The Winds of Political Change

It is remarkable how fast winds of the political rhetoric shift.  We have gone from "Everyone should serve in the military" to "No one has a 'right' to serve in the military," on the one side and "The military should be abolished" to "We should be allowed in," on the other.  All in a few short months.

A Short Story (Part 6)

Setting Out

It was a fitful sleep for Tom, between the other men, the hard ground and a mid-night thunderstorm he did not get much sleep.  He began to wonder if this whole adventure was a mistake.  Had he, to use the archaic phrase – bitten off more than he could chew?  Finally, as the light of the eastern sun began to break through the dark of the night he heard his fellow tent-mates begin to stir.

Quickly, Tom realized “stir” was not the right word, for these men were loud, course, and in no way subtle.  Their rising was more of a very loud clamor and in many ways like an earthquake.  As quickly as they started, they were out of the tent and moving towards the outhouse.  Tom rose and pulling on his boots, he too followed the men.  He was amazed at the filth and garbage strewn around the camp.  He had not noticed it last night as he made his way to the tent, but in the early morning light it was almost overwhelming.  How could these men care so little about their environment?  As soon as that thought crossed he was shaken back to the reality.  These men survived in this environment, and the carnage they left was as it had been through history.  They thought little about the beaver, the bison, or the natives, they were here to make their fortune, free to do as they will, and they gave no thought to the consequences.

As the sun continued to rise, Tom found Fergus and set about negotiating for the animals he would need to travel west, away from the filth of St. Louis and into the vast plains in search of the Rocky Mountains to the west.  For the cost of 2 shillings, and an ounce of gold Tom was able to get a horse, saddle, and two pack mules, which Fergus assured him were in the prime of their lives.  He showed Tom how to saddle the horse and mules and asked where Tom was headed.  Fergus didn’t really care, he had seen idiots like Tom come and go, never to return and assumed Tom would be dead in a week, but he had gotten hard currency and gold from him so he was the better off.

Tom pointed in a vague generally west, northwesterly direction as Fergus asked about supplies.  Tom said he had some about a day’s ride away and with that he set out.

The first half-day was an experiment in balance as Chester walked slowly along.  According to the horse riding manual, Tom was supposed to get off every hour or so and let Chester have a break.  The getting on and getting off became quite tiring as the day went on, and he found his back and his legs hurt like the dickens.  Finally, he said to himself, enough is enough and decided to walk the last two hours of the trip. 

He found the camp he had stopped in that first day, and asked if he could join them for the night.  He had a case of whisky and slab of salt pork he had bought from Fergus and offered that as payment for their hospitality.  With the prospect of fresh whisky, the men quickly put down their tools and joined Tom at the fire.

The next morning, he again arose, stiff and sore from the night, as well as the long ride the day before.  Traveling on horseback was only slightly faster than walking as he figured out this whole horse driving thing.  Bidding his camp mates adieu he started to the west, but when he was sure he wasn’t being followed made his way to where he had stashed his real provisions for the journey.

He arrived in mid-afternoon and found a suitable place to tie the animals as he started figuring out how to pack the equipment on the mules.  With the setting sun to remind him that travel at night was never a good idea he made camp, finally in something that offered the comfort a little closer to what he was used to. 

Tom had brought with him a miniature, self-erecting, fully enclosed portable space camp.  It was standard issue for the military in 2222 and easily available on Amazon®. The entire assembly weighed just 5 pounds and provided shelter, light, heating and cooling, a comfortable mattress, a water distillation system as well as a waste disposal system.  Setting it on a level spot, Tom pushed the erect logo and stepped back.  The unit scanned the ground and the environment around itself and within about a minute was fully erect and ready to welcome Tom to its air-conditioned comfort.  He selected camouflage mode and the shelter virtually disappeared from sight.  The only sign of his camp was the horses tied to a nearby tree.  He figured this was alright for tonight, but once he got started he would shelter them as well.

What is the Purpose of Government?

If you’ve never wondered about why our government exists then perhaps it is time.  We are now in a period of transition; the unanswerable question is what will come from it? 

Our founding fathers, in the preamble to the Constitution said,

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Have we reached a point where these words no longer have meaning, and have lost their ability to bind us together as a nation?  We are at a point where the centrists have left the stage, and the radicals have chosen riot, rather than debate, as the means of communication.   The institutions we have historically looked to for our views of the world have chosen sides and news is replaced by opinion.

On the one side, there are those who would have “the government” be the nexus of all things.  They display a willingness to surrender their personal freedoms for the illusions of safety and expert control, placing their trust in a benevolent leadership.  In the process, they would forsake the traditional institutions of religion, and coopt the educational system, both of which served in the past to moderate the growth and abuse of power. 

The opposition must take the position of limiting government and the power it wields, opening it to attack from those who have come to expect a continuation of government largess, without consequence.  Everyone, it seems, loves the idea of paying no taxes and getting all the benefits of using other people’s money.

The Democratic party has pretty much admitted it stands for little, or nothing, except to gain power for those who control the party.  (Perhaps this has always been true, and now is now just more apparent.)

The Republican Party, is currently a fractured caricature of what it once was.  It seems apparent they have no clear and unifying understanding of either the needs of the nation, or the path to secure those needs.  It has proven itself great at complaining about the abuses of power by their opponents, but as we have seen, when it comes to actually legislating they have neither plan, nor the leadership to secure the “Blessings of Liberty” so desired by our founders.

Adding to the challenges of the traditional opposing political parties is the advent of a populist President who speaks to the concerns and fears of the average middle-aged working man and woman.  The very people the political elite have cast aside as they talk among themselves about the grand future of their parties and the utopia they will create.

Another element muddying the waters of political discourse is the rise of the religious right.  A growing force since the 1970’s.  It has become almost completely aligned with the Republican Party as the Democratic National Committee has moved further and further from its traditional “everyman” approach.

From this shift left comes the continuing attacks on what many centrists view as simple cultural norms, like the traditional holidays, but what the non- traditional religious and atheists view as state endorsement of a religion.  The courts have sided with their concerns often enough to provide the foundation for the religious activist’s belief the churches must engage politically if they are to survive. 

These almost daily legal battles ultimately end up in the legislatures as the politicians align with what they believe to be their most supportive constituents.  Oft times writing laws that are ill advised, or even counterproductive.

It has become apparent to me, and perhaps others, the political parties increasingly fail at providing the common people with a viable representative government.  Each party is bought and paid for by to serve their sponsors interests.  Couple this with the obvious self-interest for power and wealth on the part of the politicians themselves, and we have the perfect condition for institutional corruption.  One has only to look at the alumni of the Office of President, or the wealth accumulation of career politicians in Congress to see the obvious truth of this assertion.

We see in the class structure of our nation an increasing divide, where the traditional ideals of hard work, and ambition will no longer enable someone to migrate from the poor, to the middle class, or to the wealthy as was the promise of the past.  The question no one seems to consider is was that a reality, or just an illusion used to foster a unity of purpose?  I think the answer should be obvious.  The wealthy have always made up the 1%, but the ability to live comfortably and move from abject poverty was a real possibility for those who had the ambition, drive, and courage to seek change.

The Democrats have, for at least the past 10 years, talked about the wealth of the 1% and the poverty of the poorest, as if being wealthy is bad, and the poor are always victims of an unfair system who have no control over their status.  Remarkably the same time the Democratic politicians are blaming the rich; they have their hands out for campaign contributions while writing legislation that will affect those they are soliciting funds from.  What is the expectation of all those who contribute?  Is it just a magnanimous and humanitarian concern?

 The Republicans talk about reducing taxes, while giving lip service to the idea of reducing government, and like the Democrats they too have their hands out while blaming big government and writing legislation that will benefit the wealthy.  How important is the idea of reducing taxes for the growing percentage of Americans who pay no taxes?  With Republican control of the Congress they could have reduced the deficit through spending reductions on non-entitlement programs, but a Representative or Senator is elected to bring home the bacon (or pork) so why on earth would either party ever cut funding.  Especially now that they have convinced us that just slowing the growth of a program is called a cut.  Recently, my Representative claimed with all sincerity the House had passed the 2018 budget that would balance the budget in only 10 years.  Hmm, where have I heard that before?  With nine more budgets to pass, four more elections to hold, and an unknown global future I’m guessing in 9 years he will be claiming similar success is only 10 years away.                  

Neither party talks very much about the decay of the American dream where initiative is rewarded and a family has the opportunity to thrive and prosper without fear of a bank taking their home, or an employer laying them off to hire new workers at the minimum wage.  One party wants to open our borders to all, when we don’t have employment for those who are citizens, while the other wants to seal to border to those they view as threats.  As in most things these days, neither party wants to concede an inch and find reasonable balance to national employment, security, and immigration.

Sorry, I got a little side tracked there.  Let’s get back to talking about the meaning of the Preamble.

So, I come to the two questions, how do we understand the terms justice, domestic tranquility, common defense, and general welfare, and what is the role we expect of our government?  Fueled by a myopic media we, as a nation, seem increasingly unable to come to agreement over what the they should mean and what ideal they should represent.

Justice – at our founding, the original colonies had all experienced the rule of English law, where there was one set of expectations for the royalty and another for the commoner.  They had also imported, as their inheritance, the concept of “common law” as adjusted to the conditions of the colonies.  But as James Stoner[i] discusses in his commentary we have twisted the meaning of common law, and just as we seem to be twisting the meaning of common justice.  As proponents of “natural law” where the rights of the people come not from the state, but from a higher power (or nature if you prefer), then the ideal of equal justice for all would be foundational in their beliefs and would serve as a safeguard for the abuse of the state.  This was clearly their intent in the establishment of the checks and balances provided by organizing the government into three independent but interrelated branches.  Unfortunately, the execution of justice is left to us as a society, along with all our bias and hatred.  We may choose men and women who promise fairness to judge the law, but we see often they fall short when it comes to the having the wisdom of Solomon.   Slowly, perhaps imperceptibly at first, the common expectation of equal justice is eroded until one day we awake to find the political class is judged with a standard that differs from those who are not politically connected.  We are now at that point as we see with both the current and past administrations.  We are at a time where regardless of the public evidence of corruption a politically connected candidate will not be prosecuted, or despite a lack of hard evidence another will be continuously vilified, leaving the average man or woman to question the standards of justice this nation would have.  I’ve purposely left the issue of race and justice out of this paragraph for that begs for a much larger discussion.  Can a minority race receive equal treatment under the law? I am sure everyone has their own answer to that question, but the simple fact there are multiple answers would suggest in the larger sense a loss of faith in the underlying principle of equal justice.

Domestic Tranquility, what the heck is that?  Is it the same thing as “Happy wife, happy life?”  Well it kind of is.  When the revolution ended, we established the Confederation of States, where the individual colonies maintained a great deal of autonomy.  The federal government (much like the UN of today) had no real means to ensure the states cooperated with each other beyond brokering consensus.  We also had no means of quelling a resurrection should one occur.  These failures in our first government weighed heavily into the debates and concerns of the constitutional convention and led to the provisions within the constitution that placed limits on the states and gave the President and Congress the ability to quell rebellion (e.g. the Whisky Rebellion[ii])

Providing for the Common Defense.  This is, at least in my opinion, the simplest of the purposes of government.  Sovereignty is an interesting concept.  Throughout our history there have been very few years when our sovereignty has not been challenged by one group or another.  Without the means to defend ourselves would we exist today as an independent nation?   We’ve fought two wars with the English regarding our rights to exist, then there were the Barbary pirates who sought tribute and ransom, but as often as not we’ve used our military to achieve the political will of the day.  For example, when we annexed Texas and Mexico took umbrage, or when Commodore Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay.  In neither case was the employment of the military narrowly defined as “defensive.”  Today, our sovereignty is challenged by Islamic terrorism, and the defense of our nation is addressed by the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and State, as well as the CIA. 

Finally, we come to that catch all phrase, promoting the General Welfare.  I share the views of Adam J. Bulava,[iii] writing in his blog “The Government Teacher” when he discusses the framers intent, and the conflict between unlimited and limited government.  He notes its origins lie in the classic philosophy, regarding putting the common good ahead of the desires of special interests.  Was it the framers intent that this phrase justifies an unlimited expanse of government?  There is sufficient other indication in the Constitution and the Federalist papers to lay to rest the idea the framers ever imagined Government as having unlimited power.

So, we come to today.  As the power of the government expands and the desires of the special interests are cried out with increasing demands and authority to that government, the question remains “What do we expect of our government?”

Clearly, we are willing to overlook the sins of those we favor, while we condemn those we dislike.  The Democratic candidate’s collusion, or the Republican President’s collusion are two sides of the same coin, yet we hear in the media completely different levels of acceptance or tolerance.  Clearly the needs of the general population are given little consideration by the public advocates who gain so much air time in the various media outlets.

To turn John F. Kennedy’s phrase around, ask not what you can do for your government, ask what your government is doing to you.  If we are to survive we must find a way to move from the extremes, and this cannot happen if we, the average citizen, support only the extreme positions our favored political party is moving to.

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[i] Liberty Law, Forum, "Why You Can't Understand the Constitution Without the Common Law

[ii] Encyclopedia Britannica, Whisky Rebellion

[iii] WordPress, The Government Teacher - Original Intent: The General Welfare  

A Short Story (Part 5)

The Adventure, (continued)

Tom claimed to be from New England and was traveling to see the west.  He had lost his horse a day or so earlier when they tried to cross the Missouri river, and he was now searching for a town where he could perhaps trade for one.  The strangers asked what he had to trade for, but he was weary of their motives so he just shrugged.  Finally, they just pointed south and said it was a day’s walk to the outpost of St. Louis.  By now it was getting late and they offered to let Tom stay the night.  Having no better option, he agreed.  They pointed to a pile of animal hides, suggesting Tom use a couple for bedding.

Tom rolled himself up in one that appeared to be from a bison, and was soon asleep.  It was a sound sleep thanks to the drink the men had shared.  In the morning, he awoke to the smell of coffee and sound of meat frying on the fire.  They camp came to life as the group shared breakfast.  At its finish, Tom thanked the group for their hospitality and set off to the south.  Tom left behind a compass, one of the three he had brought with him, as a thank you.

As the men had said, it was indeed a full day’s walk to reach the outpost.  As he reached the top of a hill he could see the small village below.  There were tents on the outer perimeter, then log and sod cabins in the center.  The air was filled with the smoke of a hundred fires burning, despite the heat of the late afternoon.  As he approached the village he asked, in French, directions to somewhere he might find shelter for the night, and perhaps a meal?  A burly man of about six-foot pointed towards a large sod covered building with a simple hand-drawn sign in front about 500 meters away.  With a word of thanks, Tom set off towards what appeared to be a store of some sort.

As he approached, he saw the emporium was really the be-all for the village.  It offered beds to rent, shaves & haircuts, dentistry, medicines, whisky, and hot meals.  It also seemed to have horses and equipment to sell.  Tom stood in awe for a few minutes as a flurry of fur covered men came and went from this haven of commerce. 

Tom had determined he would spend as little time as possible in this place, but it was late, too late to start out so he decided first to seek a meal and shelter for the night.  When the crowds thinned a bit he approached the man who seemed to be in charge and asked if there was a bed and a meal to be had, and if so how much?  The man looked at Tom, sizing him up, for Tom did not look like his normal clientele.  Clean shaven, with only a few days growth of beard, he obviously did not hail from this area, or the wilderness of the plains.  His first question of Tom was to ask how he thought he could pay for such luxuries?  Not to be put off Tom said he would figure that out once he knew it was worth worrying about.  With a loud laugh the man, who Tom would come to know as Fergus, said fair enough.  The bed was a shilling, the meal another shilling.  Tom agreed, and in the course of the conversation pulled a shilling from his purse saying “one now for the meal, the second if the meal is agreeable and I choose the bed as well.”

Fergus was impressed with his new client.  It was not often that real money found its way to this part of the world.  He had set the price, assuming there would be some barter and haggling, but this stranger didn’t argue a bit.  Clearly a man of some wealth.  Fergus invited Tom to join him for dinner and a drink.  Tom agreed. 

The dinner was a simple affair, a stew made from some kind of meat, a biscuit with some sort of ingredient Tom thought it best not to ask about, and ale made from who knows what.  At Tom’s urging Fergus began to talk about himself.  Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he had signed on with a sailing ship as a cabin boy at 12.  He served the ship for two years, and when it arrived in New York harbor in 1780 he jumped ship and set out to make his way in the new world.  He traveled first to Philadelphia, where the crowds were too big, and then across Pennsylvania to the Ohio frontier.  As civilization closed in he moved further west until he reached the Missouri river where he decided to settle down, take a wife, and put his industrious Scottish heritage to work.

Tom, for his part, listened intently, for while time and space formed different lives, the desire to see the unknown, and find space away from the crowds was a shared feeling.  When it came his turn, he spoke of his education in the east, and how he too had grown weary of the crowed cities, although he did not mention the cities were now reaching a couple of hundred million residents each.  He said he had set out to find what lay beyond horizons, first through the Ohio territory, then the great plains that stretched before them.  Along the way, Tom asked if there was a party traveling west he might join with?

Fergus, passing some more ale, considered the question for a moment and said “aye, there may be a group or two, but you will need supplies and some horses.”  Sipping the ale, Tom looked over the rough formed mug and asked, “and do you know where one might find such things?”  Fergus laughed loud and long as he knew perfectly well where such things could be had, and it all meant profit for himself.

Tom slid a shilling across the table, as a way of saying the dinner was good, but it was time for sleep.  He looked at Fergus and said they would talk in the morning about the cost of the equipment, and the potential for travel.  With that Fergus showed Tom a canvas tent in the back of the shop.  He could hear the loud snores of already sleeping men, as he made his way first to a crude outhouse and then the tent.  Finding an empty pad on the ground he collapsed onto it, and quickly was asleep. 

It’s a Curious Thing.

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One of the current popular Democratic Party talking points is to accuse Republicans of being “anti-science,” over their opposition to much of the climate change (formerly known as Global Warming) legislation and international agreement.  For example, we have Senator Bill Nelson’s (D-FL) rant about the “war on science” (see: Florida Politics - Bill Nelson takes aim at Rick Scott and GOP's war on science).

For the record I believe in science, but I also believe that scientists are human, not infallible, and when politics and science get mixed up together all kinds of strange things happen.  For example, it's a curious thing to me that the party that cries the loudest about their concern over science is the same party that cherry picks the science they like, and the science they don’t to just about the same degree as those other guys who are accused of being "anti-science."  For example: I believe in biology and don’t believe psychology can undo biology just for convience.  Yet, here we have a dilemma within the social order of the progressive movement. 

Biology tells us there are normally two genders, male and female, in most species (there are some notable exceptions) and those genders are assigned during the development of the embryo.  For humans it is determined by the addition or lack of a chromosome when the egg is fertilized.  Except now the scientists of the left are advocating that we pick our gender, based not on biology, but on our psychological feelings and how we perceive ourselves within the society.  If we challenge this position are we “anti-science?”  Of course we are; for that is the progressive view and progressives are always right.  Just like when they advocated for eugenics as a way to improve our society, or for lobotomies as a way to end our depression.

As a way to get around this annoying fact, we see increasing separation of the terms sex and gender so in the future the science loving fans of the left will be able to say the two have never been synonymous and what’s the big deal? Of course this will all be supported by the social “scientists” who will poll popular opinions from a small sample group, apply their anti-bias models, and determine the majority of the earth agree the two terms have never had the same meaning. 

Once again progressive science will triumph over the forces of anti-science.  Huzzah!

A Short Story (Part 4)

The Adventure

Tom had estimated it would take him about six-weeks to gather supplies and prepare for his great adventure, it took him almost twice as long, but in his opinion it was time well spent.  Not only did he gather material he could use, worked on his conditioning, and studied the culture of the time, but he programmed his sleep-learning modules to learn about horses, camping, wild animals, and the native cultures and their languages.  Finally, he was ready to make the trip, or should we say trips?  For Tom had decided he needed to transport with him his supplies and his small time-machine/watch could only handle Tom and about 35 kilograms of stuff at a time.  As he laid out his supplies he realized he would need to make three jumps to carry all his things back.  Some would be used for barter, some for survival. 

Tom was a methodical planner.  So, he laid out his goods to make sure they were equally divided, just in case something happened while he was making the trips.  Even though each trip would be an instant, and all three of his arrivals would be within a minute or two of the previous one.  The one rule in time travel Tom was convinced was critical was he could never be in the exact same space-time twice.  This was called “the double-occupancy” problem.  He didn’t want to consider the consequences of such a mistake, but figured all of them would be bad.

Finally, with a big, deep, breath Tom gathered up the first load, mostly food stuff and clothing, set his watch (which was now a pocket watch), and launched himself back to the St. Louis town of 1790.  His research had identified a suitable landing spot just north of the area, where there was a sufficient isolation and shelter to secure his belongings, yet close enough to town to walk in and find the final items he would need, like a horse or two.

In the twinkling of eye, he was transported to North, 38^o 51.73908’, and West 90^o17.0742, 0530(local), June 5^th 1790.  The location he chose was just south of the big bend in the Missouri River, well north of the center of what was the center of the old St. Louis city.

Once on the ground in 1790, Tom looked around as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon.  He could feel the humidity in the air, as he watched the lightning flashes on the distant horizon.  From his experience in recent travels, as well as his study of the weather he knew this was going to be a day of thunderstorms.  He also realized he needed to find some higher ground to secure his stuff in the event of a really heavy rain.  He could see a small hill just to his east so grabbing his load he headed over to it.  He was in luck, for as he reached the crest he found a number of large boulders that provided a convenient hiding place for is bundle.  Programming in these new coordinates he leapt home and back two more times to finish bringing all his stuff to this place.  He made sure to keep separation between his journeys in time and space by altering his arrival times by a good five-minutes after each departure time.  By 0700 he had all his stuff secured and set off towards where he saw smoke rising to the south.

As Tom walked, he was struck by the smells of the land.  The freshness of the air, the smell of the damp grasses, reaching waist high, and the occasional signs of man.  Tom walked until noon, and the smoke rising to the south seemed no closer than it had when he began.  How far had he come?  How much farther must he go?  He reached for his navigational computer to help answer these questions, but something was wrong it said it could not determine his position.  “Oh great” thought Tom, but then a thought came to the front of his mind.  A thought that should have come long ago.  When did we develop electronic stars we could use to guide our way?  When he realized, the device was at least 200 years out of date he tucked it away as useless weight. 

He stopped to rest, eat something, and drink some water, as he pondered what to do next?  After about a half hour he set off again towards the south, as the sky darkened and became threatening.  Soon the afternoon rains would start, and Tom hoped to be somewhere less open then this grassland when that happened.  As luck would have it he stumbled across a small camp with about six men busy doing something with bodies of some beaver.  They had built simple shelters covered with a white canvas and appeared to be engaged in simple conversation.  Tom activated the embedded translator chip all 23^rd Century humans had, and entered the camp.  The men dropped their tool, grabbed their rifles and leveled them at Tom.  The first man barked “Qui es to?” Tom stretched out his hands and replied in English, “I am a traveler,” which his translator changed to “Je – suis – un – voyager.”

This did little to relax these new strangers so Tom decided to show them he was not armed.  The men began an excited discussion about this insane man and what could he possibly want.  Tom stood patiently while the men looked him over.  He really had little choice since the muskets they had leveled at him looked fairly lethal.  Eventually, the six decided this idiot who was walking around without any protection was probably fairly harmless and they invited him to sit and have a drink or two.

Sitting on a log, near the small camp fire, Tom was offered a ceramic jug, whose contents smelled quite powerful.  Tom raised the jug, took a small sip and almost passed out from the gagging that followed.  His new companions found this hilarious as they snatched the jug from him, and took long pulls of drink from it.  Tom asked them what it was they were drinking and all he got back was “the stuff of life.”  When it was again his turn he took another drink, prepared this time as the liquid burned his throat on the way down and settled roughly into his stomach.  With two drinks Tom was already feeling the effects.  He began to worry that if he passed out these men would strip him of the things he was carrying so he decided to stop the drinking until he could figure out their true intent.

Soon, the men set the jug down as they began to pepper Tom with questions.  “Where are you from?”  “How did you get here?” “What do you want?”  Tom smiled as they all flowed together in the warmth of the day and the drink.  Slowly he began to answer them with the story he had made up, hoping his answers would sound reasonable.

A Short Story (Part 3)

Tom found his way to the historical society where he learned more about the history of St. Louis than the holographic monument had provided.  He also learned that spices like salt were valuable commodities in a time when it was not readily available in the food processors.  He also learned that money, in the form of the omnipresent bank chip did not exist in 1790, and barter was the most common business transaction, followed by simple theft.

Soon, his week of research was up, and Tom activated the return home mode of his time machine.  In a flash, he was home.  As he scrambled for that old iPad he tried to place his notes into a usable sequence.  Putting away his old clothing, Tom felt the pockets for his one new treasure.  In the museum, he had found a sample of native beading and was able to use his time watch to pick that up in the middle of the night when the museum was closed.

And so, it went for the next six weeks or so, as Tom made his way back in time to prepare for that final great adventure.  A bobble here, a small treasure there, something that might be useful on his journey was always a goal.  At the same time, while he was in his own time Tom began to realize he would need to be in better condition if he were to survive in the wilderness of 400-years earlier, so he set about the task of exercising.

This raised some suspicion in his neighbors as they wondered about Tom’s mental wellbeing.  After all, who in their right mind would set out to actually sweat in this day and age?  Would this wild behavior actually impact the harmony of the city?  Tom assured them he would ease off on this foolishness, as he found ways to mask the times he worked out by traveling to an earlier time to do it.  There seemed to be some kind of fitness craze in the late twentieth century, and it was very easy to fit in there as an out-of-shape guy looking to lose a few pounds.

Chester’s Story

Born to a mustang on the Great Plains, Chester had lived his first year by his mother in the herd led by his father.  It had been a free and easy time, except for the occasional wolf pack that would chase the herd until one of the older mares fell behind.  The first winter had been hard when the snow covered the grass and there was little to eat, but the herd had moved to the shelter of a river valley were grass could still be found.

His life changed dramatically in the summer of his second year, when humans came into it, and he was captured by a tribe of the Dakota.  For the next year he learned their customs, and allowed them to ride on his back.  He found great excitement in the wild chase of Bison as the humans drove them, much as the wolves had driven his herd.  He seemed to be joined with one particular human, but was still part of the bigger herd, led by a large stallion ridden by the strongest of the humans.  And it came to be for the next ten years of his life.  It became a comfortable life, as the humans took care to make sure there was food and water for him.

Then one day, when everything seemed so normal, strangers came into his herd and he was led away by men who smelled completely foreign.  He was now on his own with these new humans with just a small herd to bond with, but they were always on the move, with little time to graze or socialize.  He learned to carry the weight of a saddle, along with the increased weight of these new humans.  He also learned not to bolt with the noise of their guns, but each time they fired them the flash and the band did startle him.  Eventually they came to this encampment by the river, where the men gathered and became noisy.  It was here that Charlie met Tom.