Wattle and Daub
"Those soldiers disrespected them people in that house down the street, the way they conducted the whole operation."
"Those weren't soldiers. That was the police."
"They were dressed like soldiers and they acted like soldiers."
"And how do you know how soldiers act?"
"They acted like the US soldiers you see in the news from Afghanistan."
"If you're obeying the law, you have nothing to worry about."
"The wrong house gets raided all the time."
"You're exaggerating again."
"No, I'm not. I wanna move outta here. This neighborhood is full of crack houses and meth labs. And the local police force is a privatized mercenary army."
"But there's also a medical marijuana dispensary, an affordable food coop, and a variety of ethnic restaurants, all within walking distance."
"Yeah, and we're surrounded by multinational immigrants attracted by the low priced real estate."
"That means the world is coming to us."
"I want my old world back."
"Write a book about it."
"I will."
"I'm waiting."
"I'll need your help."
"You have it."
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Author's Note
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That’s MY neighborhood, and I love it!
Hi, Steven. Yes, I love it, too. Yet I'm also concerned about the rate and the direction of change. And about who is making the decisions and why. And about what happens to the people just trying to survive and stay cool. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I want a neighborhood like that, minus the crack houses and Nazi police force, of course. I like your dialogue stories JMC--they're always real.
Really like the form here, J Mykell.
Hi, JP. Yes, minus the crack houses and Nazi police force: which has been partially funded and justified by the war on drugs and further justified by the war on terror, both of which can be classified as disaster politics, to go along with the disaster economics, to shock the world into submission, by an absolute authority. Thanks for reading, I like your comments.
Hi, Sam. Thanks for reading it. I greatly appreciate.
Like very much.
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Hi, Bill. Thank you very much for reading and commenting and *.
So much universal in the particular here. Especially, "I want my old world back." *
Fave.
Hi, Beate. Yes, I tried to imply a universal phenomenon in the sense that similar economic and cultural changes are happening to everyone and we all need to adjust. Wattle and daub is an ancient structural technique fitting many different pieces together which mutually support one another. Thanks for reading and commenting and *.
Hi, David. Thanks for reading. And the fave.
i immediately thought of "mercier et camier" or other beckett pieces when i saw the title. that drew me here. the dialogue is compelling, at times like news clippings, very HERE. good stuff.
I liked it. It appropriately represents the fears of our times.
Hi, Christopher. The fears of our times, yes, that's exactly right. There is a narrative to go along with it, of course, but I left most of that out to simplify. Thanks for reading. I greatly appreciate.
Hi, Marcus. Beckett? The title, yes. The rest, not so much. Beckett realized he would remain in the shadow of Joyce if he tried to follow the same principle idea: using his superior knowledge to shape and control the creative world. Instead, he focused on not-knowing and no-can-do. My characters are somewhere in between. Their knowledge is practical and mundane. Their conversation sounds "at times like news clippings" because their world is saturated with media hype and political propaganda. I'm adding some narrative within the dialogue but I'm trying to keep it tight and short, here and now. Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate that very much.