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In the Name of Progress

At first they are just rumors, idle gossip - speculations.  Then, before you know it, they've brought in the heavy equipment, causing unexpected groans and little disruptions here and there.

You're not liking all this and now you are paying closer attention to little annoyances.  You are noticing the groans and creaks becoming more frequent and the landscape has already begun to change and has affected the conversations around you.

There are lines where things were smooth and the ground cover has become sparse.  Even the color has been plowed under exposing the roots to the harsh sun.

No one seems to know their completion date.  It's like everyone's is different.

Progress my foot!

By the time it's all done it will take one heck of a mortician to put things back the way they were.




zc

Black & White

I liked movies better in black and white.  Stories were told better before they added color. Violence took place in the shadows and threats were never more severe than buttering someone's necktie.

Lighting and music were added to enhance only and never used to distract or deafen.  The stories were carried on their own merits, without special effects.

Those were the days.  No computer graphics, no product placement or heavy-handed message, just good inexpensive entertainment with reasonably priced popcorn.

Things were simpler back then, nothing complicated.  Life was pretty much black and white.





Z. Corwin
Two cents worth

 

The Telling of a Story

The storm has washed the beach of tourists and joggers and has left seaweed and jellyfish in their place.

Seagulls struggle against the wind, apparently unaware a change in direction would make life easier.


In looking for a fun and pleasant DVD to watch I find almost 93% come with warnings of violence, language, drug use, and or crude humor.  Has society fallen so far into the gutter that disgusting is now the new norm?  How hard can it be just to tell a nice story?

Example:

While driving through the parking lot this morning I noticed a fish laying on the pavement.  Being at the beach I expect it was accidently dropped by a bird, known to his friends as Butterfingers.

Hopefully the fish passed quietly during flight.  I expect, however, if Hollywood were telling the story they'd show a slow motion close-up of the Hawk's claws digging into the sides of the fish, followed by a grimacing expression on the face of the fish. 

And who wouldn't want Dolby surround sound of the poor fish gasping for air as it is plucked from the ocean?


I would tell the same story this way;

Two elderly people sitting on their first floor balcony.  One is reading a John Grisham while the other searches for the answer to 5 across: The Capital of Malta.

Thud!

What was that?

"What was what?"

The Time Capsule

We set our beach chairs and umbrella just down a ways from the condo. We knew we'd have lots of time to read our books as it was currently low tide. We'd have hours of sun and leisure time before the waves worked their way back in.  No one else was around, with the exception of several surfers out hoping to catch the big one.

I had not noticed it but Wanda pointed out a child's pail and shovel just to our left.  I got up from my beach chair, no easy feat, and sat down on the sand next to the pail.  I told Wanda I was going to build a sand castle.  She told me I looked like an idiot.  I ignored her and started building my foundation.  I couldn't even remember doing this as a kid, but I must have.  It was fun, although I wasn't sure how I was going to get back up again.

As I dug, my shovel struck something buried in the sand.  I continued to dig it up and quickly discovered it was a mayonnaise jar.  The lid was screwed on tight and the jar had been filled with trinkets.  My guess was that it was a child's time capsule.  How cool.  I looked over to show Wanda but she had fallen asleep.

I didn't want to mess with it but as I looked through the jar I could see a small, plastic Army man, a troll doll, two different Star Wars figures, and some things I wasn't sure of.  Immediately I thought how fun it would be if I added something.  Whenever the kids came back to dig up their time capsule they'd be quite surprised to find a new treasure.

I went back to the condo and got a Crown Royal bag and I rolled up a two dollar bill to put in it.  Back on the beach I opened the jar and stuffed the bag inside.  All I had to do now was bury it again.  I put it back in the same hole, covered it up and smoothed over my footprints.  It looked like no one had been there.

I then went back to my beach chair and opened my book to where I had left off.  Just then Wanda woke up and looked over at me. 

"How's your book?"

It's not all that good.  I'm thinking of burying it and let someone in the future read it.