It is primary election season, and today, while I was pondering the sorry choices
for high, political office in my state, my thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of
my little friend, thespian and sometime model, Horatio H. Hamster Esq. "Call me
High-stakes", he said, when I noticed his colorful accessories. (The middle letter "H"
in his name, as always, had been adapted to fit his currant preoccupation.) When
I inquired how things were going for him, here in our little animal kingdom, he said
that he had busy rehearsing for a new production at the Quadruped Playhouse.
As I sat down to do a quick sketch of him, I asked him about the new play, and
what part he would be playing. So he explained that the play was a dramatization
of the popular song about the high-stakes, professional gambler, who spent his life
on the train, going from town to town, and from game to game, always leaving with
his winnings, before the losers could catch up with him. He said that his death scene,
on the train, would be especially dramatic, with a trio of chipmunks singing a chorus
of the gambler's song, as he passes away. I said that I could certainly see how
that would capture an audience's attention.
I asked if there had been any particular problems with the production, and he
said that Donald J. Skunk, and his retinue of the nearly blind and deaf family of
foxes, had been hanging around the playhouse, even though the company had
voted him out many months ago. "They are the stink that never goes away !",
he said. "And Vladimir Pig of course. No one wants him around, but he sneaks
in anyway, and bullies the smaller members of the company !"
As I was finishing my quick sketch of him, "High-stakes" also admitted that
he was having difficulty, mastering the art of shuffling a pack of playing cards,
and he demonstrated his problem, showing that he generally lost control of the
cards and dropped some, when he shuffled. I said that I could see how that
might be a problem for his role as a professional gambler, but I told him that
all he needed was more practice. That assurance brightened him up a bit, and
he bid me a farewell, before hurrying away to practice his shuffling skills
When he was gone, I was left to ponder again, the big gamble for our
American democracy, during these elections. Often times, it seams that we
might as well roll the dice or toss a coin, to see who wins public office. The
three major Republican candidates for U.S. Senator in my state, have been
running a flood of ads, each candidate proclaiming to be the most perfectly
aligned with Trump, and denouncing each other as criminals and traitors to
the nation. And all the while they try to carefully avoid mentioning anything
which might upset their base of religious nuts, gun nuts, xenophobes,
homophobic nitwits and the idiots who still believe Trump's big lie about
a stolen election.
Since my state has been mostly red, in recent decades, one of these
calculating frauds, is most likely going to be a U.S. Senator.
Sometimes it would be nice to simply fold our cards, and walk or run away.
Eugene P. McNerney
