The ‘liberation’ of Berlin – an extract from ‘Farther from the Sun’.

Posted on by Opher

I have a dream of a better world based on intelligence, not superstition or greed.

21.9.01

 

In America, the teacher in the classroom next to mine was a German immigrant. Strangely enough, she taught German. I taught Biology and Science. She was very friendly.

One day we were sitting in the canteen talking and I asked her what made her come over to the States. Her eyes went a bit glazed as she stared out the window for a long time as if staring into the past.

Eventually, she told me that she had been a fourteen-year-old girl living in Berlin at the end of the war. She said it had been terrifying. There was no food. The city had been bombed to rubble. Horrendous stories circulated. They were petrified that the Russians were going to get to them first. They’d heard that the Russians behaved like depraved monsters. As it turned out it was the Americans that ‘liberated’ them. On such moments are the fates of individuals determined.

She went very quiet for a long while before continuing.

“The Americans were fresh-faced kids.” Her eyes met mine. “By the end of the war they were drafting seventeen-year-olds, the older veteran soldiers had all been killed. They had called up all the available men. They were drafting in boys.” She gazed thoughtfully at her hands. “They were boys, younger than the boys I teach.”

She proceeded to talk in staggered sentences in a neutral tone, as if looking inside herself to relive the past.

“Those boys had fought through Germany…………….. They had seen sights that boys shouldn’t see……….. That people should never have to see……… They had seen their friends killed………. They had seen people dying in agony……….. They had had all their innocence and security stolen from them. They had seen how fragile life is. They had experienced all the emotions imaginable………. They had been so terrified they were emotionally blank. They didn’t think of hope, or an end to this madness. The war had become their life. They lived it. Their faces were fresh but their eyes were old.”

She lapsed into silence, all turned in on herself. You could see her mind turning over those old memories. She didn’t tell me any details of what had happened when the Americans moved in. I realised later that she had never really told me anything about why she had come to the United States – yet she had. Perhaps, she had come to put her ghosts to rest?

After a bit she looked up and her eyes met mine.

“If the mothers of those boys had known a fraction of what those boys did in Berlin ……………….. they would never have let them back in their houses again,” she whispered and then looked away.

18.9.01

Death – An extract from ‘Farther from the Sun’.

Posted on by Opher

The crux of the matter, the root of the problem, if I can be allowed to mix clichés, is that we have a problem with death.

Death is something we don’t like talking about. We don’t even like thinking about. The fact that we are going to die, that our loved ones are going to die, is an anathema to everything we think and feel. It destroys the egocentric way we view the universe and makes it all pointless. How could the universe exist without us? Surely all this is here for a reason?

We see order in the universe and mistake it for a planned design. Death upsets that plan.

Death is disturbing. It seems contrary to order and negates purpose.

Our own death indicates that the universe really doesn’t care about us or need us. It carries on regardless. That seems illogical to us so we have invented an afterlife. Our deceased loved-ones are now with the angels or are now stars in the heavens.

That seems absurd and stupid to me. I prefer death. But many people find these ideas of an afterlife comforting.

We don’t even want to acknowledge death! It is too frightening a concept. Our whole lives are based around routine. Each day is much the same as the last. Life goes on. Nothing drastic is going to happen. We don’t doubt that we will wake up tomorrow.

Then – BAAAANG!!  We are knocked out of kilter by some religious madmen flying planes into skyscrapers. We watch in horror as the buildings collapse. This cannot be happening! Those buildings are permanent! Like mountains! It is not possible that anything that permanent can disappear so quickly and unexpectedly! That shows how impermanent we are! That shows us that death is real. We are going to die.

Buddhists meditate in graveyards to think about impermanence. They don’t avoid death. They try to accept it and come to terms with it. That seems healthy to me. They also don’t believe in gods.

If I had to choose a religion I’d be a Buddhist.

The answer is to pretend that there is no death, When we die we go to a better place. Problem solved. Death is a rebirth. Life is an interlude. No need to worry. We can go on thinking about all those everyday important matters. Life and death will take care of itself.

The next step is to get there quicker. If it is such a good place to go, after you are dead, let’s get there quicker!

‘Hey, injun, meet yer maker!’  Bang. Just like in the Westerns.

We are doing them all a favour by bumping them off.

Put your faith in Jesus!

But inexplicably, in the real world, these guys are flying planes into buildings because they are buying in to eternal paradise. That’s real commitment!

People actually believe these things.

Maybe I should start a new cult – ‘Nutters for death – the gateway to eternal life!’

I could have a series of decals made up with catchy mottos:

‘Put an end to all worries – kill yourself!’

‘In debt? Can’t solve your problems? Put a bullet through your head and wake up in heaven!’

‘Unhappy? Lost a loved one? Be reunited forever in paradise!’

‘Don’t like other religions? Think yours is the best brand? Show God you really care by blowing a whole bunch of them to fuck and fly an airbus into them!’ ‘God’ll love you for it!’

It’ll catch on!

We could sell the merchandise and turn a nifty profit.

Green plastic luminous exploding heads with ‘death for life’ on them.

Car stickers – ‘Make someone happy – kill a friend today!’

‘One God – kill anyone who says different. Save them from hell!’

‘Jesus loves you to death!’

There’s a big commercial franchise to be established. Surely we can’t allow the religions to corner the market?

But in reality, death is real. Death is the end of everything. All we have is the time between birth and death. We really have to make the most of it.

31.10.01

The Corona Diaries – Day 140.

Posted on by Opher

It’s sometimes good to be world-beating – but not when it comes to being the country worst hit by Covid-19 deaths and with an economy that is the worst as well.

Well done Johnson! We knew you could do it! We’re now waiting to see how brilliantly you handle Brexit and make all these world-beating deals with other countries!

Chlorinated KFC – yummy. Steroid beefed-up beef – awesome! GM bread – fabulous.

The football’s been great though! I’m making the most of it. It might not last much longer. Not only is Covid on the rise but we have daft overpaid footballers out drinking in the bar or nipping over to Spain. Some of them are none too bright!

What we have to work out is whether the increased numbers of cases (over a thousand again today) is due to increased testing or a real increase in cases. What the experts say is that we have to really act quickly when the cases are low. It’s too late when they have risen.

But don’t worry, Johnson has a plan – he’s going to just lower the numbers!! Genius!! Dominic is surpassing himself. We count the dead differently and drop it by 5000 at a stroke!

I bet they are going to do the same with the unemployment figures and the cost to the economy. In fact, by next week I expect to see us surpassing every other country in the world!! We’ll be world-beating!!

When Brexit happens I bet they’ll tell us that it’s all brilliant too – no businesses shutting, no firms heading abroad, no car plants exiting, no unemployment or hit to the economy – a whole load of lucrative deals waiting to be signed.

While the USA soars back up to 54,443 new cases and another 1334 deaths. How long before everybody realises that Trump has excelled himself at ineptitude?? I guess some will die still believing.

In Brazil it is back up to 52,160. It seems that Bolsonaro wants to catch up with Trump for sheer stupidity.

I’m making the most of this lockdown. Once again the weather has been gorgeous. We went for a long walk to the village of Harpham, had an outdoor meal and a couple of pints. 27 degrees of wonder. The day hummed.

Back home I’ve been playing Aretha Franklin and sorting furniture!!

Tomorrow I’m doing writing!!

Stay safe!!

 

Today’s Music to keep me SaNe in Isolation – Aretha Franklin

Posted on by Opher

I felt like a bit of Soul today and Aretha certainly fits that bill – the Queen of Soul. She had a voice and also took a stance! I like that!

So today I’m giving Aretha a play! (I sure wish the King of Soul had lived longer!)

Gibraltar – the military tunnels.

Posted on by Opher

After the Bristish took the pennisular in 1782 there was quite extensive trenchwork and tunnelling to defend the rock. For some reason the Spanish, just because it had always been part of Spain and was attached to Spain, thought that the British had not right to it. How strange? The British thought that, as they made up the rules and had captured it, they were entitled to it. That was the rule of victory. Everything we stuck a flag in was ours. That was how it worked. Besides, it was strategically important and we were determined to hold on to it.

There are now 34 miles of tunnels (a greater distance than roads).  These tunnels had a number of purposes. Some had openings for cannon to be able to fire on Spanish positions. Some were for storage, water reservoirs, transport or shelter (including hospitals).  Basically the rock was turned into an underground fortress that could house a garrison of 1600 soldiers.

They were very effective and saw off Spanish attacks and a few sieges.

It was interesting to have have a wander through them.

It is quite staggering to me, from my travels around the world, to see how much time, energy and resources have been spent building fortresses, castles, walls and fortifications. We are such a violent species. Wouldn’t it be nice if all those resources had been put into improving things for the people.

Are we becoming better?

I can dream

Grand Canyon and mules – extract from Farther from the Sun

Posted on by Opher

We arrived at Grand Canyon, parked up and moved into a travel lodge – my parents, the kids, Liz and me. A snowstorm had gone through and coated everything in a couple of inches of pristine white. Icicles hung off the lodge. The sun shone and the sheer faces of the canyon glowed red in the evening light.

It was decided that my dad and I would go down on the two-day mule ride while the rest stayed up at the lodge.

We got on our mules bright and early and set off on the crisp and icy trail. It was exceedingly narrow and the mules were wide. I kept looking down into the seven thousand foot drop and wondering about the footing of our mules on the glassy ice. There were times when I was hanging out over the drop. One slip and you fell thousands of feet to your death. But the mules were sure footed and as we progressed down the temperature rose so that the ice turned to slush and then was gone altogether and I began to feel more secure.

It took a long time to zig-zag down and I had ample time to look at the amazing view of the steep, red, striated sides. Did one river really do all this? It seemed hard to believe.

At the bottom we got off our mules, our backsides sore and aching. We were not looking forward to the return trip the next morning.

Though it was late afternoon the sun still burned – thick winter coats at the top and T-shirt weather at the bottom.

We stood on the bridge and watched the red rocks glow in the evening light, fluorescent, like they were shining with some inner light. The shadows crept across the whole bottom but still shone on the escarpment on one side. It was magical.

Neither of us spoke. We looked down at the muddy waters of the Colorado, rich swirling chocolate and soaked it in. It was one of those shared moments that live in you forever.

Later we watched the moon reflected in the river and stared up at the stars through a clear sky from the bottom of this great crevice in the world’s crust. The sky was a mystical pool.

At least we’d experienced it together.

I wonder if it meant the same to him as it did to me?

The next morning we set off early, back up the same trail, with our legs stretched wide over the leathery hide of our mules, our sore arses bumping and aching muscles cramping. The ordeal did not feel so bad. The memories eased the pain. We finally reached the top and dismounted. Though I did not know it at the time, our last adventure was over.

I have a photo, taken by Liz, of my dad bent, bowlegged wincing as he stood at the top, having just dismounted from his mule. I doubt that I looked much better.

5.9.01

 

So what makes me angry? Rudeness, injustice, cruelty. I can’t see why a human being would want to do those things – to hurt other people. I wanna put them right. A lot of people see that as weird. Wanting to put things right, that is.

“Why? Just grab what you can for yourself. It’s your life. Forget the losers!” They say. “They deserve it!”

Nope. They don’t deserve it. It bothers me. I am compelled to at least say something about it.

I believe in gestures.

18.9.01

Naivety and my friend Bali – Extract from ‘Farther from the Sun’.

Posted on by Opher

I had been naïve and ignorant. My eyes were opened when I walked around town with my friend Bali – Mohamed Iqbal to give him his full title. I saw the rudeness first hand. I saw the way he could not get served in some shops. I saw the way a shopkeeper would put the money down on the counter in case they might touch his hand. Even when nothing was said you could see the loathing and hatred in their eyes.

He lived with that on a daily basis. He was intelligent and sensitive with a great sense of humour.

“How do you put up with it?” I asked.

“You just have to laugh,” he said. “If you let it get to you you’d become twisted. Not everybody is like it.”

“But doesn’t it make you angry? It’d make me feel like punching them! I’d want to get a gun and shoot the bastards.”

“I don’t know if that would solve the problem,” he laughed.

For all my ideals he is a better man than I am. I couldn’t put up with that level of abuse every day. I’d explode!

30.10.01

The Barbary Apes of Gibraltar – photos

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The Barbary apes aren’t apes at all – they are tailless monkeys, Barbary macaques, who originated in the Atlas mountains of Morocco and were probably brought to Gibraltar by the Muslims when they invaded Europe.

I do adore monkeys. I always wanted a pet one but it isn’t very ethical.

These particular monkeys are doing very well. They first prospered because of the myth that the rock would always be British while the apes were there – so the British fed and nurtured them. Now they are a major tourist attraction and get fed and pampered.

Technically they are wild – though because they get fed and looked after, they have no fear of people and are dependent on humans.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves posing for photos.

These Barbary Macaques are the only wild monkeys left in Europe (apart from my grandchildren).

Neil Young – Looking For a Leader

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The Corona Diaries – Day 139

Posted on by Opher

Our devious government says they will not be releasing data on new cases of Covid-19 or deaths. They claim the data is unreliable and has exaggerated the cases.

This is baloney!

If anything the data has greatly underestimated the number of deaths. The official figures say that 46,526 people have died. An estimate I read a month or so ago said that there had been 66,000 excess deaths. That’s a 20,000 discrepancy – at least!

This is part of the process of spin to try to make out that they have done a good job. They haven’t done a good job at all. They have been appalling – the worst in Europe.

Given that we are an island it should have been easier for us to contain the disease compared to mainland Europe. Why are we so much worse?

Why did we not act on the Cygnus Report?

Why was there no store of PPE for a pandemic?

Why was there no chemicals for testing?

Why was there no strategy?

Why did we not take heed of what was going on in China and then Europe and prepare?

Why did we not check/quarantine immigrants?

Why did we not stop flights from heavily infected places?

Why had we run down the NHS?

Why did our ‘hostile environment’ drive away doctors and nurses?

Why did the government panic and waste billions on useless equipment and PPE?

Why didn’t we lock down sooner?

Why did we not buy into the EU schemes for procurement of ventilators and PPE?

Why did we discharge untested people from hospitals into Care Homes?

Great job guys!

Captain Tom raised £33 million for the NHS.  The government wasted £150 million on 50 million useless facemasks that could not be used because they did not meet specifications.

Why were contracts given to the wrong firms? Was it nepotism? Corruption?

Smacks of nepotism, corruption, complacence and incompetence to me!

I found it interesting to read the EU report. It basically said that Europe (including the UK) got on top of the disease by locking down but since they have relaxed lockdown it is re-emerging and the only way to keep on top of it is through comprehensive testing and local lockdowns.

In the UK we are back up to 1062 new cases and we were down to 332.

The US is still running at 40,171 with 432 deaths.

Brazil is going at 22,048 new cases and 703 deaths.

It was also interesting to see that Russia claims to have a vaccine and Putin has given it to his daughter. He claims it’s been thoroughly tested and works but they will not release the data on the checks and tests.

I wonder how many of us will feel confident about using that then?

Today was another glorious day in Yorkshire with temperatures of 26/27 degrees.

We had an outside meal with friends and then I went for a walk up my hill!

At times it feels as if everything is right with the world! But then I wake up!

It is strange, because, by now, I was expecting the village to be full of cases with some deaths, but I haven’t heard of much at all. It’s almost as if there isn’t any pandemic. Perhaps it is one of Trump’s hoaxes?

Stay safe everybody.