A Glibertarians Exclusive: Setting Suns, Part IV
The cave – 28,000 years ago
Eba sat in the morning sunshine, idle for a few moments, enjoying the warm sun and the cool sea breeze on her face.
Beside her sat Podo. His mate, Gra, had not survived the journey back to the seaside cave, slipping silently away in her sleep the first night on the trip back home. But Podo had shown unexpected reserves of strength. Good food and a dose of hope had revived the old man, and despite the loss of his mate he had stumped along the last day of the journey walking on his own, leaning on a stout stick. The clan had welcomed him, and Tuk had said the words that made him one of them in the eyes of the spirits.
The one thing he had insisted on bringing from his old home, aside from the shapeless ibex-skin wrap he wore, was his drum. The drum was like nothing Eba had seen before: A short length of a hollow birch trunk with scraped deerskin over one end. Podo had the habit of tapping on it reflectively while thinking, as he was doing now.
The tapping stopped suddenly. Eba looked over at the old man.
“We are the last, you know,” Podo said.
“The last?”
“Of the People,” Podo said. “We are all there is. My children are gone, taken by sickness. Gra lies in her grave on the plain. We, here, are all.”
“We cannot be all,” Eba objected.
“We are all,” Podo affirmed. “The spirits, girl, they talk to me in the night.”
“Tuk talks to the spirits. He has said nothing of this.”
“The spirits talk for their own reasons,” Podo said. “They do not tell all they know.”
He began tapping on the drum again, tapping with his thumb on the stretched deerskin, a simple rhythm, a sharp pom followed by three lesser ones, repeated, over and over. The clan began to gather around, curious, as Podo began to sing, quietly at first, then louder.
In the time before the People,
In the days of wind and ice,
The spirits moved over the land.
Oo-sha, the spirit of wind,
Ee-sha, the spirit of earth,
Rah-sha, the spirit of fire,
Wha-sha, the spirit of water,
Moved over the land.
The spirits softened the land.
They melted the ice.
They brought forth the trees and the grass.
They brought forth the auroch, the reindeer, and the ibex.
They brought forth Thunder Speaker, the great mammoth.
They brought forth the People.
Man and woman, they made the People.
The spirits loved the People and made them strong.
The spirits gave the People speech, so they could talk.
The spirits gave the People fire, so they could cook.
The spirits gave the People minds, so they could hunt.
All this, the spirits did, and all was good.
The People hunted, and ate, and grew strong.
The People had many young and moved freely on the land.
Came the Runners!
The words seemed to flow effortlessly from the old man, as though carried on the wind.
The Runners are many,
They chase the game from forest to mountain.
The People moved away,
Away from the long-legged ones,
Across the mountains.
Across the plains.
The sea now stops their journey.
The spirits speak to them,
The spirits speak to the elders,
The old ways are done.
Podo looked at Eba. Tears rolled down his face, from his big eyes under the arched, overhanging brow ridges, past his big, broad nose. “I’m sorry, little one,” he said. “I can only sing what the spirits whisper to me.”
“I know,” Eba replied. Her eyes were wet, too.
Tuk stood nearby, looking concerned. “Podo,” he said. “Grandfather. The spirits whispered to you these things?”
“They did,” Podo agreed. “They do.”
Tuk frowned. “Why?”
“So I could sing the story to you,” Podo said.
Sensing the clans’ discomfiture, Hoo started talking very rapidly. “The spirits, yes, they talk to Podo, and to Tuk, and to all of us, and all of us hear them say different things. But our fire and our stomachs still need tended to. Gula, Tep, Kleg, Vekk, see to your tools. Tomorrow, we will hunt! Eba, Eda, Fu, Pok, take the women this afternoon to gather wood for smoking meat. Podo, worry no more about listening to spirits. We have enough to deal with here.”
The clan separated, knowing Hoo was right, and went about their tasks. But as evening came, they assembled, quietly, on the small shelf of rock overlooking the sea. As Podo sat, humming to himself, and tapping gently on his drum, the People – the last of the People – sat quietly, close together, looking out over the sea.
***
I remember breezes,
From winds inside your body,
Keep me high.
Like I told you,
I’ll sing to them this story.
And know why.
Note: This one isn’t a Bob Dylan creation but was in fact written by The Grateful Dead’s Donna Jean Godchaux. You can hear the original here.
Thanks Animal
Current events as history repeats itself. There are some that believe Podo may be closer to the truth.
I think I’m one of them.
Thanks, Animal. A sad but excellent chapter.
But our fire and our stomachs still need tended to. Gula, Tep, Kleg, Vekk, see to your tools. Tomorrow, we will hunt! Eba, Eda, Fu, Pok, take the women this afternoon to gather wood for smoking meat. Podo, worry no more about listening to spirits. We have enough to deal with here.
Keeping busy is a good idea.
/Remembers Radon, no more landfills, mine tailings in Lake Superior, now CO2. And yet people get fatter, hooked on drugs and Chicago.
I never thought Chicago could be so addictive.
It’s a hard habit to break.
Opera clap
Hard to say I’m sorry.
Does anybody really care?
My favorite
Same old show, in a different town, on another time
I get the impression I’ve missed a reference.
I was thinking of mudertown and casserole.
Sensei, Gender Traitor, and I posted lyrics from Chicago songs.
kinnath’s link should explain it (the visual at the link, anyway.)
So did Sean, which is what got the whole thing started.
@GT 😉
From the bad years. No wonder I missed the reference.
Famous Last Words
The following day Kath died by his own hand when he visited Don Johnson, one of Chicago’s roadies, at his home in Los Angeles. Kath had been known to enjoy target shooting and frequently carried guns on his person. At Johnson’s, the guitarist began to play with his .38 revolver, spinning it around on his finger, then suddenly pointing at his head and pulling the trigger.
Naturally, Johnson got nervous and asked Kath to stop. However, Kath insisted that his guns were empty and that the clips weren’t even in. He picked up his 9mm pistol and spoke his last words, “What do you think I’m going to do? Blow my brains out?” To reassure Johnson, Kath showed him the empty clip, reinserted it into the weapon, put it to his temple and pulled the trigger.
Tragically, perhaps unbeknownst to Kath, the gun was loaded, and he died instantly from the gunshot at the age of 31. Several of Kath’s friends and bandmates have insisted that the incident was indeed an accident despite their prior worries over his mental health. However, Danny Seraphine also noted that Kath’s preferred combination of drugs and guns was always likely to end up in tragedy.
He said, “Terry could handle more drugs than any human being I have ever met. Way more than the normal bear. But it was killing him. He collected guns and started taking them everywhere. And guns and drugs are a bad combination.” Regardless of what it was that prompted Kath to pull the trigger – whether he was merely toying with Johnson or whether he indeed had suicidal tendencies – he is remembered as one of the finest musicians of the 20th Century.
The band carried on and had many hits, but disco era Chicago mostly sucked without Kath.
It is always loaded, even when it’s unloaded.
It’s loaded until you’ve cleared it yourself. Even then, don’t be stupid.
I won’t even look down the bore after removing the mechanism. I have to look from the breach end of the barrel to look for signs of issues.
ditto
Before a night of heavy drug binging and fake suicide play it always behooves one to check the chamber.
@stinky I shouldn’t have laughed so hard at that.
“We may now enjoy the dreams we shared so long ago” [seems appropriate]
I am really enjoying this series.
For those of you wanting to catch up. Be forewarned, Part III is a real tear-jerker.
Shitshow update: septic d-box has solids in it and still don’t know if the problem is a clog or broken pipe. I think it’s a clog but going to let the septic boys jet and camera the line this afternoon and pump the d-box. Thought about doing it myself but don’t want to flush any (more) solid/scum into the drainfield.
Let professionals deal with that shit. That’s why they charge so much.
Good reminder. I’m overdue for a cleaning. Just made a call to have em pump the tank on Wednesday.
I’d do that if the professionals fixed it the first time. I’m not unhappy with the guys doing it, but the industry, or at least the companies around here, are game playing nickel & diming parts changers.
If it’s like in my neck of the woods, licenses are limited and you don’t get very many choices and they have a local monopoly on the trade, so good luck consumer.
Sounds like a shitty deal.
It stinks, but it’s even worse if you don’t do it.
Good luck. Our septic line broke with an irreparable clog just as my wife contracted norovirus. Flushing just backfilled into the basement. It happened soon after we moved here and didn’t know the right people. Ended up taking 5 days to get someone here to replace. 5 days of no indoor plumbing with norovirus. It was as fun as it sounds.
We have an active septic system that has no leach field. We have an annual maintenance contract, and it gets cleaned twice a year. Zero issues after 18 years in the ground.
The $350 a year in maintenance is a nuisance, but at least there are never any surprizes.
Shitshow update: septic d-box has solids in it and still don’t know if the problem is a clog or broken pipe. I think it’s a clog but going to let the septic boys jet and camera the line this afternoon and pump the d-box. Thought about doing it myself but don’t want to flush any (more) solid/scum into the drainfield.
I missed the opening chapter. Did you have a back-up in the house?
Partial, just gurgling. Pulled the cleanup plug outside and dug up the lid, then got it pumped out. Were thinking issue was just tank needed to be pumped, to baffles issue, to now beyond the outlet from the tank.
They brought forth Thunder Speaker, the
great mammoth.338 Win Mag.That was deliberate, yes. I just like the sound of it.
Should be year round, bigot.
ADMIRAL LEVINE, Biden’s assistant secretary for health, says it’s no longer just Pride month — it’s a “Summer of Pride”
“Admiral.”
Admiral Dick can piss right off with that shit.
The Summer of George!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUx7v75V2dg
(Frisbee golf, Yusef!)
Nyet
Nice addition animal,
They won’t hang my super-straight flag either.
More than 3,500 Starbucks workers across the country have shut down 150 stores over stalled contract negotiations and the alleged removing of Pride Month décor.
In Los Angeles, a group of unionized workers protested outside their Cypress Park store while wearing rainbow clothing and holding signs.
‘Starbucks has taken down Pride flags in most stores and I feel a bit lied to as a place that wants you to express yourself and it encourages inclusivity,’ said one employee.
The employee, who identified herself as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, said she sees the removal of the décor as a betrayal of the company’s values.
‘It just shows that Starbucks doesn’t really have my back, or my community’s back.’
‘They won’t hang my super-straight flag either.’
Is it the color of vanilla?
https://tenor.com/view/super-straight-flag-superstraightflag-black-and-orange-gif-20661065
That is fugly.
It’s the official orientation of the Pittsburgh Steelers apparently.
lol
Wait, isn’t the one symbol supposed to be … ‘poking’ the other symbol with its… symbol?
Thanks, Animal., I always enjoy these. The ancients were on to something. Or on something, perhaps. But “spirits speaking to me” is as good an explanation of the creative process as anything else we’ve come up with over millenia. And they’ve been shouting at you recently.
I have some… different stuff coming along, too. Stay tuned to this channel for more!
I wish I had more time to write.
I’m stuck in the most boring remedial training because it’s a mixed-aptitude class.
ADMIRAL LEVINE, Biden’s assistant secretary for health, says it’s no longer just Pride month — it’s a “Summer of Pride”
Remember, ADMIRAL, it’s your duty to go down with the ship.