Flag on my Backpack: The Comic Script – Page 7

Page 7

Panel 1, Left hand side, top row

A large kitchen, a woman is preparing some cutlery and dishes, she is wearing a pair of comfortable slacks and a blouse, a small girl sits at the table, sort of in a protective mode over a cake that sits on top of it, the words “Happy 16, Dom!” writing in blue icing, the driveway is visible through the kitchen window.

Narrator (JPT): There are many things that I remember. The speed of my heartbeat the first night I took up the costumed uniform of Canadien, my very first kiss with Monique, Dom and Chloe’s birth. And the day Dom turned 16.

Panel 2, Middle, top row

A car pulls up into the driveway and the little girl looks up quickly and waves excitedly, the woman looks toward the window and smiles.

Chloe (waving excitedly): Papa is home!

Panel 3, Right hand side, top row

A man in the car is getting out and waves, the little girl rushes to the door as the woman places a few things on the table.

Narrator (JPT): It was the happiest moment, and one that brought about such a foreboding future. A mix of emotions that can tire even the most resolute.

Panel 4, Left hand side, middle row

The man walks into the house as the little girl run over to him, he is setting down a briefcase.

Chloe (with arms outstretched): Papa!

Jean Pierre (smiling as he holds an arm out for the girl): Ah ha! Chloe, been keeping your mother company?

Panel 5, Right hand side, middle row

The man is hugging the girl, he is bent down as she hugs his neck.

Chloe: I helped mama put the cake on the table, an’ I help watch it. An’ I never took any sneaks from it. No way!

Pierre Turgeon (laughing): Ah, that is good to hear, Chloe.

Panel 6, Left hand side, bottom row

Image shows the man and woman standing close, the man is holding the little girl in his arms, they are all smiling.

Jean Pierre: And how was your day?

Monique (a hand resting on Jean Pierre’s arm): The gallery opening was very successful. I will tell you all about it later tonight. And you?

Panel 7, Middle, bottom row

Image shows the man setting the little girl down as the woman still stands next to him.

Jean Pierre: Very uneventful. I’m waiting for a summer session of Parliament to start, however. Though, part of me hopes that the ministers will merely take a summer vacation.

Panel 8, Right hand side, bottom row

Image shows the man taking his coat off as the woman helps him. The little girl seems to hover around her parents.

Jean Pierre: Is Dom home yet?

Monique: No, not yet. She was supposed to be home about fifteen minutes ago. She should be along any moment.

Related articles

• Flag on my Backpack: The Comic Script – Page 6 (taholtorf.wordpress.com)
• Flag on my Backpack: The Comic Script – Page 8 (taholtorf.wordpress.com)

 

Burn

Before I begin, let me first state that this photo originally was found at this flickr page.  It’s meant to be artistic and symbolize something as it states in the description.

The photographer made the comment that it was the second roll of film, and it took forever to get the right photo and was pleased with the result.  It also had this comment in italics.

I’ll open this book and blow the dust from these pages of desire and lust. I’ll search for a spell perfect for you… ‘Cause I need to get you enchanted with me too

It was art, so my opening preamble about this image really has nothing to do with what the artist was attempting to convey.  I just know what my reaction upon seeing it was.

What I saw, before reading anything else or exploring the photographer’s flickr stream, was that I saw a burning book.  And then came my abject horror.  Anybody who knows me should also know I hate book burning with a passion.  It’s not so much the act of getting rid of something unwanted, I get that.  We have recycle programs for unwanted newspapers and even books.  Often times there are too many books to be sold.  Not everyone will buy a book, and therefore, the unwanted books have to go somewhere.  Sometimes a library, sometimes a school, but often times they are recycled, or destroyed because there just isn’t any need for them.

Those are different than the more thought of uses for burning a book.  Which is to destroy it for the sake of erasing the text printed on the pages.  It’s a barbaric form of censorship.  Censorship is something else I have a major problem with, because it’s such a fine line to walk.  That’s something I’ll get into at another time.  Book burning, however, is very much a violent way of showing disapproval of the printed word.  We’ve seen it over the course of history, the most recent and famous of which has been in Nazi Germany, when books by Jewish authors, scholars and philosophers were destroyed in very public means.  We’ve seen several more different scenarios as of late, shocking, but not the whole sale destruction as what took place during and before the Second World War.

One of those has been groups, mostly in the States and mostly by right wing fundamentalist Christian groups, that have burned books from the Harry Potter series.  Really?  Honestly?  A children’s book?  I can see, in their defense, why they would have come up with this notion.  The book is about witches and wizards at a school, set somewhere in England.  As it states in the Bible, witchcraft is a devilish thing.  But what got me is that the book was accused of teach children witchcraft.  So, I say again: really?  If you believe that it’s not for your child, then don’t let your child read it.  Oh, and if you have no children, then don’t get into the discussion.  Parents need to read books with their child.  Parenting isn’t something where you plop the child in front of the television and just hope for the best while feeding them, clothing them and sending them to school.  I’ve known a good number of parents that have read the entire Harry Potter series with their children and made it a very wonderful experience.

I know the comparison with Twilight and Harry Potter is out there, really, I do.  And I even know that there have been those who burned copies of Twilight in response to the burning of Harry Potter books.  My disgust envelopes those people as well.  Saying that burning a book is reprehensible, especially a book from a series you might like, then turning around and burning another book is hypocritical.  It’s also not helping.

The other book which has seen it’s share of threats to help stoke the flames is not a fictional book, persay.  It, like the Holy Bible, is a book which millions and millions of people follow faithfully.  It’s called the Qu’ran.  In this case, however, the burning of this book isn’t about reading to children.  It’s all about religious intolerance.  I will admit, religion is the motivator in the burning of Harry Potter books, but burning the Qu’ran is fueled with such a venomous hatred.  The complete intolerance to a religion that those who accuse it of being the heart of terrorism are only acting on their own fears and misguided understanding.  They say it’s an evil book, yet don’t even take the time to open it and read what it has to say.  They’ll burn it without hesitation, unless so shamed by the rest of the world.  What exactly would burning the Qu’ran do, except fuel the hatred and intolerance, and ignorance of a religion.  Instead of learning what they can of the religion, most who suffer from the seemingly incurable disease of Islamophobia, will react with knee jerk assumptions and “popular opinion” of the time.  These people don’t even try to take the opportunity to understand the religion, nor do they take the time to decipher between what is part of the religion and what is part of the culture from where the religion is practiced.

Book burning is a very vile form of censorship, that speaks to people that it’s okay to belittle ideas.  It says “your work is reprehensible, therefore it must be destroyed”.  Which can only develop a cycle that another group might find a work reprehensible.  After all, what if a group so publicly stated they were going to burn a Bible.  Think of the reaction there would be to that.  There might even be those that would demand a call to arms and be willing to go to war.

Now, sit back and think for just a moment.  Harry Potter fans may not band together in the face of such an insult, but do you not think for a minute that the reaction to the burning of the Bible would not be the very same reaction to the burning of the Qu’ran?

 

Rambling randomness

Here is a large number of things that I need to get down.  All of them completely random.  All of it completely rambling.

Have you ever noticed that the people who most hope for a zombie apocalypse are more than likely the least likely to survive a zombie apocalypse?

It’s not thought of as proper to wear shorts to work.  Well I don’t think it’s comfortable to sit in my own sweat when it’s 33 degrees Celsius outside and the air conditioner doesn’t work.  My comfort while I work outweighs your appropriateness.

Individuals who happen to call out people for being lazy have a tendency of being more lazy than the people they are calling out.

Never call out someone for longing for something they can never have again.  Saying “that’s silly” is quite ridiculous.  Most likely you’re longing for something equally or more silly than they are.

People make the comparison between Harry Potter and Twilight all the time.  There is only one comparison needed.  They were both printed on paper, start comparing the paper and you’ll find there is no difference.  The stories, on the other hand, are completely different.

On the same note of Harry Potter and Twilight; compare the reactions in certain circles to the two series.  Harry Potter has been called devil worship and instruction to witchcraft, when at it’s core it is a story about friendship, love, overcoming massive obstacles and the triumph of good over evil.  Twilight is telling young girls that they aren’t any good unless they have a boyfriend who plays mind games with them, is extremely white, and is kind of a stalker.  It is held up as good reading for young adults.  This is a reflection on our society, when we hold up something that treats women poorly over something that values friendship.

When you find a job or career that you truly like, getting up in the morning will be easy.  Waking at 5:00 in the morning, especially if you work day time hours, will take no effort.  On a personal note, this does not include the morning anchor position of certain radio stations.

We’re never truly aware how dependent we are on something until it’s gone.  Thus, why I don’t own a cellphone.

Yes, I don’t own a cellphone, and really don’t need one.  However, I have been in situations where I’ve thought “now would be a great time to have a cellphone.”

I have come to a point in my life where watching movies is difficult.  It’s not that they’re hard to watch, as in a sort of labour, though that’s not far off, but it’s more that most movies now are complete and utter crap.

The book is always better, although there are a few movies that are extremely close.

My joints will ache, my vision will grow more and more blurry.  Then I meet someone who is a paraplegic or who is considered legally blind.  I resist the urge to compare, because really, my mobility and vision is far better than that person’s is.  Yet, each of us has this compelling urge to “compare injuries” in a way to make themselves feel better about having a sore knee while talking to a person who has lost their legs.

Chances are the person who has no legs is happier than you are.

We do an awful lot of sitting.  Sit at a computer at work, sit at a computer at home, sit and watch television.  Then we log onto flickr or tumblr and click “like” on all the lovely scenic pictures of people doing things outside.

I’m writing this on WordPress, but I’ll eventually post it on tumblr, because I know that I have followers there who are not nameless, faceless entities.

It’s easier to write 1,000 words that ramble on and on than it is to write 1,000 words that connect into a coherent story that flow eloquently.

Ask yourself next time you find yourself writing a large number of incoherent thoughts; are you doing this just to get this stuff down, or are you doing this just to see how many views it will get?

The war between the book and the Kindle can be summed up like this.  When a fly is buzzing about my head, the book becomes a tool for the moment that extinguishes the fly.  After, I go back to reading the book.  Replace book with Kindle, then once the fly is extinguished, go buy a new Kindle.

Why do we have to associate war with most everything in life?  War on drugs, Battle of the Sexes, and so on.  War on drugs conjures up images of Hollywood cop shows, while battle of the sexes conjures up something much more pornographic.  And there in lies the problem with the battle of the sexes.

Remember, all of this is completely random.

What some people call philosophy, others call lunacy.  Mostly because the latter doesn’t take the time to consider what the former has just said, due to the fact that the latter has been raised with certain social parameters enforced upon them.  Really, the latter isn’t calling the former a lunatic because the former is indeed a lunatic, it’s because the latter is afraid that everything they’ve known is wrong.

I remember that time in the Bible when Christ said “let the poor pull themselves up by their boot straps” and then gave a bunch of money to large corporations.  Good times.

I know there’s someone out there who’s going to say “you should do this on a weekly basis”.  It would hardly be random anymore, would it?

You’ve been counting this word count, haven’t you?

I use the tumblr dash board so much that I’ve forgotten what background I use.

A sentence can either be translated as angry or happy, but never moreso does it become angry by use of the word “fuck” somewhere in the middle of it as an adjective.

Before I owned a car, I thought it would be wonderful to go on a drive every now and then.  Now I hate driving.

Someone, somewhere is laughing at that last sentence.

Someone, somewhere, just looked over their shoulder after reading that last part.

Nothing says desperation more than the sentence “we’ve run out of coffee”.  Every desperate moment should be treated as though we’ve just run out of coffee.

And now the word count sits at 1,067.