The Potato Eaters, 1885, Van Gogh Museum

I have been away from computers for nine days.

I have been away from virtual reality for nine days.

I have been away from writing for nine days.

I have been away from my hermitage for nine days.

I have been without my cloak of isolation for nine days.

And now I am back.

My friend died.

My virtual friend died.

http://onceuponaparadigm.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/a-very-sad-loss/

I had met John via the blogosphere, I had met him via the email machine, and I had met him on the phone and the very moment I was to meet my friend in person, he died.

Just six months ago I received a small package in the mail.

It was a 500 gigabyte external hard drive. He had included on that drive 100 gigabytes of tunes. Ha! What surprise. Every band you can possibly imagine is stored in this machine; a machine that backs up my pc and protects me from ever losing anything I will ever write or store.

There was no previous discussion of this gift; it just arrived at my door!

I am so sad about all this. John has been commenting on my blogs for almost three years; and I have been commenting on his.

He announced to me just three (?) weeks ago that he had quit smoking.

His abode had been badly damaged by fire and he had just gotten back home and was fixing it up.

He had just begun receiving full SS and was continuing his efforts with his small business and it seemed like he had stepped into an entirely new life and he wanted to share his new lease on life with his friends. And now I am weeping once again.

For the first time in four years I went somewhere to visit human beings in person; to meet LisB; to spend time with my children (actually they are the adults and I am the child); to see people interacting at airports and bus stations and parks and on the street...

I will be writing about this experience more than a few times in the future but there was one experience I would like to write about that I think John would have liked:

FIRST CLASS

I rode on several different types of jet aircraft in order to get to Syracuse, NY and back again to my thriving metropolis (Virginia, Minnesota)

There were three by threes—three people seated on both sides of the plane.

There were two by twos.

And there were three by twos.

There, now you know how much technical knowledge I have about the different jets that act as magic carpets sending millions of us to our destinations; taking us above the clouds as magically as those heroes transported thusly in our bibles and in our myths.

All the aircraft had one thing in common: First Class.

People found themselves in First Class a variety of different ways.

There were those who had accumulated bonus miles and cashed in their points for a luxury ride.

There were those who were awarded this incredible comfort by the businesses that paid for their transportation.

There were the airline employees who sometimes reach the pinnacle of success on a stand-by basis.

And there were those who just came up with a few extra bucks because they wished to feel special.

The seats in first class are a little bigger and the leg space is a little longer.

There is the magic curtain that separates this aristocracy from the peasant fliers. However this magic curtain is usually left open. hahahaha

These passengers are allowed to board the magic ferry first and, of course, they are allowed the right to disembark before the rest of us upon landing.

And that is about it; I mean the difference between the luxurious first classers and the rest of us.

I was seated high above the earth as the cart made it down the aisle.

What can I get you? she asked.

Well...how a bout a nice Chateau Briand cooked medium. Now just medium mind you. Not medium well done or medium rare!

Okay. What kind of pop would you prefer to go with your pretzels and nuts?

Now we are offered ¾ ounce of pretzels or ½ ounce of peanuts. Sometimes they offer cookies.

While I am downing my pretzels with a Diet Coke, I watched as the first classers were passing around a basket filled with gigantic bags of chips and such which they downed with WINE (they keep the boxes in one of those secured cupboards!)

These gigantic bags of goodies easily ran three or four ounces in weight.

All I could think of was:

MY GOD! THE HUMANITY!!!

I really wish that America worked like this all the time.

The Middle Class would do just fine with 1800 square feet of living space for a family of four.

I would not begrudge a 'rich' family for residing in a 'mansion' of 3,000 or 4,000 square feet.

Just as I would not begrudge the aristocracy their fine wines, their fancy cars, visits from outside house cleaning agencies, better attorneys and doctors, nicer yards, or even better schools and universities.

That is all to be expected and frankly I do not give a damn.

But that is no longer First Class in the America today.

First Class for the Managerial Caste has nothing to do with bigger bags of potato chips and more leg room.

First Class in America is now represented by gigantic private jets with priority to the best runways in the best environments this globe can provide.

First Class in America is not represented by a safety net of one million bucks put away in a savings account following thirty years of hard work and a little luck.

First Class in America is now represented by a salary of one million bucks a year; semi-anual bonuses several times that amount with additional millions in assets hidden in tax free international banks.

First Class in America is now represented by 30,000 square feet of residential space, live-in servants (slaves), gated communities with armed security; all the while they pay most of their employees minimum wage and demand pep fests to begin each morning of business.

Oh but this kind of discussion represents class warfare, some would say.

If this is class warfare, BRING IT ON!

John wrote blogs almost daily and he could make me laugh.

Recently he was discussing Matt Taibbi's article condemning Wall Street and the SEC and...

John came up with a method for educating the American People as to stem the tide of First Class Abuse by the current 1% who own everything; the 1% who feel free to abuse our nation's legal and moral codes to get what they want.

I’m a firm believer that if every citizen of this country either read all of Matt’s work or had it read to them they would be appalled and no factory in the universe could keep up with the demand for pitchforks.

I am going to miss John!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79NiN7ISW7E

Previous draft @ http://onceuponaparadigm.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/first-class/