Before the flame goes out in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

I really wanted to write down as much of this dream as I could before it disappeared from my mind. It… uh… connects past worlds, lol.
Man called JT: A defense attorney I deal with in Tiny Town
Location: Omaha, Douglas County Corrections
Plot: Des Moines Job
Item: At Best Buy, I used to put together the display models for desks/entertainment centers/etc
BEGIN:
It was my first full week working for a private firm. For some reason, I was being trained at the same time as a few other new hires (females) and our Mentor was JT. We had been called to the Douglas County Corrections building where I used to work and JT was informing us about some of the general tricks of the trade. Unfortunately, I was exceedingly familiar with most of them as he had used those very tricks against me at one time or another. I even fessed up and said, “Yeah, I suppose if I had an important case I would want to face off against a no-nothing noob, too.” JT pushed it, though, and said, “You want a no-nothing like you on the other side of every case. Makes things easier.” Already we weren’t off to a great start. As our little menagerie entered the jail, we were briefed on our client and the situation. Allegedly, our client had been involved in a fight in The Library that had resulted in the extreme injury of another inmate. We were there to defend the inmate client against further charges. As the injured inmate had suffered extreme injury; our first order of business was to deal with the enhancement elements of the case. JT set up his laptop at the circulation desk and told us all to “get to work.” One girl started analyzing the inmate tables; another was looking through the inmate client’s computer history… I was standing around not knowing what to do. I asked JT what I should be doing; and he became flustered. “Just… do your job!” was the best answer I got. So I randomly chose to attack the problem as a prosecutor. If I was going to try to make the enhancement stick; what would I hang my hat on? I recreated the event as it was described on paper. All that was known for sure was: after some kind of contact with our client, the victim was impaled on a book shelf. The assumptions were as follows: Inmate Client threw Inmate Victim into the bookshelf with such force that the bookshelf broke; when the guards rushed towards the Inmate Victim, he was bleeding. So I went over to the bookshelf and discovered that the blood still on the wood indicated that there was no separate action… the inmate victim was “stabbed” by the bookshelf breaking, not by some extra action. I analyzed the bookshelf and realized… it was one that I had put together when I worked in Corrections. One I particularly felt bad about because the wood was shoddy balsa wood and extremely likely to fracture with minimal force. Our client could not be found guilty of the enhanced charge as the bookshelf was at fault. Even if the contact was so innocent as Victim Inmate attempted to Shoulder Check Client Inmate; the resulting “bounce” off of our client would have sent the victim into the book shelf with the minimum amount of force required to break the bookshelf. When the bookshelf broke, the resulting fracturing of the wood would have stabbed the victim in several places resulting in the blood and the wound.

THEN I WOKE UP. That was the dream.

Today, I received my “Bills Being Discussed On The Hill” run down. The fact that most people don’t know, don’t care, or aren’t horrified by these bills… there is a storm coming and it threatens all of us. Dismantling the EPA? Shutting down Federal Aid to Public Schools? Scaling back the banking regulations to allow them to Predatory Lending practices again? Removing “punishment clauses” in environmental/wildlife conservation and regulation bills? Dismantling the last of worker protections and union rights? And the announcement that US Tax Payers will be required to foot “no less than $40 million” of the Wall Construction?

HOW ARE PEOPLE SO OKAY WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN CURRENT GOVERNMENT?!
I get that people are worried about themselves and their own problems. That isn’t news to me. But destroying the world because you think it might get you a job is still shortsighted and selfish. Hurting your neighbor because you are hurting is still juvenile and mutually destructive. If I’m struggling to eat and shoot someone for their food… that is a crime. If I’m struggling to eat, and elect someone that destroys the planet and Federal Government… that’s politics? C’mon!

Meanwhile, the truest thing I’ve read about Trump to date is as follows: “Donald Trump routinely seems uncomfortable when governing and naturally prefers campaigning. He frequently holds campaign-like speeches; but rarely takes the time to listen to anyone outside of his inner circle.”

AS I am posting photos… here is the world I want to live in. While I would love to have the ability to tell a woman she looked good without her assuming it was harassment… while having women go out of their way to avoid me in college made me feel like an absolute monster.... I know what world we live in. Telling a woman she looks good, especially if I don’t know her, comes off as creepy and a bit rapey. Women weren’t avoiding me in college because I was a monster but because College is a hunting ground for rapists and a strange man walking alone registers as a threat to a woman who is also walking alone. These are not “realities of our world.” These are wounds that our world inflicts and allows to fester. I would love to see a world where these wounds were healed. There are lists out there that inform women of the following:
(1) Never leave an open drink unattended as it may be drugged.
(2) When you see a man walking by himself, cross to the other side of the street
(3) If you pull over due to car troubles, stay in a well lit area and keep your cell phone on you
(4) If you are in an elevator alone and a strange man gets on, leave the elevator and take the next one
(5) Never sleep in an unsecured location
(6) Be especially careful in parking lots and always lock your doors and windows
(7) If in the laundry room, don’t linger if there is a man there. It is better to go in groups, but if you cannot, remember to stay safe.
(8) USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! Try to have a friend with you when you go out and don’t leave your buddy behind!
(9) Carry a Rape Whistle.
(10) Make your intentions clear and unambiguous. Let your no be no and your yes be yes.

In college.... and still today… those sound like good ideas. Sad that it is true… but they sound like good ideas. However, in College… I wanted to BE THE GUY THAT HELPS. All I wanted was to help people… since I’d known so many who had been raped. So my list went as follows:
(1) Guard the drinks. If your female friends all hit the dance floor w/o their drinks; stay at the table to watch their open glasses like a hawk.
(2) When you see a man walking down the street by himself; be the loud funny male friend in the group of women. Make sure that the stranger is aware a man is present.
(3) If someone has car troubles, make sure they call you so that you can pick them up or wait with them.
(4) Never make eye contact or even look at people in an elevator.
(5) Make sure that if a female is inebriated or falls asleep, that she is taken home safely and that she goes unmolested
(6) Make damn sure that all windows and doors are locked at all times.
(7) If a female friend is going to the laundry room, start a conversation with her and accompany her to the laundry room.
(8) Inform female friends that if they are going to something alone or going somewhere they are uneasy about; that you will be their buddy should they request it.
(9) Know how to handle yourself if one of your friends is attacked.
(10) Encourage men and women to be clear and unambiguous. Don’t play bull shit games. Don’t reject someone if you hope they will ask you out again after your rejection. Don’t say yes to someone if you feel a sense of obligation to go out with them for some reason.

That is how I behaved in College. Is it any wonder I was considered a creep? Is it any wonder it was so hard for me to find dates in College? Is it any wonder people on OD treated me like a monster? Actually… I honestly mean that last question. Why was I treated like a monster for just trying to help?!

Anyway… I saw the following on line and I like it a little bit better:

Then… instead of doing my TO DO LIST… I read THIS article. I’m hopeless. But I just… honestly… I want to understand. I can’t accept that people just “Refuse to see the problems” because the problems are so obvious. I can’t accept that people just “Don’t care” because… guess what… if you have kids or grandkids… you need to care because this impacts US Policy around the Globe. I’m just… I’m at a loss as to understanding why people are okay with the decimation of Public Schools and the eradication of the EPA! And here’s the thing… I get people yelling at me for being intolerant to these people. They say “How dare I lump all Trump supporters together!” Because Trump supporters want Abortion banned but not the environment destroyed. They want a Wall with Mexico, but don’t want gays targeted. They want Muslims out of the country, but they want a strong fiscal policy. Well… guess what… government works like a package deal. If you want 34 things and a candidate is giving you 4… stop passionately supporting him. Support those 4 things, and decry the 30. HOW IS THIS A WEIRD CONCEPT?!

OKAY… seriously, dude… time to get to work.
STEP ONE: Check Extended Hard Drive
Sub STEP ONE: Download Work Computer
DONE
Step Two.... read Prosebox Entries because it takes forever to download an entire computer, lol
DONE
STEP THREE: Final Monthly Case Report
(Funny story; so much work I’ve been doing this week… my left wrist is starting to get that Typist’s Soreness. Meh)
DONE
STEP FOUR: Get Rx Refilled and take today’s pill.
DONE
Step Five: Finish and Print Full Summary for Case Work
DONE
Step Six: Respond to Remaining Discovery Requests
SO CLOSE

I have one more discovery request to do and then I am done with all of my cases.
I still need to clean my office out; I’m guessing I’ll do that Friday afternoon.
I still need to file my Defense Contractor Paper Work… I’ll either do that from home tonight (doubtful) or tomorrow)
Other than those things; though… and a Mental Health Hearing tomorrow… that is my time as a Prosecutor.

AND NOW… TICKLD was sharing “Profound Shower Thoughts. Below are the ones I have either had or agree with most:
(1) Why are wedding dresses bought and tuxedos rented? The utility of each is such that it should be the other way around.
(2) We live in a world where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.
(3) When we want another’s thoughts, we say “penny for your thoughts.” When we offer up our own, we say “putting my two cents in.” We value our own opinion twice as much.
(4) Wherever a fatal car crash or pedestrian death occurs, a red square with the year of the accident should be permanently included in the pavement. Seeing a lot of red squares in a given location would make drivers and pedestrians more careful.
(5)
(6) It’s strange that the adoption process is so strict and rigorous; and yet any two people can produce a baby with no regulation whatsoever.
(7) I’m lucky enough to live in a country where if I hear an air raid siren I expect it to be followed by phat bass and a banging tune.
(8) Most animals don’t recognize their own reflection because their brains aren’t complex enough. I wonder if humans have observed something which we cannot comprehend or even know we cannot comprehend because our brains lack that complexity.
(9) My parents spent the first 18 years of my life telling me how unique and special I was, then spent the rest of my life telling me I am no different than anyone else and to get a job.
(10) I’m flabbergasted at how our education system managed to find a way to turn something as fascinating as history into a boring slog.
(11) Sometimes I think I would do great things if I weren’t so lazy… Meh.