11 August, 2019
This is a story originally published in 2013 as "Across the miles of time and space:" it is something I wanted to resurrect from the archives and put forth anew. jbd
*****
In still darkness of a cold winter morning, somewhere on the North American continent, a person lay awake in the predawn hours, pondering Fate. While huddling beneath a layer of blankets, so thick it impeded movement, a prayer formed, and simple heartfelt words went forth from a sleepy mind, into the vastness of the Universe. "May the warmth of my spirit, joined with the fire of kindred souls, surround someone deeply in need, so chill may not end that life, but it might continue and the world may be a better place."
***
My beloved friend,
It has been too long since we held each other close and I feel I have neglected you in not writing sooner. My reports to the Committee will not be nearly as extensive as that esteemed body may have wished: I find myself more or less confined to one continent on this planet. Not physically, mind you, but financially. Though not impoverished, neither is it possible to flit hither and yon on my current budget. Although I have not been able to access other continents, it is well that I have made my "home" on one to which a wide variety of individuals come. Regarding the physical aspect, I am going to try one of the less conventional routes: it is certainly worth a try.
Have I ever told you about the Lady in the Harbor? An inspiring work of art and a thing of beauty, she proclaims: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (Sonnet titled The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus, 1849-1887)
Sadly, some have found the doors locked against them, the borders patrolled by snipers. Certainly border patrols should check for weapons, dangerous drugs and whatever else may threaten the safety of the populace. People are often "profiled" for the color of their skin or their lack of language skills. I think borders should be matters of geography only, not politics. But you know me, a pacifist who never met a stranger.
Being where I am, I encounter a vast number of individuals from different cultures and countries. Detailed reports on those cultures apparently satisfy the Council of Elders, as I have been neither recalled nor chastised.
You may be amused to know there are others like myself dwelling on this "third rock from the Sun." Sometimes I don't even have to go looking for them: they come to me. One individual who has come to my attention is Pharr-nah'um, though he now employs an appellation designed to help him blend in. Here on Earth, he has adopted "Frank," the name of his host body's original, or at least immediately previous, occupant. Only recently has Pharr come to the conclusion he has a Latino "heritage," so I may have to start calling him "Paco." It amuses me in a tender sort of way when he says, "I'm Mexican now." I told him simply, but matter-of-factly, we had an outpost *there* too. His eyes got big as he asked, "You've been there?" My sole response was an enigmatic smile. It's best not to tell everything one knows. So many times while in Texas, which is itself another world, someone would say, "You don't have to tell everything you know." I listened and took the advice to heart. Recently, I have learned the term "star children" is employed to describe/explain us. Perhaps, in time, we will be fully accepted into the populace and not have to disguise our origins.
Frank came to Earth approximately a quarter-century ago. I should specify that is not one of our centuries, but Earth years: 365 days per year, 24 hours per day. Ever fourth year is Leap Year and they add an extra day, but you get the idea.
He came from a little known region in the Outback of the Milky Way galaxy. We met during a holiday season, in a communal gathering place. With him were "his" wife and two of their grandchildren. He proved very companionable and occasionally, we would take a stroll and chat. Thus we learned we both had ties to Far North Country.
After several months, he divulged his origins. I was astonished, but never doubtful. It is my belief he did so because he sensed not only a sympathetic soul, but a kindred spirit. When one has been a long time in a foreign land, among strange people, one seeks someone in whom to confide, with whom one can be oneself. Then again, it is entirely possible Pharr has been here so long he has simply lost his edge and his sense of discretion.
I have yet to determine what brought "Frank" to Earth, and perhaps I will never fully ascertain the reason. It may be of no consequence to my ultimate purpose. Maybe Pharr-nah'um was just passing by when the host body became available and he decided to drop in. Another possibility: he may be a fugitive from his home planet, which I won't divulge even to you, dear friend, in case he is a secret agent and would be in severe jeopardy if his cover were blown. Far be it from me to consciously compromise another person's mission, another being's life. Perhaps he ran away from home and simply could not find his way back.
It is possible Frank is an exile or political refugee. What is important to me is his companionship. It is also a relief to have someone with whom one can "let down one's hair" as an idiomatic expression phrases it.
As he divulges his secret to more and more people, I cannot help fearing for his safety. Insofar as it depends on me, I will protect him from ridicule. He's quite a scrapper and probably doesn't require any assistance or validation from me, but my presence will be available if and/or when, needed. I stand by my friends, sometimes to my detriment. A schoolmate once remarked on my propensity for collecting "broken" people. Truly, there is a tender spot in my heart for those whom the world has thrown away or deemed somewhat less than "worthy." Someone has to champion society's underdogs and since dogs have always appealed to me, it seems my destiny.
Not so very long ago, Pharr and I went for a twilight stroll with two of the quadrupeds in his care. Overhead, lights were visible, signaling the presence of some flying craft. "How do you know that's not a spaceship?" he queried.
Well, of course, I could not be absolutely certain but postulated if it were, those guiding the craft would be wise to keep on going. Some Earthlings are so smug and self-righteous and there have been a number of films which have portrayed these less-than-admirable traits. There are those who would murder and dissect other sentient beings in the name of their *God-given right* to know. It makes me so sad.
It dismays and disgusts me that some people continue to treat other creatures, particularly other humans - but also non-humans, as if they own them! What do you suppose it will take to convince them the best relationships are partnerships?
True, there are work animals - actually, we are all, in effect, "work animals," but workers are most productive if treated well and not exploited. I suppose we must live within the bounds of society, which decrees our "pecking order" to a certain extent, but there is never a justifiable reason for cruelty or exploitation.
***
I find the efforts to communicate between peoples and species remarkable at times and woefully inadequate at others. There are numerable sources which do translations - which vary in quality and accuracy. There are also those individuals who care nothing about trying to understand any language but the one to which they were born, their mama-loshen or, mother tongue. There are even individuals who regularly communicate with non-humans. Unfortunately, the practice does not enjoy a great deal of credence yet. Many of us continue in our hope for future enlightenment.
Language, spoken and written, is a fascinating device, is it not? The hominid bipeds dwelling here are born with the ability to produce all the phonemes of every [human] language, but lose many of those that remain unused, which causes different accents and is part of the reason older people find it difficult to learn a different language or speak it naturally. Languages engage the senses as well as the intellect. There are the sounds one hears as well as those one makes. The eyes are used to read, obviously, but some of the Eastern languages also delight the eyes with their fanciful curlicues and delicate brush strokes. The different tones employed by various tongues provide a rich symphony to accompany day-to-day life. The tone-deaf or xenophobic might use the term "cacophony," in the most derisive way possible, as it seems their habit to dismiss anything unfamiliar in disparaging terms. They relegate whole cultures to insignificance and irrelevance.
Do you not find such creatures pitiable? They deny themselves much richness, at the same time thwarting the alien who may wish to share something of him/herself. Here is a planet with such rich diversity in languages, species and ideology - a veritable feast - and some would have us subsist on soda crackers and water, proverbially speaking.
Mind you, some would consider themselves blessed indeed to have such meager fare available. It is truly unacceptable that any should go hungry amidst such plenty. Should one choose to fast or deny oneself in order to ritually purify the body or seek spiritual enlightenment, that is a matter of choice. But to insist that everyone starve because you have chosen to do without, is wrong. Yet there are fanatics who would deny not only themselves, but everyone. It is beyond my ken. In a world abounding in sensory delights, those who hunger and thirst, whether for knowledge or food, should have opportunity to sate themselves.
Languages and species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate, yet some neither know, nor care. Early in the Twenty-First Century, the last native speaker of a lesser-known Scots dialect died. Just happened to catch that on the news, yet so many more pass completely unnoticed. It wounds my soul to know there are beings who pass out of this plane of existence with no one to mourn them. Some go unnoticed in death, as they did in life.
I have now spent six [Earth] decades on this planet - half a lifetime in our world. One is amazed by how much there is to celebrate and how much to grieve! Do I have the words to tell you even part of the story? And if I do, shall my heart not burst in joy or break in sorrow at the telling?
Where to begin? Might as well start with the people. They can best be summed up as a "beautiful mess." They are given these glorious bodies to inhabit which, even with so-called flaws, are exquisite, extraordinary marvels of design!
For the moment, let us exclude the more tragic cases and address the "average" person. The male of the species stands, I believe, somewhere between six feet and two meters tall and carries on his frame roughly 190 pounds, abbreviated lb [one pound=16 ounces] to 100 kilograms, Kg. It seems overall, men are quite content with themselves as they are. The female of the species is typically smaller than the male, and much less content, overall. [This dissatisfaction is encouraged by patriarchy, to diminish the innate power of women.]
In ages long past, it seems to have been women who held governing power and they were revered as life-bearers. It is unclear to me what led to women being perceived as less worthy, less able, but it seems they are so considered.
Political machinations aside, there is an even more pervasive threat against the well-being of the people. When it happened, I am not sure, maybe it has always been a factor, but some demented entity saw fit to appoint itself an expert on "beauty." Among the results: sex is used to sell everything from drain cleaners to auto insurance. A sacred mystery has been stripped of its beauty and dignity, for something as insignificant as monetary gain.
"Fashion" comes not only from outside one's gender, but from within. Whalebone corsets were once all the rage and women have more or less willingly disfigured themselves through the ages. Who knows how many ribs were broken, trying to achieve "wasp" waists, or how many feet were rendered useless by binding? For longer than you can imagine, people have been told how they should look to attract a mate, get a job, rise in social ranks. Although both sexes are subject to these arbitrary standards, it seems women more readily accept them. Women are taught to be ashamed of the talents with which they are imbued, as well as their glorious bodies.
Within the last few years, some director doing a guest spot on a morning show, said there had been a part open for a "nerdy" girl. Of those who auditioned, the best actress was considered "too pretty" - as if brains and beauty could not possibly co-exist in the same person - so he decided to "frizz her hair a little." This is one area where men fare only a little better than women.
Intellectually gifted persons are most often portrayed as socially and sexually inept and somewhat undesirable. I have always found smart to be sexy. I wonder if the unflattering stereotype is perpetuated because some less-than-brilliant people have only their looks going for them? Though loathsome and pitiful, some find it necessary to demean others just to make themselves feel better.
Generations of women have starved themselves into a false idea of beauty and some have died as a result. This has got to stop! It is gratifying that some bold, innovative people have rebelled and thereby reclaimed their bodies. It renews hope in the species. Make no mistake, they have so very far to go, despite their progress.
Ah, mijn liefste, how I long to dwell once again among a people who revere their home, respect themselves and cherish others, regardless of race or species. What serene joy one would know, could one live a life free from fear. Yes, we were once a warring people, who very nearly destroyed ourselves and our planet. Thanks to the Source of Life, we denounced the madness of self-destruction. Obviously, the humours run high in some individuals and for a time our world regrettably allowed Might to become "Right." It seems that's where this world is. Pray the good which dwells within them, conquers the evil seeking to subject them. Some of these poor fools think compassion a weakness to be overcome. Alas, they could not be more wrong.
There is so much promise, potential, they simply must wake up before they totally destroy themselves and this planet. Sadly, there seems to be no "device" that will force realization, rather they must come to it in their own time. I hope they do not run out.
On the morning of 14 December, 2012, in a fairly quiet New England town, East Coast, United States of America, a gunman murdered more than two dozen people, about two-thirds of whom were elementary school students. This, after shooting his own mother.
[Half-way 'round the globe, another madman, this time in China, attacked 20-some children with a knife. But at least the Chinese kids survived. This attack occurred within days of the other.]
It boggles the mind: what kind of monster attacks innocent little children? Perhaps not a monster, so much as someone dreadfully misunderstood? Both these events will be analyzed for days, weeks, possibly years, to come. People will look at: issues of weapons control, some thinking more weapons to be the answer; treatment of mental illness, many treatment facilities being closed; even, incongruous as it may be, whether or not there is prayer in school - though this latter-most seems politically motivated and inconsequential to the tragedy.
The real monsters are those with no sense of decency whatsoever, who perpetrate scams, playing on people's sympathy, or exploiting their gullibility, for monetary gain. Despicable.
Once again, people will tear their hair and ask, "Has the world gone mad?" And there seems to be no answer or, rather, an unwillingness to claim accountability. Pictures of the Connecticut shooter show a youth with haunted eyes. Obviously evil exists, but these people are made, not born. This boy in a man's body was once a child as innocent as those he destroyed. Was he denied parental love, was something short-circuited in his brain, did he use mind-altering drugs? The world may never know.
It seems the media, claiming the people's right to be informed, glamorize these episodes. Sadly, they either cannot see or do not care that they are contributing to the destruction - of the species, the civilization, the planet.
Should it come to destruction, I wonder if persons like "Frank" and myself will remember how to get back to our homes far away - if the violent shock waves spare our far-flung planets.
As it is, Earthlings may be in danger of breeding themselves out of existence. Not content to let nature take its course, some can, for a price, add their "two-cents worth" to the gene pool, whether or not it is advisable. It matters not whether they will be fit parents, only if they have the money to afford the requisite procedures.
There are now more than seven billion humans populating Earth. Population has more than doubled during my brief tenure here. And yet some two percent, yes you read that correctly - 2% - control upwards of 85 percent of this world's wealth. Adding to the injustice, those with the money do not even bother to be "benevolent despots." If the haves even condescendingly cared for the have-nots, it might be considered a redeemable quality. Instead, it seems the ultra-wealthy want to starve the poor, not just into submission but out of existence - as though by eliminating a social stratum there will be more for them. Do they not realize goods don't just materialize: someone has to manufacture them. It's not as though they would be willing to get their own hands dirty. They probably think that is why *God invented Third World countries* - to be exploited.
Being just "middle class," at least in the United States of America, apparently isn't good enough any more. It seems most people there seem to think they have to be "super-rich" to matter. Other cultures appear more gracious and realistic. There is an adage: "Do not educate your children to be rich, educate them to be happy, so when they grow up, they will know the value of things, not the price." Would that more people adhered to this.
This planet could sustain all its inhabitants, numerous though they be, comfortably; or at very least, adequately. When the One whom Christians refer to as the Christ [Greek: anointed] said "The poor you have always with you," I believe it was a challenge - issued in hopes humanity would prove the statement erroneous.
Tell me, what do you think are their chances of learning the value of a life not based on a monetary system? My heart aches at not being able to convince more of them that one's value lies in being worthy, not in one's "net worth." I will have more confidence in this species when they learn to cherish one another, regardless of age, gender, income, weight, size, shape, sexuality or any other arbitrary or external difference.
Often, it seems to me I have failed in my purpose. What difference have I made? Even among my nearest and dearest, there are those who do not grasp the concept of living within their means. The thing that keeps me living instead of giving up and dying, is hope. Whether or not the hope is justified remains to be seen, but as the tomorrows continue to come, this individual will be on hand to greet the new day and see what it holds in store, for as long as Sacred decrees.
It has long bothered me that the United States, more than any other culture, seems to neglect their elderly, often to the point of abuse. One is aware that many cultures used to "cull" those who were weak or impaired, to maintain the strength of the tribe. It wasn't all bad. But to dismiss viable, productive people merely because they have crossed some invisible line and reached a certain age is absurd. People use the visible, the tangible, to determine worth, ignoring intangible values, such as spirituality, experience and intellect. When the value of spirituality and other intangibles is questioned, I ask the one posing the question to consider an existence devoid of art, music, literature or other diversions. Even so, there will always be those who cannot see merit in what they deem unproductive. Those poor souls are already dead inside and their bodies do not know it.
Realization has been a long time coming, but I now know this is my last stop in the galactic journey and there are those I will never, in this life, see again. Although an "infant" upon arrival, I had to have been old enough to have experience "under my belt" to find my way here and make a go of things. My degree of success is still in question. Being away for so long has caused me to forget some things for a time, which is undoubtedly how that morsel of information eluded me until recently. I am now aware, and fully accept, this is the second half of my lifespan. I intend to live it to the fullest!
There are no regrets, as this has been a rich and rewarding existence. So many extraordinary individuals have crossed my path, either in the flesh or by some other means. Among those in the former category are my family, of whom I must mention my children, David and Dawn. One I carried in my body, the other came into my life as an adult. They will forever remain in my heart.
There are so many friends who have changed my life, but I would be seriously remiss should I fail to mention Angelina, John and Lynda, Delta and Debbie. It is no exaggeration to say that without their intervention, I may well have died.
Those in the "other means" category are no less dear to me and now I cannot imagine a life without "Macc," who has himself become one with the cosmos, as well as Debra; a Judge in South Carolina; and oh so many others. Sputnik and his human are also part of my universe and I value the laughter and joy they have brought me. I have touched them and they have touched me. Well, Sputnik is not aware of my existence, but at least one of his humans is. My most cherished dream is to actually meet some of these people to whom I now feel so deeply connected. In recent cycles, orbiting Sun, that dream has been partially realized.
I do consider myself fortunate to have found a family so accepting of the wide range of talents and personalities exhibited by my "siblings" and myself. For years, it seemed I was more like Dad's side of the family, but age has given me a stronger physical resemblance to my mother. Then came the stunning revelation that she did more than just give birth to me: she was the vessel through whom I entered this world! The extent of her sacrifices becomes clearer, humbling me.
Even in her growing frailty, she possessed an undeniable, indomitable, strength. She awes me still, and I am proud, indeed honored, to be her firstborn. Each moment spent with her is etched on my heart. Since last we communicated, that lovely woman has departed this realm and is now part of The Eternal Oneness.
The man who parented me and helped shape my values always stood as a larger-than-life patriarch, revered and respected not only by his children, but nieces and nephews - for two or three generations. Should my circle of influence spread so far, I would hope those affected would bless my name, as I bless his.Though he is bent with age, he remains indeed formidable.
Time and again, it comes to me how fortune has smiled upon me. Every child should be welcomed into a loving home and have basic human needs met. All creatures deserve to be surrounded by love and beauty. Our home was not opulent but definitely more than adequate and the key element was love: our parents loved each other and us - as a family and as individuals. That love is an inextricable part of who we are and may well have affected our DNA.
We should all aspire to leave the place looking better than we found it, that's what being a good steward means. If nothing else, may I be remembered as a good steward, a friend of the Earth, a friend of its inhabitants, a friend of the Universe.
*****
Hopefully, this lengthy missive has not worn out my welcome with you. There were many other points considered, but it may be better to leave them for another time. This is not the last you will hear from me: there are too many words yet unwritten, unspoken.
This will ultimately be finding its way to many who do not know me as you do, and for that I am thankful. For that reason, it has been designed not only as an intimate correspondence between myself and you, my very dear friend, but a love-letter to the far reaches of Time and Space.
Grace and Peace,
J.
