“Be careful what you wish for.”

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There is a political dimension beyond that which is known to mankind. It is a dimension as vast as a budget projection and as timeless as a filibuster. It is the far right mind, after logic and reason, denying science and holding onto superstition, and it lies deep inside the pit of man’s fears and the lack of his knowledge. This is the dimension of libertarians, Tea Partiers, and Republicans. It is an area which we call the FarRight Zone.
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Walter P. Rehnquist  was a self-made man, according to his own self-evaluation; an evaluation shared by his friends, colleagues, and the talking heads he listened to daily on Talk Radio.  Walter was a salesman, an occupation that required frequent travel, overnight stays, and time spent alone.  His income was solely dependent on his ability to sell and his rewards were in the form of cash commissions at the end of each month.

 

Walter was also a firm believer in free markets, the rugged individual, and he thought of regulations and taxes with contempt.  And welfare?  Welfare was just a way of rewarding lazy people all at his expense through class warfare, government transfer of wealth, and the makers being victimized by the takers.

It was a Monday morning and as usual, Walter woke up in a hotel room, hundreds of miles from home.  He flew into town Sunday night, got his rental car at the rental kiosk, checked into his hotel, grabbed a quick meal at the restaurant, and then retired to his room where he went over the agenda for the following day, what calls to make, deals to close, and prospects to begin.

His morning ritual was well rehearsed.  A quick stop at the hotel breakfast bar, stop into the convenient store for some breath mints and the local newspaper, then out to the rental car and the beginning of his sales routine.  Most times, if visiting a warehouse or factory, he’d stop at a doughnut shop on the way and pick up a dozen or two.  Nothing made a sale easier than a box of doughnuts.  He’d plan his biggest sales pitch for midday, an opportunity to take a client out to lunch.  Finally, at the end of the business day, he’d take a good client out to dinner.  After all that, it was back to the hotel, a good night’s sleep, complementary hotel breakfast, and off the airport in the morning.

It was that next morning, at the breakfast bar, where Walter had the occasion to meet another traveler who remarked to something that Walter had muttered rather loudly while watching the morning newscast playing on the flat screen TV at the breakfast bar.  The news segment was on wages, the growing number of low paying jobs in America, and the growing reliance of people with full time jobs having to depend on Medicaid, food assistance, subsidized housing and more.  Walter, upset with this welfare state that took his hard earned money and handed it to the lazy takers, muttered rather loudly, “Why don’t these people simply improve their skill sets, expand their education, and get better jobs!? Why don’t they just work hard to support themselves and stop demanding other people’s money?”

The other traveler replied, “Do you honestly think that there are that many better jobs out there, and even if there were, who would fill the ones they left?”

Walter shot back in an angry tone, “There are plenty of jobs out there. You just have to be willing to work hard and improve your skill set.  And the jobs these people are doing now?  They are meant for high school kids and never intended as a real job!”

“If you could have your way and make it so, would you?” asked the traveler.

“You bet your ass I would”, Walter replied as he grabbed his briefcase and headed out, but not until leaving the traveler with a parting comment, “I make my money on my own, pulled up by my own boot straps.  It’s time these takers did the same, get off their ass and make something of themselves instead of living off me!”  And off he went.

The traveler whispered one reply as he waved good day to Walter, “Be careful what you wish for.”

 

 

The following morning, in another city, far from home, Walter slept in his hotel room.  He was exhausted as the flight was delayed by thunderstorms and the flight itself was as turbulent as he’s even been through.  When he checked into the hotel, the night clerk explained that they had lost power because of the storms, handed Walter a flashlight and wished him a good night.  With the aid of that small flashlight, Walter was able to find his room and had just enough energy to flop down on the bed, falling fast asleep.

At 6:00 AM, his phone alarm went off and he switched the lights on in his room.   At least the power was back, he thought to himself.  What he saw next was almost frightening.  The room was a mess.  It was clearly never cleaned after the previous guest.  At least he was lucky enough to have slept in the unused bed, as the other was a mess.  There were used towels in the bath room, no one had vacuumed, and the trash cans were filled with empty beer bottles and greasy pizza poxes. Walter called the front desk immediately.  The phone rand and rang until finally, the desk clerk answered.

“Excuse me”, Walter shouted into the phone, “But I expected a clean room, not the remnants of a frat party!”

The clerk was sorry, but explained that they are severely understaffed at the moment.  It seems that all the housekeeping staff had been taking night courses and were now working at better, high paying jobs, so there was no one left to clean Walter’s toilet, make his bed, or clean his room.

“You did get a clean bed”, the clerk reminded Walter, “We pride ourselves on always leaving one clean bed. It’s part of our marketing message!”

Disgusted, Walter took a shower, trying to avoid the old Band-Aids and hair that collected at the drain.  He packed his bags and headed to the breakfast bar only to find more disappointment.  A “Box of Joe” (cold) from Dunkin Donuts and two stale bagels (no cream cheese) were all that remained.   The desk clerk, seeing Walters mounting anger, chimed in, “Those were fresh yesterday.  The local Dunkin Donuts is only open for a few hours each morning, as the kids who work there have to go to school by 8:00.  If you stay on a weekend, or during the summer vacation, there’s fresh coffee and donuts every day!

“Why the hell are they using school kids”, Walter asked, “When there are plenty of people looking for a job?

“Not in this town, sir”, the clerk replied, looking up from the laptop computer where he was taking an on-line course and planned to be a CPA in a few months, “Out here, most all people have those good paying jobs.  No one’s left for the ones you’re looking for.”

The rest of the day was a continued disaster.  The convenient store was closed.  A sign on the door said, “Will Open at 3:00, unless there is Band Practice where we will open at 4:00”   Trying to take his clients out to lunch was equally futile as only one restaurant was open and there was a line out the door.

Water had had enough and decided to leave this town and fly home.  Only problem was that he was low on gas and as luck would have it, all the gas stations were closed until 4:00 when high school kids worked there.  Walter ran out of gas, in more ways than one.  He left the car at the side of the road, grabbed his suitcase and briefcase, and hoped to make it to the airport in time.

Finally, his luck had changed, or so he thought.  A passing car pulled over and the driver signaled him to hop in.  As Walter entered the car, he recognized the face. It was the traveler.

“Having a rough one?”, the traveler asked.

“You have no idea.  Thanks for the lift.  Can you take me to the airport”?

“No problem, I think we’re on the same flight”.

Walter never wondered how the traveler knew what flight he was on, he was just happy to be leaving that area and head home.  Getting through the airport was miserable.  There was trash everywhere, no Sky Caps to help with luggage and the coffee shops were closed, of course.  After another long delay in a filthy airline gate, they were on board and waiting for takeoff.

Once in the air, the plane began to pitch and roll.  At one point, Walter feared they would definitely crash.  He pushed the overhead button for assistance.  When the attendant arrived, he asked her what the problems were.  Was there a storm?  Are there mechanical problems?   The flight attendant just smiled and explained, “Well sir, this is only Jimmy’s first month flying and he’s still getting used to things.  He just had a fight with his parents because they won’t let him stay over tonight.  He has to fly straight home because he has finals tomorrow!  But relax, Jimmy’s only crashed once before and there were quite a few survivors.  Think positive!”

You talk about Jimmy as if he’s a high school kid!” Walter shouted.

“Well of course he is, “the traveler chimed in.  Who else would take this low paying job?

In a flash, the plane entered a tailspin and Walter screamed, the traveler laughed out loud with evil glee, and Jimmy hoped this would not mean he’d get fired this time.

Epilogue:

Walter died in that plane crash, although a few survived.  However, just prior to his death, Walter’s life did indeed flash before his eyes. He saw how the hotel housekeepers, convenient store clerks, gas station attendants, kitchen cooks & dishwashers and all the others (including he pilots in some cases) were absolutely vital to him and his ability to amass his fortune.  It was not they who fed off of him, taking his money, it was he who was a financial leach upon them in his selfish denial of how much his fortune he owed them in return.

And the traveler?  He met Walter in the afterlife, still laughing with that evil glee.

Finally, Jimmy survived as well but remember, until we find the solution, Jimmy could be piloting your next flight…..