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 It's
right after Labor Day, one year from now (early September, 2004). Sara
has come over for coffee, at Mary Lou's house. It's Wednesday morning,
10:30 AM, their mid-week coffee time. They used to go out to Starbuck's.
But, as Mary Lou puts it: "It's just gotten SO expensive!"
Actually, the prices there haven't gone up much for several years. What
Mary Lou really means is, that she has SO much less discretionary spending
money, than she did, a year ago. But, Mary Lou would never (or could never)
say that.
Mary Lou: "Besides, this Java Roast (it's been on sale a lot, lately)
is so-o-o much better than their coffee, don't you think so, Sara? Besides,
it just seems somehow, more right to have coffee here, in the kitchen,
where we can gossip in peace!"
Sara knows what Mary Lou's saying, and why she's saying it. Mary Lou wants
to spend every moment she can, every precious moment she and her family
have left, here, in this huge kitchen; in this lovely 5br./4ba. home,
in a great school district; with the right neighbors, the right golf courses,
and the right church Little League, for Clancy. But she knows, somewhere,
way in the back of her mind, that there's a good chance that they aren't
going to have this much longer.
They have missed a mortgage payment already. Her husband still goes to
work. But, other than Sara, and Mary Lou's Mom, and Ted's Mom and Dad;
nobody knows, yet (at least, nobody's SUPPOSED to know) that Ted now goes
to a different job, in a different company, that pays a lot, lot less.
The kids don't know. They don't know why they couldn't have the new dragon-whatever-it-is-video
game. Mary Lou has actually been, sort-of, looking for a part-time job,
and Ted said something about "getting rid" of one or two of
their four Rottweilers, the other night.. "How could you even think
of that?", was Mary Lou's reaction. "They're full-fledged members
of the family! I don't care how much they eat! We'll get by, somehow."
Mary Lou used to get stoned a lot, back when she was at Michigan State.
She thinks about that quite often, these days. This is kind of like the
mornings when she would wake up in the dorm room, still coming down, and
she had a quiz that afternoon, in Sociology. Why would realizing that
she was soon to be a soccer mom at a very much more urban, dirtier soccer
field, with Blacks and Hispanics on Clancy's own soccer team; be like
coming down in her dorm room? It was a feeling. Somehow, it was that same
kind of feeling.
She knew she could still feel things, and understand things (as well as
ever, at least). Well, she never did understand all this politics and
terrorism she was barraged with, every time she turned on the TV!
Mary Lou burst out: "Thank God for the Disney Channel! Why can't
Walt Disney run for President? It seems like George Bush has been President
FOREVER, doesn't it?"
Sara: "I think it's all the bombings, and wars, and stuff. New York,
and Oakland, and, now, Paris... You know what I saw on CNN, or someplace,
Monday, Mary Lou? I almost called you. It was some Arab, or Egyptian;
one of those guys. He was some big shot. Anyway, he claimed that the CIA
had paid the terrorists to fly into the Twin Towers, in New York. Then,
they bombed the Oakland shipyards, and now, this thing in Paris; just
to get the polls up for Bush...that Bush's father had been behind the
whole thing in New York, because Bush Jr. hadn't really gotten, actually
elected; and everybody thought he was stupid, anyway.
He said that the oil companies had wanted to put a pipeline across Afghanistan.
But, the Taliban guys wouldn't let them. So, that's why we bombed them.
But, it was really the CIA that paid the Saudi Arabian terrorist guys'
families, to get them to fly the planes into the towers in New York, and
it didn't have anything to do with Afghanistan.
He said that Dick Cheney, and Rumsfeld, and Saddam Hussein were partners
in this oil deal, like, twenty years ago. And, Saddam screwed Cheney and
Rumsfeld on the deal. So, the whole thing of taking over Iraq was just
to pay Saddam back. It didn't have anything to do with weapons, or links
to al Qaeda, or anything like that. I mean, they could invade every one
of those countries, if they really wanted to make them more democratic,
'cause they're all just dictators, anyway!" And, they've all got
oil."
Mary Lou: "Want some more coffee?"
Sara: "This Arab guy said that, they did the bombing in California,
'cause Dean's ahead in the polls, and, with their Governor thing out there,
the Republicans figure they can carry California in the Presidential election,
maybe. The Republicans are, like, trying to say; 'Look, we're still at
war. Don't change horses in the middle of a stream... Stick with what
you know...you know. And now, Paris! God, you know there's something like,
over 8000 people dead there?"
Mary Lou: "I can't watch it."
Sara: "Now all the right-wing talk show guys are saying; "See,
those French people are getting what they deserve, 'cause they wouldn't
back us in Iraq!"
Mary Lou: "So, you and John are going to vote for Dean, right?"
Sara: "Well, yea. But, I mean, can he, or the Democrats, or ANYBODY
really do anything, NOW? I mean, the world... I mean the world, as we
knew it, Mary Lou; it's GONE! Have you realized that yet? Do you ever
think about that? ...about what it's going to be like for Clancy and Sally,
and my kids? I mean, maybe in twenty years, if we can stop all these wars
and bombings, all over the place. The U.S. can rebuild, and make things
to sell again. But, who's gonna BUY what we make? Nobody's got any money,
now!" Maybe China...
Mary Lou: "I bought a new "Terminator" DVD for the kids
(It was on sale.)! Don't tell them. It's to, kinda, make up for not buying
that "dragon game" thing. I know they'll love it! It's, maybe,
a little too old for Sally. But, what do you think... I've been wanting
to ask you, Sara, do you and John ever go to church, anymore? I've been
thinking about finding a new church. Does that ever occur to you? "
Sara: "Can I get a little more coffee? You know, I promised John
that I'd pick up that part for the SUV. I really need to get going pretty
soon..."
(c) 2003 Bill Bohannon all rights reserved.
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