Wattle and Daub - 2

"Shiloh what?"

"Shiloh's casualties were five times greater than Bull Run, a previous engagement. People were shocked, and like, what's next?"

"No comparison. Today's wars are economic and global."

"It's similar in that people felt the sudden realization their world was crumbling and they feared the possibility of being involved in armed conflict and violent confrontations in the near future."

"Sudden? They've had plenty of time to realize what's going on. They haven't been paying attention, too distracted by media hype and political propaganda."

"Hard times empower fringe groups, history shows us. Some people compare the present situation to the Weimar Republic in Germany after world war one. They say we're facing high inflation, a credit market collapse, social unrest, and possibly even domestic warfare."

"You are empowering these fringe groups by repeating their dire predictions."

"If Israel has atomic bombs how come Iran can't have one?"

"Hey, stop right there. I do not want to hear it. What happened to your book about the old neighborhood?"

"I'm still working on it. But nobody's gonna wanna read it. It's not very good. I'm not enjoying writing it, like I thought I would. After researching the last eighty years, looking for subplots and background stories, I've come to the conclusion that the world has always been in a state continuous change, including this neighborhood. And I've just been lucky enough to live in my own little dream world."

"Lucky isn't the word for it. Here, try some of this fresh bud from the dispensary."

"I'll stay with my gin and juice, thank you."

"Here, try it. You should stop drinking alcohol. It pickles your liver and alters the blood flow to your brain. That's why you worry so much."

"And smoking ganja doesn't fry your lungs? Altering oxygen flow to your brain? Which explains your lack of attention span and short term memory loss?"

"That's BS. I'll put my attention span and short term memory up against any of the so called scientists who author reports substantiating that kind of prohibitionist propaganda."

"Wow, this is good weed. But it blows my gin buzz away. And I'm not ready for that. One thing at a time. I've cut back on my pharmaceuticals. The meatless diet seems to be helping. Eating lots of fresh fruit and nuts actually does relieves the pain in my joints and muscles and I'm not relying on medication so much."

"Keep working on it. You'll live to be a hundred."

"I'm not sure I wanna live that long, not if environmental pollution continues at the present rate and our water supply becomes privatized by multinational corporations more concerned with their profits than our health."

"Then do something about it. Or die trying."