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Getting Out : Leaving
Silence and the Hams | from Anthony - Sunday, August 04, 2002
accessed 3028 times Well, around here I can't do much job hunting on a Sunday, so I thought I'd write a short story before I got out partying. Not long after leaving the father’s cult house, I found myself questioning and second guessing my decision. I fell on very hard times, there was a famine in the land, and thoughts of the father's house never seemed more inviting. I had not wasted my money on riotous living, because I never had any money to begin with. Yet, those back in the cult claimed that I had given up much more than currency; I had, they say, given up the warm, fuzzy and loving family, which loved me so much.
“Were they right?”, I asked myself. What if it’s true that I’m just a rebellious and un-yielded vessel, in need of a real breaking? Did I really bite the hands that fed me? Or was I feeding the hands that beat me? Whatever the case was, here I was feeding pigs, longing to fill my stomach with their husks. The servants in my father’s house eat better than this, even if the provisioning is only leftovers from the local merchants, hoping to get tax credits for it.
The Hams:
Then, I came to my senses. I ran swiftly upon the fattest pig with my make-shift knife. I had ham for dinner that night, and for breakfast, I’ll have bacon. When I was all rested up, I went to my boss, the hog owner, and told him my plan. “The country is in a terrible famine, people are going crazy because they don’t have food, but they have money. Why don’t we engage in a carefully planned, yet aggressive, pig breeding business? People will come from all around, and just think of all the profit you will generate for yourself.” In addition to agreeing with my business proposal, he made me the CEO.
We became a textbook example of an entrepreneurial success story. Later, the famine was only a bad memory, prosperity returned, and as a result, our business took a down-turn.
The Silence:
I took this time to return for a visit to the father’s house. As I approached, all sorts of repressed memories sprung into my head. “How could I have put up with living here for so long?”, I asked myself. I was angry at myself for not having left sooner, but better late than never, right? It was very strange to be back. Perhaps the strangest thing was the ominous and challenging silence. Yes, the silence. You see, there was no feasting and rejoicing over the return of the “prodigal son”.
While it is true that I was physically on the property, I had not “returned” in that sense of the word. “Father”, I said, “You have transgressed against humanity and against me. You are no longer worthy to be called my father. No matter how hard it gets out there, I’ll never crawl back to you and your cult. My head may bloody but it will always be unbowed because I wear the crown of my own choosing.” I went on to say, “I was mentally and emotionally dead but now I’m alive, and I was lost in all your desolate cultism, but now I have found myself.”
Regards,
Anthony
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Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article |  from PompousJohn
Wednesday, December 11, 2002 - 07:57
(Agree/Disagree?)
Great article, Anthony. I know you wrote it a long time ago, but it's a good one.
Kind of reminds me of that line from Kidd Rock (no, I'm not into Kidd Rock)
"I once was lost, -but now I'm just blind!"
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| | | | from Regi
Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 15:06
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Good job. I liked it.
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| | | | from hoobistank
Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 02:00
(Agree/Disagree?)
You all must be bored.... That just sounded Boring!!
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| from Ony
Friday, August 09, 2002 - 13:45
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Great article, Bro! Couldn't have said it better!
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| from Anthony
Wednesday, August 07, 2002 - 18:01
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Glad you like it, I was bored.
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|  From joe blow
Saturday, September 07, 2002, 13:03
(Agree/Disagree?)
you were and are lucky to have what you have in every way, in or out you are beyond words, a great person for what you've accomplished (helping your family, getting a 4 year degree, serving your country) and for that you should be eternally grateful if not for life itself. I remember one time you told me told how you were so disappointed that you didn't have a country to be proud of, a physical land to claim and say that you were from. I thought too how wonderful it would be to have a normal life with school and friends that never left. But obviously that life wasn't meant for us. Just as the leperous child from India didn't have those same advantages not to mention what we had growing up(generally speaking, good food, place to stay and, oh by the way, that vocabulary). The fact is character is who you are. If you don't believe something is right, you are the only one that can and will do something about it. And if you don't, you are the only one to blame. I don't blame you for anything that you did or said for or against me in any way at all. I love you like a brother and have no room for any bitterness of any kind. That's the path in life I chose for myself. Sure I could regress into a life of hatred and stump my life over a few stupid hippies that will eventually fade into oblivion, but that's kind of pointless now. Not to downplay the people with legitimate crimes against them. But if you can remember the good times we had, you probably wouldn't be able to stop laughing(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | from Holon
Monday, August 05, 2002 - 23:40
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Anthony,that was truly wonderful.Thank you for sharing that with us.
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| from EyesWideShut
Monday, August 05, 2002 - 09:49
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Anthony,
I have no words. This is an amazing piece of work; every part. God! --No words at all.
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