Nov
I don’t think ‘sorry’ is the hardest word. Personally, I struggle with archeopteryx, although it has to be said that it crops up in conversation far less. Be that as it may, we’ve been busy and you may all be thinking ‘heck, where’d the party go?’
Thorn has been recovering from some health challenges (he assures us no…ahem… clinics were harmed in the making of his recovery) and I’ve been knee-deep in flag waving and drum banging, and that was even after the election. (What? You thought I didn’t care? You can take the boy out of Staten Island and Oakland, but you can never take them out of this boy.)
So, please keep your entries coming in and Thorn will work his magic just as soon as he’s able. In the meantime, as I rush between clients, here’s a short story to share with your coffee, although other beverages are available.
We may not say much, but we’re still thinking of ya!
Derek & Thorn & the rest of the gang
x
DOLLAR BILLS BURNED IN THE STREETS by Derek Thompson
I suppose you could say that it started during the Occupy protests. That seems so long ago now, and a great deal has happened in the last 20 years. Back then burning a dollar was just a symbolic act of defiance, but once we became organized, a personal statement quickly became a national movement.
Some of us were fined for breaching the United States Code and we tried to pay with ash. The legal system quoted the law and we quoted 2 Samuel 13:19. More money was burned and so more money was printed, but the more they printed, the less it became worth.
People weren’t stupid – they knew that every economic system is based upon trust and integrity. If the dollar itself becomes so worthless that it isn’t legal tender for all debts, public and private then what use is it? That’s what we argued. And the more people they imprisoned, the more gathered outside, lighting up George Washington.
People were homeless and starving, begging on the streets, and the government did little. Oh, they talked about work programs and grand initiatives, but the rich stayed rich and the rest of us fended as best we could.
Every spare patch of land became a garden, a place whether communities could relearn how to grow food and become more self-sufficient. It became known as the Genesis Movement or 2:16. And as the gardens spread and our homes got repossessed, we created tent villages.
Many sections of so-called civilized society struggled on for a while, and they mocked us and scorned us. Sometimes the crops failed and we had to move on. That terrible drought, in the summer of 2023, left the Midwest like a dustbowl – it was the first televised Exodus, but it wouldn’t be the last.
Even now the government officials come here, offering us schemes, and regeneration programs, and promises that if we return to the gaming table it will all be different next time. We usually send them on to our church – that’s the big tent at the top of the field.
Know what we keep up there? You’ll never guess! It’s a single dollar bill. If you turn it over, right above the ONE, is our declaration of faith: IN GOD WE TRUST.
))_^^(Sending healing thoughts Thorne for a quick, and full recovery!
PS I have always enjoyed the adventures of the archeopter, ….errrr… archeopteryx!
It’s the original big bird!
Indeed! I remember carefully drawing one for my 6th grade science project. At the time there I had no connection to the grander themes, just a strange looking ancient skeleton of a large creature with wings. 🙂
Ah, they are the very best kind.
It’s hard to keep a good man down.
And, erm, good….
Thanks Derek for the warm and fuzzies