Wrote this over the past few days to suggest the future for the average,

[efhmc]

American, conservative family.I wrote this to help me and it did. I wanted to share it with you. It is long, melodramatic and edited perfunctory. I hope you find it cathartic as I did.

The Smith Family 1979-2006
The Smiths always considered themselves an average American family. Mary and Hank Smith had met in the small college town, where Mary was attending the state University and Hank was going to trade school to learn to be a draftsman. They had married within 3 months of their first date. After only 3 months of marriage Mary found out she was pregnant. She and Hank never used birth control because they were strong Catholics and believed that God wanted them to have many, many children. Mary immediately quit college. After all, she would always be at home as long as she had school aged kids so she didn’t really see any point in getting her college degree. They both worked part time until their first child, a boy named John was born. The last semester of Hank’s 2 year degree was very stressful and financially difficult but they got through it with help from Mary’s Mom, prayer and by pinching pennies until they begged for mercy.
Hank found employment in his hometown and was a hard worker and advanced in the small manufacturing firm he worked for very quickly. Soon, his abilities made him a leader over many older men and he considered himself to be very successful.
Mary had three more children in rapid succession. After their forth child, Mary’s gynecologist suggested that she was suffering from postpartum depression and that she needed to talk to a psychiatrist. Mary did not like the idea, but Hank, who was very aware of the changes in her behavior, insisted that she go. The Doctor prescribed antidepressants and no more children. Mary felt relieved to have permission to use birth control and there were no more children.
During the Reagan years, Hank managed to hang on to his job. The family business he worked for was absorbed by a large multidimensional international firm. Hank was one of only 2 people who were retained when the merger happened He felt very blessed and vowed to work harder and longer hours.
Mary was at home with her 4 small children. The medicine helped her but often she felt trapped and alone. Hank was keeping them going monetarily but never was available to spend time with the children or to help around the home. Family life was harried, unrewarding and nothing close to the dream that they had envisioned for themselves and their children. Still, Hank was employed and so many of his friends had been laid off by the numerous downsizing and mergers in the manufacturing industry, that Hank again counted his blessings. Even in the face of the growing neglect of his wife and children, he was making a living.
Every month they put a little into mutual funds. The collapse of the market in 1987 depleted much of their savings in the market but they were determined to stay the course and left their account open. The income from Hank’s job continued to grow at a small but steady pace. Mary really wanted to work to help out the family but that would mean putting 3 children in daycare since only one child, John who was 6 and a half, was in school. The cost to put an infant and two toddlers in daycare made working any job she could qualify for produce far less income than the cost of care for her children. Mary gave up on the idea.
Like so many other American families the Smiths worked hard, went to church and tried daily to do the very best for their families. During much of the Clinton years, they watched the mutual funds they had continue to invest in grow by leaps and bounds. They almost felt wealthy. The stress at work still made Hank anxious, especially since he did not have a college degree. A higher up at work had once told him that he was the perfect employee. He did the work of a professional, was dedicated to the company, did not belong to a union, had many dependents so he was not likely to go running to a new job, and could be paid far less than others and never have any recourse except to quit. Everyone knew his family responsibilities kept him from doing that.
Mary and Hank took great joy from their children. John, their first born was a great student and athlete. He was everyone’s favorite. Bill, the next child, was a mellow baby and child, content to let life flow around him, never pushed by ambition and a friend to all. Their third child, to Mary’s delight, was a girl. Sally (named after Mary’s mother) was never one to take second place to her brothers. She fought with them for every piece of affection and every toy and played every game and sport they did. She was an excellent baseball player and later after playing every sport offered to girls, finally settled on softball as her main endeavor. Their fourth child, Susan, was the most sensitive. She shared everything she had with one and all and cried whenever any one of her sibling got into trouble. She was alternately petted, bullied and ignored by her older siblings.
When Susan entered the first grade, Mary was finally able to enter the work force as a teacher’s aide. She loved the work and vowed to reregister in college to resume work on her teaching degree when the children were a little older. The extra money made their finances healthier but home life was even more hectic with Mary being out of the house everyday.
The high school years arrived and things were much better for the family. The economy was expanding and Mary’s extra salary made life much easier. Mary decided to enroll in her local community college and Hank felt secure enough in his job to spend more time at home, attending the sporting and other events the children were involved in.
Politically, the Smiths had always been very conservative and voted for Republicans. Except for Clinton’s second term, they had never voted for a Democrat for any office. But times seemed much better for them since the Democrats had been in power and they were concerned that a Republican president might change the country’s economic outlook. Both were appalled at the revelation of President Clinton’s sexual activities and his lies to the American people. Although, they no longer supported him, their lives seem to be headed into the ideal that they had envisioned early in their marriage and they really didn’t care about politics as long as life was good.
John floated through high school. continuing his promise as the golden boy. He was captain of the soccer team, played the clarinet and placed in the top 10% of his class. Unlike his parents, he loved politics and was president of his senior class and of the Young Republicans.
Bill continued in his laid back ways, often to the consternation of his parents and teachers, who wished he had more ambition and would fulfill some of the potential his high tests scores revealed. Bill just didn’t have the time or desire to study. He was a friend to all and counted among his buddies those in all ethnic groups and strata of high school society, from jocks to nerds. He played drums in a garage band, mostly for the fun times the band provided with his friends.
Sally continued her quest to be the best softball player ever. She was ambitious and unlike her brother John, to whom all things came easily, labored long and hard to achieve her goals. She was a B+ student through great effort, had a few friends, mostly teammates, but was essentially reserved and even somewhat haughty about her life.
Susan, still the baby at 12, struggled with her identity. She had always felt different and as she went through puberty found herself at odds with almost all of the girls she knew. She wasn’t interested in anything she could see around her. Unlike her brothers and her sister who were engaged and fairly happy, she felt morose, without a purpose or an identity. She talked to her mom and sister about these feelings, although not in too much depth, and was given the same advice in two different presentations. The advice from Sally was, “It’s just those dumb hormones. Go running or get into a sport. You’ll feel better.” and from her Mom, ”Your body is changing now but in a year or so when you are in high school, you will find your niche.” The problem was that this was not a new feeling and Susan knew she was not like other girls and was pretty sure that running or putting on makeup was never going to make her like them.
By the time 2000 came around, the Smiths were so happy to see that wonderful, honorable, moral, Christian, Bush boy running for president, that for the first time ever they gave money to a presidential campaign. They wanted the Clinton scandal behind them and knew that Bush was just the one to guide the country in the right direction. The things people said about his lack of intelligence and his being AWOL from the Air National Guard and his inability to achieve anything without his family’s connections and money were just the liberal media’s attempts to smear his good name. Hank had always respected Rush Limbaugh's views on honesty and family values and knew he would never steer them wrong.
John was now in his second year in college and on a complete soccer scholarship. He was succeeding in everything as usual and was already making plans to attend law school when he finished under graduate. He, as all who knew him were convinced, was destined for politics.
Bill’s education was going to have to be paid for with the Smith’s mutual fund savings. Their value had dropped so sharply, that they were going to lose a lot by taking the money out. However, the president had promised a tax cut, that would not only help them personally but would stimulate the economy. So they took the money and worried less about paying for the girls’ education.
Sally’s pitching was getting her noticed but only locally. The team at her high school wasn’t that great so getting attention from those outside their small community of supporters was not that easy. Sally was recommended for a local all-star team and worked hard with them, hoping to get a college nod her senior year from any scouts that might show up.
At 14, Susan had pretty much given up trying to fit in and spent her time reading, doing some writing and staying on the computer. While scanning some of the teen chats boards one evening she found one that seem to fit her feelings of alienations and logged in. In a very short time, she realized that the reason these girls all felt so odd in their environment were that they were Lesbians. The really strange thing about the site was that many of the participants didn’t seem to feel weird about themselves, but seem to be proud, even defiant about who they were. Susan read guiltily for almost an hour and abruptly logged off. That night she was repulsed, excited and scared. Her family and her church had made it plain that anyone who loved a person of the same sex was a deviant in society and especially in the church and would go to hell, where they would never see their family or Jesus or God for eternity. Susan began to cry, first softly, then in sobbing gasps.
September 11, 2001 confirmed the Smith’s resolve about George Bush’s leadership ability and the war in Iraqi convinced them that he was the only person that really knew what strength was and how to protect them from terrorists. They paid little attention to the election of 2004 since they knew that President Bush was the man to help them through any crisis and Kerry was much too “liberal” for their way of thinking. Beside they were beginning to deal with a series of crisis in their own life.
Hank’s job had been outsourced and at the age of 45, he was unemployed. Mary was within a year of finishing her teaching degree but once again dropped out of college to go back to work as an aide. The new aide’s job was considered part time work, even though Mary worked all the hours that were allowed, and provided no health insurance. Hank had Copra for now but it was very expensive and took up much of his unemployment check. John had gotten loans for law school and had completed his second year. Bill was floundering. He had not done well in college, too much partying and since his parents would not and could not continue to pay for his errant ways, he had dropped out of school and was working at Electronic City selling stereos, a job he was a natural at. Due to lack of funding (It’s not like it brings in money like the football program.), the softball program at Sally’s school had been abbreviated to an intramural sport and their was no competition with other schools and no one to see Sally and her abilities. Traveling on buses, uniforms and extra coaches cost money that the school just did not have. Sally put her dreams on hold, vowing to get a job and go to the local community college and perhaps connect with a league and get enough experience to try out for the Olympic team. She was the hardest fighter in the family and was not ready to give up. Although, she understood that football was much more important to the school than softball, she was angry that had she been unable to compete in the sport she loved and had thought would help pay her way through college.
The thought of being a Lesbian had frightened Susan into dating. She was cute and attracted the attention of several nice boys. She went out with three of them and tried to show interest. She could not. She was not sure if that was because they were boring or that she was gay. She couldn’t bear to think that was the case and even if it were, she would just stay home and never fall in love and never marry anyone. She might even become a hermit. Sometimes, she thought perhaps, to save her family embarrassment, she would kill herself but that idea would also cause them pain and send her soul to hell. She desperately wanted someone to talk to.
October of 2005 brought added misery. Hank was still out of work. He had taken a part time job at a local sporting goods store, which paid slightly above minimum wage, but provided no benefits. His unemployment and Cobra bridge insurance had run out. He had taken the job in desperation so his family would not lose the house they had lived in for 15 years. The house payments were fairly low but the school taxes were continually being increased, in an effort by the school districts to make up the revues that had been lost during these bad economic times. The Smiths had depleted all of the money that they had in mutual funds and had no other assets beside their house and two very old cars. The president had said that they could expect the economy to begin to boom and that those who said otherwise were liberals and pessimists. The tax breaks were working. Hundreds of highly paid executives had had salary increases and when they made more money, the money would trickle down and everyone would benefit. Hank just wished he still had his old job, even at the old salary. At least there, he could do the work he loved and he had benefits for his family. He would just pray hard that no one became ill and wait for the president’s words to come true. After all, President Bush was a Christian and an honorable man and America could count on him to tell the truth, not like that Clinton. The thought of the years when Clinton was president made Hank a bit nostalgic but he chastised himself mentally and smiled at the luck of America to have such a righteous man as Bush for their president now.
Susan had a encounter with a girl at school. Susan and Margaret had been put together to work on a history project. Margaret was the opposite of Susan in almost every way. She was tall, blonde, outspoken and very self possessed. The girls became instant friends and researched the library, the internet and wondered the neighborhood looking for elderly people to tell them their personal recollection about the early days of the town. They put the project together over a weekend at Margaret’s house. They worked there because it would be quiet. Margaret’s parents were away at the birth of, as Margaret said, “yet another of my sister’s brats”. Susan laughed. They finished the project Saturday night and Margaret insisted they celebrate with a bottle of champagne her parents had in the fridge.” They won’t care”, she said, “as long as we don’t go anywhere after we drink it.” They settled down with the bottle. Margaret downed two glasses and Susan sipped half a glass. She immediately began to feel silly and relaxed. She finished the glass and had another. Soon the bottle was gone and Margaret came back with some gin. She mixed it with a little ginger ale and began to rub Susan’s back. Within minutes they were hugging and kissing. Susan felt warm and happy and loved. Her moment of passion lasted about five minutes until she passed out on the couch. Sunday morning when she woke up, she was disgusted with herself and couldn’t even look at Margaret. She put her copy of the report in its folder, grabbed her things and ran home, a distance of about five miles. When she arrived at her house, her Mom questioned if she had had a fight with her friend who had called twice and was anxious for Susan to call when she came home. Susan told her mother yes, that they had had a fight and that Margaret was not a nice person and that she did not ever want to talk to her again. Margaret tried and tried to contact her and even confronted her at school but Susan turned and walked away and avoided Margaret whenever she could.
This event put Susan in a moral tailspin. She confessed and took her penance and did it twice. She gave herself her own penances and still felt guilty and unable to concentrate or sleep. Finally, she decided that the only way out of this dilemma was to find a man and have sex with him. Then she could prove to everyone, including herself, that she was not a Lesbo (as her brothers called them). She changed her dress to much shorter, sexier, outfits, got into her mother’s makeup and cultivated a flaunting, "I’m yours for the taking" attitude that turned her stomach and made her even sadder. It worked. One of the Senior football stars noticed and asked her to a private party that some of his buddies were having. To Susan, the rest of the night was like some bad made for TV movie. She went to the party, drank beer and was raped. She had fought that football player desperately and had decided that nothing, not even being labeled gay was worth being pawed and mauled and slobbered over by that 200 pound gorilla. When she screamed and cried and kicked and scratched, he laughed and said he knew she wanted it because of the way she had flirted with him. He told her to relax and enjoy it, that she would thank him when he was through. But she didn’t thank him though. She bled and vomited and ran out of the room he had cornered her in, disoriented, bruised and disheveled She finally found someone to take her home and went to her room, stripped, locked herself in the bathroom and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. The only good thought she had was this was her second sexual encounter and it had shown her that if that animal was any indication of what heterosexual sex was like that she was just as happy not to be one. She desperately needed to talk to someone and the only person she thought might understand was Margaret.
When Susan called Margaret, it was about 1 AM. She had her cell phone number so she was pretty sure she would not wake up Margaret’s parents. Margaret answered groggily and Susan sobbed her story. Calmly and clearly, Margaret asked Susan about reporting the rape. “Are you nuts?” Susan screamed. “Didn’t you read what happened to that girl last year who accused some big deal jock of rape. Her name was dragged through the mud. She was practically convicted of being a for pay prostitute and given a sentence herself for false accusation. No, no way I’m going down that path.” Margaret paused and spoke even more slowly and calmly, “Okay, how about disease and pregnancy? What are you planning to do about those possibilities?” “Well, what can I do? I’ll wait and take tests and see what happens.” “By that time, it will be too late. What we need is that morning after pill. We can’t get it because we are too young but I’ll ask my mother. I’ll just tell her the general circumstance and she’ll help.” “What are you talking about. I can’t take that pill. It’s the same as having an abortion. I can go to Hell for that.” “Okay, get pregnant and have that monster rapist’s kid.” “ I have to go.“ Susan abruptly hung up. She could not take any more thoughts of being pregnant or diseased. She would try to sleep and see what happened tomorrow.
Weeks went by and it was almost Christmas. President Bush had come on television to address the American people about the growing problems with Iran and the possible need to make some adjustments in that country's right to freedom. Mary and Hank talked for the first time about America still being in Iraqi and Afghanistan and wondered about those costs. How could the country possibly go into another country and give it its freedom? Of course, if the president thought that it was necessary, then they would be behind him. They had seen a panel discussion about the draft but knew that the president had promised that it would not happen so they were at rest and knew that their boys were safe.
On December 29, they received a call from the highway patrol out of the small college town where their son John went to law school. He had been injured in an automobile accident. They should come as quickly as possible. Hank and Mary awaken Susan and Sally and gave them the news. Hank and Mary told the girls to contact Bill. They said they would call them as soon as they got to the hospital and had any news. The girls protested and wanted to go with their parents but were told that that they needed someone at home to take care of things and that if they needed them that they would send for them. They left in their old Chevrolet, hoping it would make the journey.
When Mary and Hank got to the hospital, they found the doctor in charge who informed them that their son was alive but in very serous condition. In fact, it looked like he would be paralyzed for life. The attending physician said she was aware of an experimental medicine that might be available. The drug had been tested in Europe where stem cell research was legal, but the medicine was not available in the U.S. and in reality it was probably not legal in the U.S. However, she hated to see a young man go through life paralyzed if there was any possible chance that he might get better with this medicine. The doctor left John’s parents to talk about this. Hank told Mary, “It’s illegal and the church says its immoral,” “You are telling me that these things matter when that medicine might make the difference between our son having the use of his legs and living the rest of his life in a wheelchair.” For the first time in her adult life Mary felt like screaming and slapping her husband and anyone else who crossed her path. She called the doctor over. “We want that drug for our son. I don’t care if it’s illegal or immoral. We want you to give it to him.” Suddenly, Mary had a strong feeling of freedom from the restrictions of the church and from her government. She was first and above all a mother and whenever anything happened to one of her children she would look for help and sacrifice anything and anyone to get that help. The doctor left them to make some phone calls.
John received the experimental medicine and it appeared that it was working. Mary and Hank were happy for the first time since they had received that dreadful phone call.
Susan and Sally tried and tried to contact Bill and could not locate him. They called his place of work, his apartment and then tried those friends and old girlfriends that they knew from high school. They didn’t have any of his new friends’ names. Finally Sally got out the car and drove to his job. At Electronic City, she was told that Bill had not worked there for almost two weeks. He had left suddenly one day with a middle eastern looking guy. Sally asked one of Bill’s co-workers about him and they said he had gone to work as a salesman for a man who had his own multimedia company. Frustrated, Sally asked for the man’s name. No one knew but said that the company was named Boy’s Toys and was in the phone book. Sally looked up the address and went to look for her brother, getting madder and madder all the time at the effort it was taking to find him. The Boy’s Toys shop was closed for the night by the time Sally got there. She went to the door and saw a posted emergency number. She dialed the number. There was no answer. Sally went home, determined to come back the next day and find her brother.
Susan stayed home to wait for her father who had to come back to work at his job at the sporting goods store. He was doing well at the job but had been told that many others were waiting in line for his position and not to be gone too long or he might not have a job when he returned. He didn’t know what was going to happen with Mary’s position but someone had to stay with John. Susan told her father when he arrived that Sally had gone to talk to Bill at his new place of employment. Hank was worried because it had been almost a week since he had spoken to his younger son. Bill had been hurried during their mandatory weekly phone call. Mainly the call had been, “Hi and how are you. Fine. I really have to go, but I‘ll call you and we will have a long talk later.” For the last few months, that been the extent of all of their conversations. Hank didn’t know any of Bill’s new friends, hadn’t been informed that he had a new job and felt alienated from the child that he had always felt closest to.
Sally arrived at the media shop which again look almost deserted even though it was well past opening time. After banging repeatedly on the front and back door, she got someone to come. An older man answered the door. He was very polite and spoke with a middle east accent. Sally introduced herself and asked about her brother. The man, who had introduced himself as the store owner’s father with a name that was too rapid and too complicated for Sally to get, looked amazed. “You didn’t know? Bill was taken into custody along with my son last week.” “What are you talking about? How can he have been gone for a week without any one in my family knowing?” Tears were in the other man’s eyes. “I don’t know, I brought my family here 8 years ago from Syria. We are all working to become citizens. Last week some men came in and asked my son his name and if he knew certain people and he said yes and they took him and your brother away.” Sally was overcome with emotions of fear and outrage and filled with all kind of questions. She knew that her brother had rights as a citizen that would allow him to contact others if he was in any trouble with the law. Thinking of her easy going brother causing any kind of trouble was just not possible. She found a piece of paper and had the man write down his name, his son’s name and home number. She also gave him the same information about her parents. How she going to add this latest piece of bad news to her parent’s list of growing burdens was just too hard to consider.
When Sally came home, she told Susan what had happened. Sally suggested calling John’s roommate at law school. Scott Wilson, a smart guy who might be able to help her find how what was going on with Bill. Scott wasn’t there but she left a message and tried to think of what else she could do until her father came home and she told him what she had found out about Bill.
Susan had known she was pregnant by the time she had missed her first period. She hadn’t taken a test but was feeling sick and swollen and sure. She called Margaret again and informed her of all the things that were happening in her family. Starting with John and then Bill and then herself. “I have some ideas about what might be going on with Bill. But first go to the store and get a test and take it as soon as possible and call me back when you get the results. Do it now, okay. Now, let me talk to Sally about Bill.” Susan hesitated, but did what she was told, calling to Sally that she needed to run an errand and that her friend Margaret was on the phone and wanted to talk to her about Bill
Margaret told Sally that she was almost certain that Bill was being held on suspicion of being a terrorist because of his friendship with the middle east store’s owner. “How can they do that?” Not call us or anything?” Margaret really wondered where Sally had been for the past 5 years, that she was unaware of what rights had been taken away from citizens when the Patriot Act was put into place. Sally told her about calling John’s friend Scott. “No, you are going to need a real lawyer and a high profile one for this.” “We can’t afford that. Besides we don't even know where Bill is? Can’t we at least call someone and find that out?” “No, there is no list of names and no information available about people arrested under this act.” Sally was silent. Margaret continued, “I’d call the local paper and tell them about your family’s tragedy with John, play on their sympathies and see if you can get someone to tell you where Bill is and perhaps attract the attention of a good attorney willing to take the case pro bono.” “I’ll talk to my father when he comes in and get his opinion.” “Don’t wait too long. The longer he is in their control without any waves being made, the harder it will be to locate and get him back.”
At the hospital, Mary was waiting to talk to the attending physician. When Dr. Young showed up she looked sad and began to talk rapidly, “The hospital administration is giving me a hard time about using that ‘experimental, illegal’ drug on John. He did do well on the first round of meds but will probably need at least 4-5 more batches to get well. The stuff is very expensive, about $9,000 per dose. There is also an insurance problem. Since this not on an approved list of drugs, the auto insurance company won’t pay for the drug and the hospital is saying it can’t be supplied because it is not funded.”
Mary sat down with a thud and began to sob, wondering why she had been given this hope for her son only to have it snatched from her hands. Dr. Young was very good at never letting her emotions show but the anger she was feeling was overwhelming. Dr. Young, said, calmer now, “Don’t give up hope. Maybe I can get it funded as a private test. Let me see what I can do.” Dr. Young knew what she was going to do. She was going to use her savings to order as many vials as she could get from the agent in Europe that had sent her the first group of drugs. Then she would take her career in her own hands by putting John into a private clinic or sending him home and continuing the drugs under her own private supervision. In her mind she cursed the small minded, and unscientific approach taken by the religious right that was running the government. She wished each of them could be here as a parent, seeing what a difference this drug made. Maybe then they would change their narrow minds.
Just as she thought, the test was positive. Susan called Margaret again and they talked options. As an underage person, she really had none without her parent’s permission and that would never happen. Besides she was just too much of a Catholic to really be able to have an abortion. Why hadn’t she listened to Margaret and gone to the emergency room, reported the rape and gotten the morning after pill there. She had been convinced that God wouldn’t let this happen to her and now it had. She hung up with Margaret and tried to think good thoughts. She could show people now that she was not a Lesbian. She really had no other goals so maybe this would turn out okay. Babies are nice.
When Susan went into the living room, Sally was on the telephone with John’s roommate and was telling him about Bill. Scott, who was this year’s president of the law college Republicans and a member of the Law Review responded angrily to Sally, “I’m sure if he was detained, the government had a good reason. He shouldn’t be collaborating with terrorists.“ “We don’t know that he is.” Scott repeated his previous statement, “I am sure he is. Otherwise, he would be free and not in jail. I‘m really surprised at John‘s brother doing something like this. I thought you were all good patriots.” “We are.“ said Sally, quietly and hung up the phone.
Then an absolutely wonderful thing happened. Bill walked into the house. He looked drawn and exhausted and so very sad. Sally and Susan had never ever seen Bill look sad before. They cried and hugged and asked questions and told him about John. After answering some preliminary questions, Bill went upstairs and crashed on his parent’s bed.
When Hank came home, Bill was still asleep and the girls told their father the basic facts as they knew them. Hank was so tired he fell asleep fully clothed on the bed next to his son.
The next day, Bill told what had taken place in the shop where he worked for his friend, Hani Safar. Bill apologized for not telling his father about changing jobs but he wanted to wait until the end of the month when he had his first big commission check to brag to his father about how well he was doing. And he was doing well. He and Hani were the same age and Hani had come into Electronic City to check on the competition and had seen Bill at work. They had started a conversation. Hani asked Bill over to his house for a down home meal (Syrian style) and Bill had accepted with great gusto. They evening had gone well and at the end, Hani had asked Bill to come to work for him. Hani had been in school in the U.S. since he was 15. He spoke proficient English and got along well with others but he badly wanted and needed a native speaker who was friendly and could relate to the mostly white men who came into the store. Things were going well in the store which had been opened for 6 months. Hani only had one problem. Horace Johnson was a storeowner down the street, who owned an electronics’ repair shop. He was a bigot and a reactionary who was convinced that Hani and his family were trying to throw him out of business. He spread a rumor that the store was a front for terrorists and that Honi was a spy. He had another person who was in his gun club call Home Land Security and report anonymously that Hani was making bombs in his basement. Now these charges were all false had been cleared but Hani was frightened to reopen his shop for fear of further reprisals for being a man from the Middle East. Bill wouldn’t be able to wait too long for Hani to make up his mind about reopening the store and made plans to try to get his job back at Electronic City.
Hank was happy that Bill was okay but was a little disappointed in him for picking someone from the country of their enemies as his friends. Sally wanted him to report all of this to the local press but Hank was not about to make trouble now that his son was okay.
January flowed into February. The president announced the deployment of 40, 000 troops to Iran to rid the country of terrorists. The troops were still in Iraqi and Afghanistan and a draft seemed imminent since there were not enough volunteer troops to support all three wars. Hank was so involved with trying to get his family through this hard time, that he felt a little unhappy about this. But again, if the president said these steps were needed, then he signed and mutter to himself, “Of course, they must be needed.”
Mary had finally brought John home. He was healing well. The insurance continued to provided physical therapy and Dr. Jones was still overseeing his care. There were some side effects from the medicine and John did not seem like his old golden self. Still he was making wonderful progress and was able to walk now with the help of crutches. Everyone was banking on a complete recovery. Mary and Hank had talked to an attorney about a possible wrongful injury suit against the at-fault driver of the other car to pay for some extra help for John and to help defray the cost Mary knew that Dr. Young had absorbed for the new medicine to continue John’s treatments. They were advised that new changes in the law really made it hard thing to prove injury beyond anything physical. And since John was a law student, not working, and appeared to be making a full recovery, no one would be sympathetic to their cause. The attorney would take the case if they insisted but he would advise them not to bother.
Mary was worried about Susan. She was pale, ate little, cried a lot and stayed at home more and more. She didn’t even have the computer any more to keep her occupied. It was broken and no one could fix it and besides they couldn’t afford the internet service. At the end of February, Susan woke up one evening in a large pool of blood. She screamed and her mother came running. Susan passed out and the family called 911. At the hospital, Mary and Hank had to explain to the emergency room staff that they had NO insurance. Sally waited outside. “We really need to move her to the county hospital if you don’t have insurance,” the director finally came and told them . “But she is bleeding to death. “ her parents said “Once that situation is under control, she will be moved and you will still be liable for the work done on her.” the director explained. Hank signed a piece of paper saying that he would pay. He and Mary just wanted to leave and see what was happening to their daughter.
In the waiting room, the doctor called them aside and said that the baby was causing pressure which was making Susan bleed. “We think we can stop it for now but she will have to go on complete bed rest.” “What baby?” Mary asked and Hank started to cry. Hank and Mary finished talking to the doctor and asked when they could see Susan. “In about an hour.” Hank and Mary crept back to the waiting room to tell Sally what was wrong with her sister. They also told her that they would be moving to another hospital as soon as Susan was a little stronger.
Susan’s eyes lashes were fluttering like a butterfly and Mary started to cry, thinking of the butterfly kisses Susan had always loved to give anyone who would stand still for them. The doctor had come back with more bad news. The baby was malformed and most certainly would not live through the next 4 and half months. Susan was weak, undernourished, small and not physically mature enough to have this baby. There was a good chance that she would die also. Hank and Mary were devastated. “Since she is under age, you will let need to let me know what you want me to do. I will need to get you permission to perform an abortion.” Mary shuttered at the thought of an abortion. Everything she had ever believed in and been taught was against this. Wasn’t it illegal at this stage anyway? She knew that the governor of her state had changed the law recently and she was pretty sure that was what had had happened. Could they take the chance that she might lose the baby naturally and still survive? Mary looked at Susan’s face again and decided that she would live with the consequences of an abortion but not of losing her daughter and softly said, “Please do what is necessary to save our daughter.” Hank had already boomed his “Yes” and both men had just been waiting for Mary to speak
The senior gynecologist prepared to commit a crime. Since the tissue was so malformed and small and since he had never seen this patient before, he would write down that the fetus was under 36 weeks. The laws intruding into his and his patient’s judgments about what was best for them had convinced him much more than any sharp increases in malpractice insurance costs that it was time for him to retire.
Susan stayed in the county hospital where she was moved for over a week. She refused to talk to anyone. She would turn her back to the wall whenever anyone came in. The only time she spoke to her mother was when Mary asked if Susan wanted her to bring Father Matt to talk to her. Susan turned in the bed, stared into her mother’s eyes and said, “Not, now, not ever,” and turned back to the wall. Susan was finally forced to speak to a psychologist before she could be released from the hospital. Susan told the woman, she had insisted on a woman, everything. The Doctor gave her some advice and then signed her out. She told Susan to tell her parents everything that had happened to her.
At home Susan stayed in her room and read. One day she wondered down to breakfast but still only nodded and mumbled small phrases under her breath. John who was now walking, if unsteadily, would come into whatever room Susan was in and talk to her, loudly and constantly. He said he was practicing his courtroom techniques. Mary thought he was worried and scared at Susan’s silence and that his constant talking might penetrate her sadness.
Bill had gone back to work at Hani‘s store. One day soon after, Hani had come over and fixed the family’s computer and when he did, he also hooked them up to the internet, saying it was a free service his company was providing for new customers. No one argued, although no one believed the service was free.
Susan slowly began to listen to John and she did not like what she was hearing. He would go to rightwing sites on the internet and come back and rant and rave about what the feminists, liberals, lesbos, gays and foreigners were doing to the moral fiber of American. One day, Susan told him to either shut the hell up or go some place else. She said it loudly and with great power. He shut up. Susan decided then that the time had come to call all of her family together and tell them her story.
Hank and Mary had received the hospital bills for Susan’s medical expenses. They had called the hospital to see what kind of a payment plan they could work out. The amount of the bill was staggering. They would have to get a second mortgage on the house to pay for the bills. Still they were happy that their children were getting well and that they were together.
The headlines on the news the next day proclaimed an opportunity for all the young men in America to serve their country in Iran through a draft. For once, Mary was glad that John had been hurt. She did not know what she would do if they called Bill. She had taught all her children that killing was wrong. That was why she did not believe in abortion or unlike the president, in capital murder. Bill would not even touch a gun and always turned down any hunting or fishing trips. She wondered if she and Hank could get Bill into one of those special units like President Bush was in during the Vietnam War. She was so, so tired of all these wars and killings. She knew that they were necessary to protect them all from terrorists but surely they could find another way to fight that evil without starting another war.
That afternoon Susan called Bill to come to the house because she wanted to talk to all the family. Bill said he would be there. Sally was at class or work. Between the two things, Susan never saw her and she also never saw her playing ball anymore. For some reason, that fact made Susan almost as sad as she had been when she first came home from the hospital. She knew what an important part of Sally’s life the sport had been for so many years. Slowly and methodically, Susan talked to each member of her family and set the time when they could all be together for her to talk to them. She then went into her room and wrote down some of the things she wanted to say. She was not only going to talk about the horrible injustice that had happened to her but about the things that had been done to every member of her family.
The evening came and everyone sat, ready and happy to hear Susan speak. Susan began. She told them about being gay. “I want you to know that this has nothing to do with anything in my environment. this has to do with being myself. Secondly, I want you to know that I got pregnant because I was raped.” All three male members of her family stiffened and her father started to speak. She put her hand up to hush him. “It was not my fault. I fought and tried to get away. I put myself into a bad situation trying to prove my sexuality and it backfired. I won’t be doing that again. I am sorry this happened to me and to all of you but I am not going to let it ruin my life.”
Our family has endured some horrible things in the last year. Father lost his lifelong job to outsourcing. Mother had to stop college again because of that fact. We have no medical insurance. John was in a horrible accident cased by another person but beside minimum medical expenses, that person has not had to pay. The driver of the other car is not responsible for his lost time or law school tuition, the lost work time of your family, the time and money spent going to hospital and therapists and the cost of who know how many thousands out of Dr. Young’s pocket. Not to mention, the fact that if it were up to our present government, he would not even have been given the medicine that is making him well. Bill, I am so happy you are okay and that you have gone back to work with Hani, but I want you to leave the country. I know that you will be called into the military and I know you will die in Iran, if not physically, then spiritually.” Finally, she turned to her sister and said, “ I know the sacrifice you have made giving up the one thing you love so much. First because of the cuts in the funding to your program in school and now to help Mom and Dad and me and John. No more. Tomorrow, we will start hunting down a loan for you so you can go to State U, try out as a walk-on and play ball.”
Susan felt relieved and happy for the first time in years. She sat down and then added, “And if anyone,” and here she looked directly at John, “in this family ever says anything good about that evil person who is the president of the United States again, I will personally rip his or her heart out.”

[OneBlueSky]

1. thanks for that . . . I think it provides a nice composite . . .

of what a lot of people in this country will be facing in the coming years . . . what these people don't get is that what BushCo is going to do to us, they're also going to do to them . . . but they will . . . thanks again . . . :)

[efhmc]

6. They will probably not believe even when the truth hunts them down

and destroys them. The horror still will not come from their demigod.

[Lady Effingbroke]

2. Outstanding!

Sadly, scenarios like this are now a likely possibility. Excellent job, efhmc!

[efhmc]

5. Sweet praise. Thank you so much.

[patdem]

3. I want to read it, I desperately want to read it...not enough white spaces

I need the paragraphs broken up..and probably more paragraphs and fewer very long pragraphs...I am a lazy reader..as is most of America. Please..break it down to fewer sentences per paragraph and more paragraphs and a blank space between paragraphs. Only because it is VERY hard to read otherwise.

[efhmc]

4. It originally was broken up but I felt it took up so much space

that I was slightly embarassed so I took out the breaks. Too late to edit now. Sorry but thanks for trying.

[patdem]

9. I will just copy and paste in word and increase the font to 12-14

and read. Thanks.

[efhmc]

10. That's so sweet that you would take the trouble to do that. I hope

you enjoy the read once you fix it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. I read it the first time around

and boy I thouhgt to myself, what have you done to your characters?

Then pinched myself, these are not characters, but very possibly Americans who will find out just how much they have strayed from the principles of this nation....

Though I would have one of them kids go out there and die for oil in a draft... just my opinion.

Yes I am evil to my characters and as is IF I tried to sell this novel that is real life, I don't think any editor in his or her right mind would buy it

[efhmc]

8. I really did this only for my own sanity and wanted to share my thoughts.

I would have a hard time killing off a character but if I did it would be Bill who would not take his sister's advise to leave the country and gets drafted and killed in a mattter of a few months.