clean water for xmas

Christmas is coming, Orphan said to Elf.

Tell me about it. I'm getting crazy wish lists from kids around the globe.

Give me an example of some serious needs.

Sure, here's one from a girl in Cambodia.

"Please give me clean drinking water. I have a cell phone. It's great for entertainment but useless when it comes to meeting my real needs. Call me and tell me where I can get the water. And, if it's not too much to ask, could you please give me some medicine? My grandmother is dying of a broken heart."

Whew, that's a tough one, said Orphan. What are you going to do?

Damn the Mekong River and divert a stream of life to her village. 

Sounds perfect. What about the medicine? 

Will a placebo heal a broken heart?

Take two and call me tomorrow. Tomorrow knows the answer.

draw god

Once upon a time there was a class of kids. An art class.

One girl who didn't pay much attention in class was seriously focused on drawing.

For 20 minutes she kept her head down working on her paper.

Her teacher was curious. He walked over.

What are you drawing, he asked.

I am drawing the face of God, she said.

Surprised, the teacher said, But no one has ever seen the face of God.

They will in a moment, she said.

edit the monster

A week of absence make the heart grow fonder. 

What have you been doing, asked Elf.

I've been red-lining a manuscript, said Orphan. I printed it out and did a line-by-line edit.

Been spilling red ink like blood for a week.

How short is it?

550 pages. 

If I had more time I'd make it shorter.

Rewriting is the party. Dance like nobody's looking.

"We work in the dark — we do what we can — we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art." - Henry James 

Cold Turkey

Yes, it's true, said a free spirit in a free world. You have to break down before you break through.

The difference between the sense of hearing and the skill of listening is attention. Good lesson, said a listener. 

Tell us a story about Cold Turkey.

It may interest you to know Turkey has the highest number of journalists in JAIL or PRISONS than any country in the world. More than China or Iran.

Sounds like a great place to speak your mind free from fear.

Yeah, free speech is cold in Turkey. Colder than leftovers.

What happened to open your head, open your heart and open your mouth?

Speaking free has it's risks. You can say that again. Censorship is alive and well. Best served cold.

Who cares? We can always go shopping.

Amnesty International.

nothing behind. everything in front.

He went to Turkey for 51 moments. 

He explored a 4,000 year old Roman city on the Black Sea. Citizens were hospitable. Strangers came and went.

He wandered to Sumela, a Greek monastery (386 A.D.) in the mountains. Murals covered fall changing colors.

It reminded him of Mesa Verde (600 A.D.) in Colorado. Cliff dwellings. Isolated. Peaceful.

 

He returned to Trap A Zone, photographed street life and attended an English teacher training class.

You have to complete a unit in 53 minutes, said the female administrator. Ryhmes with see you later alligator and procrastinator.

The economic fact she did not enunciate was the language school's objective:

PROFIT BEFORE PEOPLE

We enroll them, take their money, give them a textbook with a fancy CD and their class time. Your job is to push them through. One class means finishing 3 units in 3 hours.

After nine weeks, presto! they complete one level, we take their money and they advance toward a higher standard of living filled with past continuous verbs, fresh tomatoes and black olives garnished with hazelnuts.

Does Hazel have nuts? To be evaluated. 

A native speaker from O-Zone asked a question. Are students all the same level?

Close enough, she said. They know grammar rules like nobody's business. They lack vocabulary. They are afraid to speak. They are robotic victims of the educational system well trained to keep their mouth shut, read and memorize. You have no freedom to create fun, interesting, student-directed activities.

Just do the book. Everyone's happy, especially the accountant.

Thank you for your attention.