Sir Quixotic and Beau Manes had been traveling east from Cornwall for five days. They had delivered the treasure, taxes or ransom or whatever to the midget king. Well they had to go north a little too if you look at the map, so I guess you would have to say they had been traveling on an east northeast plane..oh forget it. They were on their way to Camelot the best way they knew how.

Well we have finished our quest, Quixotic noted, and every time I finish a quest, I feel this relief. It is like my bowels are free to perform their normal functions again.I do not know exactly where the feeling comes from. It is like one makes a commitment, a promise and the task is completed and there is this feeling of freedom for the knight errant.

I am new at this Sir Quixotic. I mean this is really my first quest. And I do feel like I have a new notch on my belt or feather in my cap.  But I have more of an empty feeling. I mean what is the point? We really are in the business of collecting ransoms and bringing them to crowns all over the kingdom, crowns that are all kin related. What am I ruing? I mean I am Gawain's brother and King Arthur's half brother. We take the rest of our monies to the King of Camelot and get to keep some folding money.

Gawain is now in charge of my father's estate, keeping an eye on my strange mother. So I will always be taken care of. My worst sins to be sure would include some whoring once in awhile and ending sentences with prepositions.

Oh but my dear Beau, do you not see that we have succeeded through cooperation and with trust.

I worry not that my back might be turned to you. I will suffer no harm. And I know that if we come up rascals in the field, we will become a team. We have already, in this short time built up a trust. And as my old school master Rumpole would say, we are beholden to each other without effort.

Rumpole would quote a great sage TheraP:

The importance of a theory, for me, is its usefulness.  And Erikson's theory shows how development extends over a life span.  It demonstrates the positives which enrich society and the negatives which may undermine society or civil discourse.  But the good thing is that when you can name something and see it as part of a pattern, it helps you "see" where the problems lie.  And maybe even to make use of the problems - by finding creative solutions.

It is a sad fact that blogging sometimes brings out the worst in people -- nay-saying, trolling, belittling.  This kind of behavior sows mistrust.  It tries to disrupt cooperation. often using shaming in the process.  You've seen such comments - comments at the lower levels of Erikson's developmental stages.

Here is simple rhyme that will help you remember how to categorize certain uphelpful comments, meant to distract or disrupt polite conversation:

        Those who throw poo       
        Trying to shame you       
        Teaching Stage II       


Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt.  That's Stage 2 of Erikson's theory.  The virtue of resolving that stage, as I've redefined it, is cooperation.  The person who learns to accept limits and to cooperate becomes more independent in the process.  Cooperation is so basic to society.  Just like trust.

Most of us learned this long ago.

Giving.  That's the basis of cooperation.  How often have you seen a tiny toddler going around a room giving?  That child is learning to "give up" and cooperate.

Self-less giving is the virtue of Stage 7:  Generativity.  I pass this piece of wisdom along:  Sometimes a heap of dung may yield the Pearl of Great Price.


And remember, after our allegiance to the Holy Trinity (blesses himself) and St. Michael and our knighthood and country. And after our allegiance to pride.  Our most importance allegiance is to the concept of charity. Taking time to help those less fortunate. Like when we helped the no so jolly Green Giant.

Wait a minute. You studied under Master Rumpole too? How old is that guy anyway?

Oh, I am not sure of his exact age but I do know that he has been awarded a case of Smuckers on more than one occasion. Sir Quixotic remarked.

Just then over the hill appeared Lancelot with a large following. Donkeys and birds and hedgehogs. A very strange array indeed. And an aura appeared over Lancelot. An aura of determination and purity.  

Sir Quixotic haled Lancelot and the three of them dismounted and greeted each other.

What is thy purpose Sir Lancelot.

Oh Sir Quixotic, it is soooo good to see you again. Why I do not believe we have greeted each other like this since Baden.  And Beau, my fellow country man.  How doest thou fare outside of the kitchen?

Just fine, Lancelot. But I admit as a rookie I fare much better with Sir Quixotic. He teaches me much about knighthood, even though he knows not how to dress.  

The three laughed at the line of the rookie and Lancelot began to describe his quest.

I seek the Holy Pail, that container used by My Lord & Savior Jesu Christe to wash the feet of the poor and afflicted.  It is said to carry with it an important message from the Holy Spirt (blesses himself twice since he missed the first reference to the Holy of Holies). A message of how we are best able to serve while in our mortal shell.

Just then a dwarf came running from the forest. In those days you see, there were a lot of dwarves in the forest. This was all before they got the contract with TruTV or is it Discovery? Oh well, the short ruffian suddenly appeared with alarm and distress.

Goodly knights, I seek your help. There is a horrible lord in these parts known as Duke Delay. He runs a factory that uses children as slave labor to manufacture these grill thingies as well as those funny mitts that chefs wear. The working conditions are abominable. The children are exposed to an incredibly impure heat and long hours before unforgiving machines.  They are chained to their work stations. And the prettier lads are made to give favors of a sort to the cruel overseers.

And what is worse is, the entire enterprise appears to be nothing but a tax dodge. Hiding monies from Camelot.

With mention of the tax dodge, Quixotic screeched: Damn the lunatic. Damn him I say. We must attack this fortress of solicitude and solitary confinement and free these children-as well as the tax dollars.

The three knights arose joined hands:

We shall pursue this quest till it has been completed. All for one and one for all.

With that they followed the directions given by the dwarf who was riding with Lancelot.

The boars who were toward the rear of the array, began discussing their plight. I thought we were seeking the Holy Pail.

Yes, but sometimes we must make short forays into other worlds. We must accede to some diversions.  Else what is life about.  Besides children sometimes have a fresh taste to be savored. Especially when the barbeque sauce is just right.

WHAT. WHAT!!!

The trio and entourage found the evil castle just before nightfall. It was a clear and starlet night with no moon. The moat around the castle was particularly grungy. Repubs never liked to work on infrastructure. After all, if you maintained everything for a long and prosperous future, what the hell would you need depreciation for?

The trio and a half discovered a wooden gate along the northern wall and began plotting how to exploit its flaws in order to reach access to the inner parts of the castle. The boars came in mighty handy. They butted and butted and butted the gate until it splintered into a hundred pieces. But three guards appeared armed to the teeth.

Lancelot came after them low while Beau Manes smashed them from on high. (I am not sure what that means, I just always wanted to say that too. Kind of like back at the ranch, you know?)

Sir Quixotic jabbed his sword into the guard who lunged for him and all was going just fine.
Fine and dandy.

The dwarf led them to the place where the children were chained. The trio followed and Beau discovered a key by the door and proceeded to open a lock. This enabled Quixotic to pull the chain from the other side, through all of the shackles on the children's ankles. A cheer went up from the cheribums. Lancelot quieted them. And Beau, sensing that the children would make good warriors in this context, led them to the tools from the factory to be used as weapons.

The children were led by the heroes to the war room. And the drunken and sleepy guards were subdued. While some became headless, the majority began crying and sobbing on their knees for mercy.

WHERE WAS YOUR MERCY TO US? Cried Bottomly, the de facto leader of the childen.

We were told we would be reported as traitors if we notified the authorities of the goings on here. We have our own children. We were lost and now we are found called Gorgon, the leader of the guards.

All of this torture and all of this carnage.........show us the way to this Duke Delay, cried Beau.

The trio was led to the Duke, lying with three beauties in his master bedroom. He sat up, astounded at this revolution. WHO DARES ATTACK THE DUKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. I SHALL HAVE YOUR HEADS, I SHALL NOTIFY KING ARTHUR IMMEDIATELY.

I am Lancelot du Lac, and in the modern idiom, YOU ARE SCREWED. I am the right hand of our sacred monarch and you shall be treated as a prisoner of war. What did you think you were doing. Enslaving children for profit. How doth thou defend such activity? This is your trial right now. You make your case before your jury. A jury of your peers. The peers that have been enslaved lo all these years.

Oh, the government would make things right. That is what you would have. Where would these children be without me?

There is a crisis of confidence in this country.  The lack of confidence is not in the free market.  It is a lack of confidence in the Obama administration...is it any wonder?  The Obama administration has quickly proven they have no idea why we are in this mess, refuse to admit any mistakes, and clearly aren't sure what to do about it.  Their lack of understanding was especially noticeable when I watched the Sunday shows.

Obama spokesmen Larry Summers, Austan Goolsbee, and Christina Romer -all academics or bureaucrats - have little to no credibility on the issue, and it shows.  None of them have run a business. None of them have had to make a payroll. None of them have had to make a sale.  None of them have had to make a fiduciary decision that would impact their own money.  Their worldviews are not capable of understanding the fundamentals of a free market. You add Secretary Geithner and President Obama to the list and you can see why the future looks bleak.

Austan Goolsbee on  Fox News Sunday: "the market for credit to small businesses has completely frozen". False.  I have spoken to business owners and bankers around the country, and they tell me that banks are making loans, but there are simply new standards for these loans. Instead of lending to people who can't afford it, those who have good credit are getting the loans.  Also very few businesses are simply not asking for increased lines of credit when President Obama is threatening higher taxes and more regulations.  They're business-minded, after all, and they know his policies will harm small businesses in the long run.

Christina Romer on Meet the Press: "we have our eyes on the fundamentals" of the economy.  If there was any truth to that, then why are they driving up the federal debt by astronomical amounts, and driving business out of the capital markets?  Inflation and interest rates will go through the roof.  Why are they expanding the welfare state?  Why are they raising taxes during a recession? Why are they threatening oppressive regulations in the face of a recession? Why are they tilting our labor markets toward the socialist union controls?

Larry Summers on This Week: "we need to have a so-called regulation regime" that allow the federal government to make business decisions for private companies.  Now this is crazy, even for the liberals.  Never in our history has it been suggested that the federal government should start vetoing decisions or directly influencing the private sector to the extent Summers is suggesting.  Regulation of fraud and safety concerns can be debated, but regulating pure market forces?  What a catastrophe.  That will create even more disaster for our economy.

The economic fundamentals of freedom, freedom, and more  freedom are the only way to ensure capital and market forces join together to grow us out of this mess. The only way to get out of this recession is to get the government out of the way.  Less taxation, smaller government, fewer regulations...confidence will return and our recovery will be quick.   But I, like the rest of America, have no confidence in this administration to get it right.(Town Hall March 17,2009)

Lancelot was aghast. That is all you have? Enslaving children and giving them over for exual favors to the overseers?

With that the wild boars along with  the hedgehogs were led in and ate the former majority leader.  Sometimes there was more justice in those days.