Cheryl

Then Arthur came along on his bike and I flagged him down. "I got a problem for you. The head gardener here thinks he going to get fired. Thinks they are going privatize the gardening. Says they did a million dollar study, recommended privatizing. For a million dollars - think they are going to recommend leaving it the same. I could have told them to privatize for ten dollars". Arthur said there were no immediate plans to privatize. In the long term they are thinking of it. Arthur talked to both me and my friend with the dog. He is very polite that way. I said these privatizers are as dumb as dirt. They going to take the tax dollars that went to all the public employees and give it to one guy, a private concern so he can get rich all by himself. Then he hires the cheapest labor available. One guy gets rich and all his employees stay poor. And the fired employees can't afford to spend money any more in the general economy which goes to pot. And these idiot privatizers can't understand what is wrong with the economy. They are doing all right. Must be the fault of the guvment. So what can I tell the gardener? I asked. Arthur said tell him not to worry about it. It won't be for a long time if ever.

After that I ran into an American black woman I see occasionally but had never talked with at length. She is probably about sixty, very skinny, elongated face, glasses, walks and stands with a bit of a crooked back, always wears a hat. Would take her to be a Christian. I did. She is very friendly and will talk to anyone. Always has many praises. So we began a conversation. She thinks we are all from one being and are all one thing. I said, "Sounds like a Pagan. I am a Pagan." She said I don't know terms. She said we are all one. I am not a Lord Jesus type. Well, I said, I took you for a Christian, but I think you are a Pagan. She said I don't know terms. I said you love everything and you appreciate everything. She said, "Oh I love life. I love the earth". I said the greatest gift one can ever get is to have is the gift of appreciation of the moment. "Oh yes", she said "everything is so wonderful". I said, "In this very moment right now it is so gorgeous. Look at that tranquil lake. How can one properly appreciate? To what degree of appreciation can one attain?"

She said she knows all the ducks, where they are and where they go. I said, "Did you see the new duck?" "It was over there", she said. "Yes. I know the story of that duck", she continued; "A mother and her daughter dropped it off. They couldn't keep it any more." "Thought someone had", I answered, "saw a family out her dropping off a duck. They would try to walk away and the duck would chase them. They would pick it up and carry it back. But that duck got adjusted, has lots of friends now and is doing well. And that was at least a couple of years ago."

Do you know the Runner Duck? I had to explain for awhile its characteristics. Someone dropped it off. I had never seen anything like it before. Went home and looked it up on the Internet. She remembered it. She thought it was just great and was thrilled by it. I told her it hung out with three other farm-like ducks all about the same size. I assumed they were two couples. They were always and still are together. Accept the runner duck ran off and got himself another woman, a plain Mallard. Left the other three for most of this summer. Lately they are all back together, but sometimes he is still herding that Mallard. She loves the Runner. "It is so slick". She said she didn't care if it was unfaithful. It was all great. Everything is fine. They do what they do. Well it did surprise me, I said. There was some ducks near by. She knew them all. They usually hung out on the other side. But today they were over here.

We walked along a bit. Then I saw the head-gardener. I said I got to go talk to this guy. You got nothing to worry about I told him. They are not planning to privatize for quite awhile, if ever. "How do you know this?" he asked. I know a guy who knows everybody. He knows these people. He said there is a long range consideration. He says you got nothing to worry about. He was sceptical. Probably already making other plans to dull the shock. How does this guy know? he says again. I'm telling you he knows everybody. He knows the people that make these decisions. Well OK, he smiles.

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