The Thrill Report #082301 [081201]
Conversation Pieces

Since I have so few conversations with people, I find I no longer need Conversation Pieces. This may be one of the greatest, if unexpected, rewards of aloneness, as in the “cut from the herd” variety. As the loss of friends and family reached apogee with nothing on the horizon to fill the seeming void, I was suddenly struck by the uselessness of all my possessions. It was as if the only reason I had all my “stuff” was to fluff myself up for others. Without “others” there’s really no reason to be fluffy. I already know who I am. The last thing I need is a pile of evidence to prove it to myself. I know I’m for REAL.

Maintaining my Conversation Pieces takes up the lion’s share of my limited resources. Lately my Conversation Pieces are better housed than I am. I work over half a month for our upkeep. My Conversation Pieces occupy 700 square feet of closet space while I live in about 100 square feet. Something is drastically wrong with this equation.

I look around at all the things I have and my eyes light on my library. As I look at the shelves and shelves of books I realize, with a start, that I already know everything that’s in these books. I don’t even have to open them to know what’s inside. I have a sudden flash that the only reason I have them now is to use them to explain things to you, dear reader, but if you’re no longer in my life, what point is there in maintaining such a burden? Do you have any idea how much my library weighs?

All the pounds and pounds of history in my library can be summed up in the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt and the subsequent Diaspora. When you know what happened in Egypt you know everything that has happened right on up to today. It’s that simple. Ah, but simplicity doesn’t serve the monetary monolith with its diabolical pyramid scheming enslavement opportunities. Books destroy Trees. There is money in this. Many books destroy Forests. There’s a lot of money in this. Useless books destroy minds and a destroyed mind is easy to manipulate. Now we’re talking! A manipulated mind is a slave. Slaves are cheap. Slaves are profitable. Slaves are good sayeth d’evil. Therefore d’evil publishes lots and lots of books. See how it works?

Slaves are Conversation Pieces for the pyramid schemers. Football is a Conversation Piece for slaves. My, how the male variety go on and on about it. During the season they park themselves in groups in front of Satan’s Altar, with an abundant supply of beer close at hand. Certain beer is a big Conversation Piece with key words that automatically build camaraderie. “Gimme a Bud!” they say, poking each other in the ribs as they guffaw loudly. There’s no mistaking which team they consider themselves a part of. Their plumage replicates the colors and logos of their team of choice. They resemble human sandwich boards. Cheap advertising for the pyramid schemers. Slaves must work even when they’re not working. The pyramid schemers don’t like to see their property idle.

Conversation Pieces are big business. The car business is big on Conversation Pieces. People don’t drive cars, they drive Conversation Pieces. My girlfriends and I were guilty of this in high school. There was a guy in our neighborhood who had a cherry, metallic blue, ‘50 Merc, molded, tuck and rolled, just like James Dean’s car in “Rebel Without A Cause”. We used to go out with his car, not him. If he had had an old klunker, none of us would have given him the time of day. Tacky, eh?

What about these women who marry for money? They are real big on Conversation Pieces. If the guy loses all his money, what then? No Conversation Pieces, no conversation.

I invite you to look around yourself and imagine who and what you might be if you were suddenly broke and all your friends and family disappeared. How much of what you surround yourself with would have any real value? If you can answer that question you just might have some idea of what the world is all about. It may begin to dawn on you why you are constantly being encouraged to want more, bigger, better Conversation Pieces. Ya gotta keep the conversation goin’ otherwise ya just might notice that you really don’t have a whole lot to say.

Jana Janus
The Rogue Butterfly
Scribe in the Ancient Language of Thrill