Legend of the Corsair

So, finally, after fearing for a while that the floor would collapse in the downstairs bathroom... the maintenance people came in, ripped out the floor down to the original mill planks, and then put in a new floor. Unfortunately they didn't rip out the whole floor, as that would require them to remove the bathtub and sink... They just replaced that which surrounds the toilet and that without anything else on top of it. They didn't check the wall behind the toilet either... because it has mold growing on it (which I've been battling with clorox) and it seems obvious that there is some water damage back there. GAH! I've got some pictures as well, but don't know if I'll post them. When they'd ripped up the floor (after removing the toilet temporarily) there was that soaked downed wood smell that you get when you walk through a recently rained on forest... think of those logs on the side of the trail that are in various stages of rotting away, that was what my floor smelled like.

So, only have five seats left on the Halloween Hayride (October 29th) if anyone in the CT/new england area wants in, let me know. There is also a tentative plan (for those who haven't gotten enough by then) to go on the Trail of Terror. Which, I've finally remembered was where we went after the Hayride that first year. This is the super scary gore fest type of thing, put on by firefighters and police officers every year as a fund raiser for various charities, this year is for the Red Cross. The first trip had me all Halloween ecstatic, very cool... The second had me seeing shit out of the corner of my eye on the drive home. We had stopped at a McDonald's on the way home (only thing we could find open) and every time someone would drive by to the drive in I thought I saw evil clowns and whatnot in the cars. Heh.

Yum yum yummy yum. Just finished off the last of my delectable cornish hen dinner... Wow. I hadn't realized how delicious the little birds could be - or how much meat is hidden within their juicy tenderness. Going to have to have that more often.

Ahhhhhhhh. That and the home-made Eggnog that I had at the holiday party today. (The professor who made it is a genius! and they put RUM in it!) I had no idea that graduate holiday parties had alcohol involved! Mwahahahahahahahaha!

Alright, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to add another wish to (or ideas for modifying existing wishes on) my Christmas list. This isn't any ordinary wish-list mind you. It is a list filled with benevolent goodness and good wishes to all the world.

JOY TO THE WORLD!

WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS.
Inspired by: Robert Green Ingersoll (1897)

If I had the power to produce exactly what I want for Christmas, it would be this…

I would have all the kings, emperors and dictators resign and allow people to govern themselves.

I would have all the nobility crop their titles and redistribute the land back to the people.

I would have the Pope throw away the tiara, take off the sacred vestments, and admit to not acting in God’s name that they are not infallible -- but is just an ordinary person I would have all the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests imams, monks, and clergyfolk of all denominations admit that they know nothing about theology, the nature or existence of sin, hell or heaven, the destiny of the human race, devils or ghosts, or gods and angels. I would have them tell all their "flocks" to think for themselves, to be their best selves, and to do all in their power to increase the sum of human happiness.

I would have those that believe truly be tolerant of those who believe otherwise, and vice versa.

I would have all the professors in colleges, all the teachers in schools of every kind, including those in Sunday schools, agree that they would teach only what they know, that they would not palm off guesses as demonstrated truths.

I would like to see all the politicians changed into true representatives -- who long to make their country great and free, -- who care more for public good than private gain -- and who long to be of use.

I would like to see all the editors of papers and magazines agree to print the truth and nothing but the truth, to avoid all slander and misrepresentation, and to let the private affairs of the people alone.

I would like to see the repealing of all laws that do anything but work to prevent the harm of another.

I would like to see the prevention of all unwanted pregnancies – so that each child that enters this world is wanted and loved.

I would like to see corporal punishment done away with in every home, in every school, in every asylum, reformatory, and prison. Cruelty hardens and degrades, kindness reforms and ennobles.

I would like to see the millionaires of the world unite and form a trust for the public good.

I would like to see that the worker not be alienated from that which they create, so that they feel connected to their community. I would like it if each and every possible job were chosen because the person wants to do it -- rather than having to do it to make ends meet – that their livelihood is not their means of survival but their mode of fulfillment and satisfaction.

I would like to see an effective international court established in which to settle disputes between nations, so that armies could be disbanded and the great navies allowed to rust and rot in perfect peace.

I would like to see the whole world free -- free from injustice -- free from superstition – free from desperation – free from inhumanities visited upon them by their fellow human.

This will do for this Christmas. Next Christmas, I may want more.

The Living Room, Manchester CT, December 2004.