;
As arrogant as it sounds, the second paragraph, except for its rather catchy indignation and emotional appeal, makes not a whit of sense. The whistleblower, AKA Winston Smith, makes no claims. He is merely relating mathematical statistics garnered by the relevant agency itself as mandated by law. A decree sorely lacking for its exclusion of vital transparency.
Being prone to the Abstract and a slave to esoteric ramblings makes me a rather feckless writer. This is a Haikai blog after all. So I'll borrow from George Orwell's piece, Politics and the English Language, to measure the dominance of those who control not only our words, but subsequently our thoughts.
In spite of this, the people remained giddy with the conquest of an Evil Entity that had become the sum of all their fears. Perhaps the opposite of Orwell's major contention, assuming the ineptitude of the community's pillars and their manner of speech . Orwell called it 'A catalogue of swindles and perversions'. That was in 1946.
England's loyal subjects were giddy with the conquest of an Evil Entity representing the sum of all their fears. They believed they shared in the spoils and accolades through their sacrifice and gritty determination. Recall, however, the major funding sources for this ambitious Reich that failed came from financiers that alluded to belonging to the Allies. Their support is for those who can pay. In my personal dealings if one were to renege, I would make certain you did. Even to the extent I'd ascertain no one got paid if I didn't; such is the nature of persuasion.
And so opinions asserted forcefully were rife with assumptions without facts. On one occasion early on, when I mentioned the doubt I had, it spurred a rather violent reaction! Without evidence, I simply didn't agree.
The person followed that with a more spurious claim that didn't involve the principal character we argued over. Putin was sending agents to infiltrate Ukraine specifically to kill poets. I can't remember how the topic turned. Likely my counter argument to vote for a candidate not in debt to the obvious insistence on unjustifiable War. That was 2015. Yes, an election year in America. Haunted by a preponderance in government led by a clique obsessed with military interventions against people with no inclination to mount a campaign against the United States.
History reveals this fault in human nature that time and again creates cultural dichotomies, only to rise and fall again and again. They are the harbinger of division and destruction if one accepts their cyclical nature an inevitability that must fail. It's the only way to convince us to a return of empathy directly in dissent of the construct of a singular ideology achieved through disparate forces.
Monday, December 4, 2023
Verified: A Watershed Moment
Despite the news blackout on the subject, I learned one or two things today.
One, that extended vaccine data, of any type, has never been publicly reported. From any country or any source. Ever. Except for this recent disclosure culled from the records of the Ministry of Health, New Zealand.
The data was revealed by an administrator of the Ministry of Health itself. while In the process of constructing a website for vaccine recipients he noticed evidence of serious safety concerns with the Covid vaccine. He then notified the Ministry of his findings along with various social and news media, while offering high ranking political figures the opportunity to sponsor. Hearing no reply from any of the contacts, he released his findings, inviting other statisticians in country and abroad to verify his labors in a broader peer review.
The news was not well received; It was taken down in five minutes after posting to YouTube, for example. Those news agencies offered access to this story, direct from the source, empirical evidence intact confirming its integrity and massive impact around the world simply declined. How absurd is it that they did not address its implication, choosing to parrot the accusations and slanders risen from patterns of concealment?
The Ministry of Health has responsibility for filing for an injunction forbidding disclosure, with allies deployed world wide in a desperate strategy to achieve total censure. It's uncertain what agency this latter tactic sprang from.
Awakened from its slumber, the Ministry simutaneously lashed out with agitprop in a patois combining illegal access, subversion and "spreading misinformation", that repurposed catch phrase, nee obscenity, to disguise censorship and oppress speech, demeaning those who dare say it, come closer to Mantra status with every repetition.
Should we assume it policy emerged from an obscure manual deep in the dusty files kept in storage of its Human Relations Department? I find it intensely disingenuous for the vagaries compelling its usage, I fear it will ascend to an etymology of hysteria celebrated by psychotic brokers of power and their followers.
Some people actually take the charge seriously; their numbers include those with behavioral traits that avoid critical thinking in favor of the scant comfort afforded in control by a shadowy authority figures. Others that hold high similar values for repression, unfair advantage, lying, and narcissism will be easily identifiable.
No denials of substance were offered. Only speech dripping with resentment and accusations. Nor any pertinent argument, analysis, no apology or defensible data were revealed. Just some shaming and the predictable ad hominem. What might be expected from a typical globalist script.
Although, estimates in the vicinity of 13 million deaths due the mRNA concoction is anything but typical.
In either case, it already suggests the presence of a continuous, concerted effort to hide information from the global public at large. And the practice is ongoing.
Second, the common flu vaccine has data effectively showing an excess of deaths attributed to its distribution well above deaths attributed to influenza (11% excess). Which raises questions regarding mortality data previously submitted. Other than that, no suggestion arises the shot is actually effectual in itself. Though it pales in comparison to the Covid jab, it further confirms what many already suspect of Pharmaceutical marketing practices.
Many interested parties (educators, medical institutional primaries, government regulators, politicians and pharma companies) refuse to see vaccine data due to a fiduciary responsibility to stop use of the product in question upon evidence of adverse events. Some would face criminal charges if they did not respond. Many others, of course, just want to keep their jobs.
A lack of news media curiosity to investigate dissenting views further clouds the possible intent and/or competence of the only agents charged with its responsibility - our respective governments.
Unbeknownst to the general population, Medicare (CMS) keeps extensive data on medical treatments and related subjects. They are considered the "gold standard" for related medical data sets. Made unavailable to outside the medical industry, they have kept data on the Covid vaccines since day one. (This file was supplied by a whistleblower in the California HHS).
Records reveal mortality rates (MR) have exceeded a safe vaccine's baseline by 26%, with risk actually rising for a year beyond the date of inoculation.
Given these data sets, an estimate by Steve Kirsch arrives at one death in 1000 doses given. (the linked site is currently blocked in New Zealand, something akin to martial law).
What has been revealed confirms the suspicions of many skeptical researchers; the close correlation of Medicare data verifies the New Zealand data, proving that the Covid vaccines are deadly and their distribution should be halted immediately.
This is confirmation of our worst fear. And, possibly lays bare even more horrible conclusions. How long have they known? Is this a deliberate act? Assuming multiple actor's involvement, what is the plan to avoid lawful consequence? Had they assumed a docile, public reaction, to be brushed aside like so many before? What would be yours?
As for prior knowledge by responsible entities, the Center for Disease Control does not volunteer relevant data nor readily publish its own conclusive data (other than attempts to bolster fear). Unable to compile necessary statistical data, It only retains mortality records, but not state by state vaccine record level data to compare with individual vaccine records with, as does the CMS, to compile normal, uncomplicated equations that a competent agency does as a routine matter . Nor will it ask for or seek the relevant data out. That is deliberate.
For that matter, the CDC has been known to invent fictitious statistics, however. In one famous case, it was to support distribution of a corona virus vaccine for a non-existent outbreak it had stopped keeping data for. Without the appropriate drama to call on, they invented claims of 20 million non-existent confirmed cases.
The data for the pandemic has been available since the very day the "vaccine" was first offered. Of the agencies mentioned above, if one extrapolates their authority and reticence to act in a responsible manner and applies it to similar Authority across the globe, it would appear that notice of this emergency has been deliberately withheld from its citizens from the very start.
Inevitably, there will be more who come forward with proofs of the misconduct. Unless all communications are stifled with martial law installed by Emergency Order. That kind of anxiety created can not be contained.
More likely we will witness ludicrous displays of diversion, blame and denial. The proof is in our face already. For months now, in plain sight. Yet it's human nature's normalcy bias that restrains logic. As well for any who may stand accused.
The real collapse will be of a financial nature, a domino effect across the globe. I feel no corresponding paralysis. I believe it is near, beginning with elections in numerous countries next year heralding a sea changecertain to be accompanied by revolt. It may require an endpoint closing in on the end of the decade. It's not our first rodeo, indicating its not an apocalypse. It's just time.
I've followed this Covid topic since its origin. Many others have not. Still more might feel incapable of forming an opinion, so they just go along in their hopelessness. In the face of presenting government and its partners an opinion, dissenting speech i.e, one might remember this; Although Pharma company vaccine producers have their various supporters as well as immunity from civil litigation, they are not immune from criminal prosecution. Willful negligence, under a perceived cloak of invulnerability, is not a defense. At some point the responsible parties must relent.
Health worker arrested after allegedly misusing data to spread vaccine misinformation
Stuff magazine, NZ; ... the individual had worked in the health system for a number of years, and was authorised to access data as part of his work.
His mandate had been to create a publicly accessible, interactive website in New Zealand for vaccinated individuals in a payment portal and others seeking information. "Winston Smith" is a statistician, holds a masters degree in science and is previously a voluntary recipient of the gene therapy injection.
He began to notice anomalies in statistics reported for the "jab" recipients, specifically, excess deaths correlating with certain batches of the vaccine above normal levels, exceeded by as much as 20%.
Armstrong Economics, US: ... an injunction had been granted by the Employment Relations Authority that prevents any publication of the data (click here to see a video interview; with data included).
Zerohedge, ... Moderna is spying on you, employing an array of former FBI, Secret Service, and pharma-funded NGOs to police what it calls “vaccine misinformation” online.
Why will it not reveal pertinent information then to quell suspicion?
I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you. Read the comments at Zerohedge and you might be shocked, too. Choose "best" from the selection of comment rankings offered and it might blow your mind.
Or, you may choose to run and hide under the bed, cover your ears and sing "la la la" real loud to drown out the world. I know some people like that who attest they don't want to be confronted with such disturbing content. Nice - while you can still avoid it. At least they won't hear the TV.
Relentless behavioral modification makes Jack a dull boy.
I'm a little bit different. When the FDA approved mRNA gene therapy jabs for children, my state's Department of Public Instruction was ready. They announced their plan to provide "vaccinations" for children on Wisconsin public school grounds - on the same day.
I immediately asked the local school board administration for records of communication between it and the State offices. Our Governor had shown an inordinate interest in our state's youth and outcomes bordering on prurient obsession. Or, he was chasing mandates from CDC grants and other federal largess. After divesting the public pension plan from all "fossil fuel" investment, I prefer it were the latter.
"Sure," the secretary replied. "Tell us what you need and we'll tell you how much we charge." They do say that Freedom comes at a cost ...
I chose instead to request the Superintendent himself comment on what measures the Board should take in the event of injury from the jabs and what liability they should expect. The next open comment meeting was scheduled for that evening. Being ambitious, as well as a good little helper to the state apparatus, he replied, with a marked degree of disdain, that he would not even consider the subject on the agenda. I was just a little surprised at his fervor.
But it wasn't a week gone by that the gene therapy vaxx plan for children was abandoned - across the entire state.
Saturday, November 11, 2023
Last Man
My best friend Steve is a Vietnam vet. Bless his heart, he never broached the subject, nor did I, until I’d known him for a few years.
he told me some tales, witty, sardonic,
with some hilarious punchlines thrown in and, quite often, disturbingly surreal. He’d won
a medal for stealing a jeep once … it’s a long story, I couldn’t tell it like he could.
We have a last man's club of sorts; one bottle Johnny Walker Black, one
pair clean socks, a pack of Winston's, stuffed
into a re-gifted wine box – everything a guy needs.
Someday, one of us will get to piss on the other's grave.
Dragon's Breath
the forest alight in flame,
red, green, orange, black!
laughing, a ghost beckons,
beautiful and serene
Monday, October 16, 2023
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
10 - 10 - 10
Her voice echoed down the alley, bouncing off the buildings, loud in the
crisp air. Once strident and accusatory, now pleading, bemoaning the
hour, the situation, a bit more aggressive. Shutting the walk-up loft's
battered door carefully behind him, he quickened his pace. She was
holding her own. He wondered when she would contradict herself. As
though it mattered.
"Ma'am. We're just saying there have been complaints."
A man's voice. It carried a warning. He was becoming annoyed. The three
chevrons on his sleeve heaved and roiled, biceps flexing nervously, the
blue cloth barely restraining them. Behind where he stood two squads
cars waited in the little parking space. Just beyond the altercation
beginning to unfold, hidden from the view of passersby, lay a respite of
sorts.
Tucked into a notch between buildings, its few humble
features remained relatively undisturbed, placed with care and an eye
for design. Two worn but sturdy benches flanked a huge circular picnic
table with seats attached, liberated from the back of the bar next door.
During a somewhat drunken debauch of self-righteousness, it had been
rolled away in broad daylight. There it stood at odd angles to three
wooden planters with found weeds inside, strains of native prairie
plants a thousand years old, seeds carried on a jet stream.
From a Shepard's hook in a corner hung a bird feeder and chimes, a
place to store ladders and other implements on the opposite. Always at
the ready, a cooking grill stood in the center. Neat and orderly as any
English garden, a border of Perennials completed the scene. The tiny
oasis belied the bleakness of the neighborhood's meager prospects. It
was a sanctuary literally carved out of the asphalt.
Humming and clicking as they cooled, the police cars squatted
menacingly, paint schemes in black and white a stark contrast to the
gold insignias like badges on each door. The constant babble of radioed
dispatches emitted unintelligible commands to anyone more than a few
feet distant. Adding to the cacophony, strobe lights flashing red and
blue, every surface of worn Chicago brick bedazzled without mercy.
She seemed oblivious to the danger despite this tension. "Or is
she", he thought? He couldn't be sure even now. Implacably forceful or
subtly benign, her moods could stymie him. At times it made him want to
retreat. Walking out quietly, sometimes he did, or to go for a drive. He
would jump on the trampoline with her other times. She could engage on
an uncomfortably personal level, arguing every point impossible somehow,
total strangers or her beloveds, until he forgot how it started. It
didn't often matter, since both were adult children of alcoholics, or
was it a peculiarity of the neighborhood?
Two more officers lingered in the shadows, chattering quietly like bored observers watching a ballgame.
"Why can't we enjoy our birthdays! It's just a little party!" Her speech slurred slightly. " It's 10-10-10!"
As though explaining to the dullest of children, she enunciated
with an emphasis of particular stridency, tangential or not, sibilants
less distinct with each phrase.
"We can't even celebrate our birthdays?!" She repeated dates and numbers to anybody who might be listening.
Closer now, he inhaled and breathed out, slowed his walk, willing
himself a compliant posture. Making sure to stay in the light, he held
both hands open and in plain sight.
Nearing the end of his patience, the Sargeant's voice took on a darker tone.
"Ma'am, we've been called out twice. Next time, somebody's going down."
He wasn't having any circular arguments. The warning had been directed
at the both of them.
The husband directed his gaze at his wife only and smiled.
"What'cha doin', hon? Gettin' into a fight with the cops?" like
berating a little girl, he continued, calmly yet each word with the
slightest emphasis.
"I just took the dogs in now. We're all goin' in - right now."
Both promise and order, an offer of compliance to the Sargeant, feigned
admonishment to his wife. Surely she knew how to respond? The situation
had turned serious.
He'd been in a similar situation years earlier and only a few blocks
away. Like this one, it started with the neighbors and a noise complaint
raising someone's ire. Subsequently, a radio turned too loud set off a
chain of events uncommon to a local noise ordinance. With the right set
of personality traits any situation can escalate from the ridiculous to
sublime. Involving police contact, in an instant a right horror show.
The
complainant was known to the police department as a serial caller to
911 who placed grievances against the officers responding if she felt
slighted or deemed "enforcement" was lacking.
The lady of that house
where the call was made on became belligerent enough to be put under
arrest. A guest, practically a stranger, inexplicably jumped up and
assaulted one officer.
Calls went out for back up. Stuck in a no man's land, the husband went
to ground when an officer stuck his fingers in his eyes from behind.
Eerily calm, he complimented the effectiveness of the hold. This earned
him curses, boots and a tasing he didn't even feel, so involved was he
in the wonder of police tactics.
Sixteen officers responded to the call in all, a few were acquaintances
from the tavern they'd both frequent. A vehement argument broke out with
the first officers on the scene. Fisticuffs broke out in the middle of
the street. None of this appeared on the record. A witness later quipped
the scene resembled sharks at a kill.
What had set off this misfortune? The husband told his wife to get in
the house. His voice attracted the attention of an angry Lieutenant on
scene. He then gave chase to the wife who managed to elude him. She
locked the screen door behind her and then taunted him through the
screen as he commanded her to come out. The husband eluded three tackles
before his capture.
Many years later, they both understood the other's most subtle gestures. As if on cue, respond she did.
Abruptly turning on her heel, she marched off in the opposite direction.
Her arms and elbows apace with her gait, it appeared as though to make
a last stand in the garden cul de sac. For the briefest of moments he
looked after her not sure what to do.
Well aware that pursuit of this one could lead in many unexpected
directions, he remained still. Quietly, he observed her gamine walk, so
compelling and graceful, a rare species in retreat, the insides of her
long wrists exposed and turned slightly askew.
For whatever odd reason, the strains of a familiar love song came to
him. Maybe a chord from a car stereo passing on Highway 61 set it off.
This conjured up a picture, a gathering of people your Mother wouldn't
approve of, its melody lilting, an old standard Norteno style, lyrics
evoking casual friendships become intense affairs and grown more
entwined than bargained for. An odd exhilaration overcame him then,
reckless and inviting, shivering up his spine. He exhaled quickly, like
stifling an errant laugh during a sermon in church. His humor was
doubtlessly irreverent, however.
At that moment she, too, was overcome. Her voice was always one that
carried. Nor did it go unnoticed this time. an obscene insult hung
precariously in the crisp, night air, taunting as an errant curve ball.
And in that instant the situation changed. Authority had been breached.
Egos were at stake. A determination had to be made. This ball was about
to be smacked out of the park.
Throughout the shift the young cop riding shotgun beside the Sargeant
remained quiet and motionless. Therefore he was unnoticed. Slumped in
the car seat as he was, he was able to observe without being seen, a
tactic he'd learned during two tours in Afghanistan and the Mid East.
He'd also learned the art of ambush, training extensively in assault
tactics, before transfer to a Police unit attached to JSOC. A stranger
in a strange land, he'd guarded and arrested foreigners and friendlies
alike; even stood patrol over some peculiarly questionable fields of
native crops.
Mostly, his duties were apprehensions involving rapid, fully armed
actions against unknown targets. The bulk were turkey walks, fully
equipped squadrons against one or two unarmed suspects, actions
Blackwater and other unnamed mercenary units wouldn't or couldn't
handle.
On his discharge he'd locked in a police department job within just a
few weeks. This was his 6th actual duty night out, and he was bored to
death. Like the sound of a starter's gun, his demeanor burst from quiet
watcher to angry agitation.
"What did you say, Ma'am?!" No response. "Wait a minute - come back here!"
The last order barked with command. He'd had enough posh talk - any
patience he'd learned on this job had suddenly regressed to tactical
training and muscle memory.
Barely able to wrest control, the weary Sargeant looked ready to
stand down and let the excited rookie run with it. But, in his haste,
the newbie had locked himself in the car. He hadn't learned to be a good
Jump Out Boy yet, tackling unassuming pedestrians with a leap out of a
moving SUV from behind tinted windows. Robbed of this exhilaration, he
cursed his inattention and fumbled with the handle.
The husband still hadn't moved. He lingered as though in deep
contemplation, then eyeing his wife's retreat, seemingly unaware of the
forces gathering around him. Actually, struck by the incongruity and
happenstance, he marveled at the chain of events that had led to that
point in time, its escalation and Absurdity.
In his position to "agree" with the new recruit and stand down would be
the safest course. He felt the aggravation in his voice and the menace
below its surface. His funds were low and bail for two would be
impossible on short notice. The country was still in a Recession. The
multi-billion dollar industry of fraud carried on unabated. He lived by
his wits and his craft, breadwinner an anachronism, building a name for
himself in the Black Economy at worst.
Who would want to spend the weekend in jail anyway? You could get
roughed up in the process - he'd heard the stories of the trip up the
isolated jailhouse elevator. The memory inherent in unchecked authority
washed over him like an icy blackness. Sighing inaudibly, he gathered
himself as the young cop flung open the door. He turned, with a smile, and then spoke.
"Ahhh, she's just had too much to drink is all."
Short of leering, his grin widened, a little over the top but for a lack of concern in his eye. The display distracted the young cop. He hadn't trained quite this way. He'd certainly never been confronted so.
The husband's body language reverted to a cat taking pleasure in teasing a mouse.
" ... gee, officer - guess I better get control of my bitch."
each in turn,
the crickets all go silent -
Autumn's voice
` ` ` ;;;;;
Monday, October 9, 2023
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Greta Poses For The Camera