Category: CONVERSATIONS: JESS & IMA

Jess and Ima recently watched a documentary about bundles of donated clothing, etc. from America, Australia, and other countries that were, and still are being shipped to Ghana; the story tells of how the bales of clothing are bought and sold — and disposed of when sales are unfulfilled. It got them thinking about the whole process and resulted in the following conversation:

JESS: Ima, are you watching this program and seeing what I’m seeing? All these bales, bundles of materials arriving by the shipload to Ghana are bought by Entrepreneurs, sight unseen; the bundles after purchase are examined, discarding what they deem “unsalable” and the remains are sold to local “merchants”; these local merchants take them into the streets and try to sell them to the people who live in their communities and much of the ones they can’t sell end up in the landfills.

IMA: Yeah, Jess, I’m watching, especially since I recently donated some of our old clothes, but never even thought about where they might end up. I remember being told, a long time ago, about the fact that those things that couldn’t be used here were shipped off somewhere, but I never thought about where they went or what happened to them.

JESS: You know we are always talking about how much of everything that is produced here in the US (and abroad) is still hanging around in one place or another. We keep wondering what happens to all the food, clothes, cars, electronic equipment, etc. when no one buys it. And then when it breaks down and we buy a replacement, what happens to the old stuff?

IMA: Jess, you know that there are many businesses that are started using the unsold, unused, old, out-of-date products and materials that are produced, before they get dumped overseas somewhere. Thrift stores, Second-Hand Stores, Re-Purposed Stores and the like are found in many areas of our city alone, and many of them are filled with merchandise that they can’t get rid of either. But the manufacturers are pumping out new stuff in record amounts. Just imagine that cycle being reproduced all over this country, and all over the rest of the world.

JESS: What gets me is how this cycle gets going and keeps going. Just look at all the energy that goes into producing what ends up in landfills. Countries go to war to get access to other countries’ natural resources; people are dying trying to get them and others are dying to protect them, not to mention the folks who also die, trying to manufacture many of them. The wars themselves use up tons of energy making all the materials used in these wars; entities that are part of the “Military-Industrial-Complex” that Eisenhower warned about, thrive on this cycle to increase profits for investors.

IMA: The other side of this energy grab, however, is the jobs that many folks have to have in order to survive, but also to be able to pay for all this stuff we’ve been told we need. I found the name of the young lady, Annie Leonard, who did an excellent documentary on stuff several years ago, called The Story of Stuff. It is still available and she did a wonderful job of telling that story. Unfortunately I think things have gotten worse since then, in spite of all the efforts to reduce our waste.

JESS: Lots of journalists these days are showing us what’s happening around the world … landfills filled beyond capacity, trash overwhelming the world, trash in the oceans, micro-plastic in our food, fish, water and in our bloodstreams. Many landfills are taking up more and more space in neighborhoods and will eventually take up space that will prevent human life to exist.

IMA: Individuals help a bit by trying to Recycle and Reuse, but unless manufacturers stop making disposables, it seems to be a losing battle. I have no idea how this can be dealt with. And maybe it can’t! Unless what we use can be biodegradable, this trash may eventually wipe out humanity. The planet will take care of itself, but we humans may be incapable of saving ourselves.

JESS: Well, both that documentary about used clothing, especially, and the documentary about “The Story of Stuff” really need to serve as “wake up calls” like they were supposed to a few decades ago; unless there’s a change in the “mind set” so that our brains can be rewired from “mindless consumer” to “conscious conservator” humanity is in for a rude awakening. The fossil fuels are being depleted, the renewable energies are slow to replace, the livelihoods people have attached themselves to in order to “survive’ need to be redirected toward sustainable employments; greed needs to begin to take a back seat; individuals need to reconsider their selfish practices and start to again think about community.

IMA: I sure hope we wake up and do a complete reversal in our thinking; but what do I know…Ima Phool and so are you, Jess.

(Some conversations between Jess and Ima from a long time ago…and guess what? They are still relevant, today! Isn’t that amazing that so much time has passed, but the same issues are still with us. )

IMA: Jess, do you know what I heard the other day on the radio?

IMA: I heard that the government is paying some people $2000 a day to store a lot of surplus food. They said they can’t afford to pay $10 a day to distribute it to the needy.

JESS: I can’t imagine.

JESS: Kinda makes you wonder just how much money the government spent in the Poverty Program to get the poor people out of poverty, doesn’t it?

IMA’s comment about the WAR ON DRUGS:

Sometimes it seems the police or law enforcement is at a loss trying to figure out how to get rid of drug dealers, drug houses, prostitution, and other illegal activities that seem to plague certain neighborhoods. Maybe they could just pretend that those ‘undesirables’ were the Black Panthers or the protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, or the Civil Rights Marchers back in the day. They sure did figure out how to deal with them!

Phool’s Viewpoint on INFLATION:

JESS: Ima, I keep hearing on the news that there’s no inflation because the prices for goods are still the same as a few years ago.

IMA: I heard that too, and the last time I shopped I found out that the prices were the same as they were before…except the pound of coffee was now only 15 ounces, and I even saw one brand that was only 13.5 ounces; same size can, same price but a whole lot less coffee.

JESS: Did you find any other things like that?

IMA: Yep; what used to be a 5-pound bag of sugar is now 4 pounds…for the same price it used to be; and a tin of your brown shoe polish now has 1/3 less polish … for the same price it used to be; and even the toilet paper sheets are 13 l/2 by 13 l/2 inches instead of 14 x 14 … and, yep at the same price it used to be!

JESS: Oh yeah, that last candy bar I bought was nearly a dollar but the bar was so thin you could almost see through it.

IMA: I guess the BIG THEY are just trying to convince us that there’s NO INFLATION because the prices are the same; but folks are smart enough to know that we are getting a lot less substance for our money…just like our fixed incomes are purchasing a lot less for the money we’re living on ..; so I guess since our incomes haven’t gotten bigger, there’s no inflation there, either, huh?

JUST FOR FUN

IMA: Jess, do you remember the joke the man told us the other day about the termite?

JESS: Nope, you gonna tell me?

IMA: “What did the termite say when he entered the Tavern?”

JESS: Don’t know!

IMA: He said “Where is the Bartender?”

JESS: Oh, yeah, I remember how much I laughed; and then he told us another one. Do you remember that one?

IMA: Yep. “What do Winnie the Pooh and John the Baptist have in common?”

JESS: Cracked me up when he told us “Same middle name”!

(The following are “funnies” we heard a long time ago and they have a name, but we forget. We find ourselves repeating them quite often and thought we’d share these with our readers)

• An art student asks his instructor if his canvas is stretched too tight. His instructor replies, “No, it’s TOO LOOSE, LA TREC!”
• How can you stand to be seen writing and composing in that LEWD WIG, BEETHOVEN?
• VINCENT, where does that green VAN GO? Same place the ESCARGOT!
• She’d better return all that marching band music before JOHN PHILLIP SOUSA.
• Your Chorale Works provide ZE BASTION, BACH.
• You just returned from painting natives on the island and you’re ready to GO AGAIN!
• If you don’t stash that violin, ARTHUR, folks may think you want to be a FIEDLER.
• No doubt she’s named the Belle of this Ball, because she is a great looking DEB, YOU SEE!

MIXED MESSAGE, PERHAPS?

1. ATTENTION: THE SURGEON GENERAL REPORTS THAT SMOKING INCREASES THE RISK OF LUNG CANCER BY A LARGE PERCENT …
2. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGREED TODAY TO SUBSIDIZE THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY.

AND ANOTHER …

1. THE GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDS EACH CITIZEN DECREASE INDIVIDUAL GAS CONSUMPTION BY SEEKING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, CARPOOLING AND USING LESS CONSUMPTIVE MEANS OF VACATION TRAVEL.
2. THE GOVERNMENT VOTED TO DISCONTINUE 3/4 OF THE AM TRAK ROUTES, AND NOT BAIL OUT PENN CENTRAL.

AND ONE MORE … Message instructions delivered over the phone from an automated service…”IF YOU ARE NOT AT HOME AND UNABLE TO RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE, PLEASE PRESS ONE”!

Years ago, when Jess and Ima first started some of their weird conversations about what was going on in the world around them, Jess whipped out his tape recorder and started taping. When Ima asked why he was doing that, he said that someday we might want to share our thoughts with other folks. What follows is one of those conversations, started long ago, but all of a sudden coming up in today’s news.

IMA: Jess, I just found some of those old tapes you made, listened to a few and found out how much we’re still talking about the same things.

JESS: So…!

IMA: Well, you said people might want a Phool’s slant on the news, so I thought I’d share this one with them.

JESS: Oh, yeah. Now we got them coming to Phools Country, what better way to share. But do you think that people will really care what we thought then and now?

IMA: Folks are still reading about what people were talking about back in the 18th and 19th Centuries, so maybe they’d at least read about what was going on 50 years ago.

JESS: I guess that’s possible, as long as they realize that these comments are coming from two old PHOOLS – JESS A. AND IMA!

THIS ONE IS ON THE “ARMS RACE”: and what made IMA remember this old tape was that the President recently said he’d like to send astronauts to the moon in 5 years. The media went on to mention that 50 years ago there was this “race” between the US and Russia to achieve military superiority over each other. This is the discussion that occurred 50 years ago.

IMA: Jess, explain this to me again! We’re having all kinds of troubles and the Talkin’ Heads on TV keep saying that the U.S. and Russia are “raising their arms”! For what? To see if their deodorants went home before they did? HA! HA!

JESS: Naw, Ima – they’re saying ‘Race”, “Arms Race”.

IMA: Oh, is that anything like a foot race or a gunny sack race – or like ‘Indian rasslin’ – you know, only using their arms?

JESS: No, no. These arms are military weapons. And the “race” they mean is to see who can have the most guns and stuff — us or them. You see, if Russia has more than us, they’ll come and take us over — or at least that what somebody said.

IMA : Well, who’s ahead so far?

JESS: If you listen to some folks, they say that Russia’s ahead, because they have the power to kill everyone in the world 5 times, while the US can only kill everyone 2 1/2 times. These folks say that Russia is ahead because they can do it on the first strike and we don’t have enough power to keep them from doing it. And some folks are saying that Russia is ahead because our equipment is all outdated and rusty and our soldiers are lazy, incompetent, and those that aren’t are on drugs, and …

IMA: Hold it, hold it, just hold it! So far all you’ve said is that Russia is ahead of us. What about those who say the US is ahead?

JESS: Well, that’s not exactly what some of ’em are saying — what they’re saying is that we’re not behind! I mean they’re saying that we’re equal; since we can kill everybody at least once, we’re not behind … or something like that.

IMA: Okay, but this business about being able to kill off everybody the first time around is strange. If that’s true, what difference does it make who fires second? And if we’ve both got the ability to kill everybody more than once, then what’s the good of 3 or 4 times more ability to do that? I mean, dead is dead, isn’t it?

IMA: And get this – IF it’s true that Russia said she’s gonna bury us or take us over, or something, and IF it’s true that our equipment and soldiers are in such bad shape, then tell me why hasn’t Russia ALREADY done whatever the folks keep saying she’s GONNA do? I don’t think they’re stupid. Seems to me things couldn’t get any better for them than now — so what are they waiting for?

JESS: I have no idea why Russia would wait till we caught up. And I guess those who are against us racing are saying that we may not be in front, but so what, no one can win anyway.

IMA: Well, somebody’s sure sounding like they’re nuts. If the US is already ahead, then we don’t need no more arms. And if Russia is already ahead, why hasn’t she made her move? But, hey, those are smarter folks than me and they oughta be able to figure that out – unless they just want the US public to be the last to know what’s really going on. After all, what do I know — IMA PHOOL!

IMA: Man, times are sure changing, aren’t they?

JESS: Yeah, they are. You know what I heard the other day? I heard that the banks are complaining about people who don’t write bad checks and those who use live tellers … because the banks don’t make any money from those “dead beats”!

IMA: What? You mean I’m a better person, according to the banks, if I write bad checks? What kind of nonsense is that? And isn’t writing bad checks a crime?

JESS: Well, it’s a crime if you do it knowingly, but if it’s an accident and the bank and the creditor can charge you $15.00 apiece for a bad $5.00 check, then you will be loved by both!

IMA: After all these years being responsible at paying my bills on time, not getting into debt, writing checks only when I know there’s money to cover it…I get to this age and find out that “responsibility is not a virtue”. More and more people really don’t want you responsible … ’cause they can make money off your irresponsibility.

JESS: Right, and to prove it, banks are going to find a way to charge you … if you won’t write bad checks, or call and ask for your balance (they already can charge you for this), then they’ll make you old folks (and everybody else) pay when you go to a live teller instead of using your ATM card.

IMA: That sounds almost like the way jobs go these days, too. You work hard at staying at one job, to prove that you’re not flighty and the Boss calls you “unambitious”; if you are content with the job you are doing and not seeking advancement, then management says you have no “initiative”; now with banks, we’re saving our money and our reputation and think we’re being thrifty and the bankers want to charge us even more to use the bank. The government wants us to spend more and save less, that’s why the interest on savings accounts is so low.

JESS: Seems like we’re starting to outlive our usefulness, huh? Well, I guess that’s what happens to phoolish phools like us!

So many of the following are dated, but when I listened to the tapes, I thought they were still typical of our conversations at the time. Forgive me for going way back in the past and just see them as the ramblings of a Phool!

Sometime ago, there was an article on the news about Bombers being built to keep us from going to war, but the comment was that some of the current bombers don’t seem to be able to fly. Well, if they don’t have to go to war, is that why they don’t have to fly?

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There was a Press Conference called to clear the air on the B2 Bomber, you know, the newest (at that time) secret weapon. Since the B2 is a secret weapon, it is covered by National Security and so the plans can’t be discussed, and the audit can’t be discussed, and the cost can’t be discussed, and the progress can’t be discussed. So….why is there a Press Conference?

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IMA: JESS, guess what I heard on the radio the other day?

JESS: Don’t make me guess, just tell me!

IMA: I heard that the government is paying some people (don’t know exactly who) $2000. 00 per day, to store a lot of surplus food, because, they said they can’t afford to pay $10.00 per day to distribute it to the needy.

JESS: Kinda makes you wonder just how much money the government spent in the Poverty Program to get the poor people out of Poverty!

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IMA ON THE DRUG WARS: “I bet if the Law would pretend that gangs and drug dealings were the Black Panthers or the protesters at the 1968 Democratic Convention, they could probably get rid of both gangs and drug dealers!”

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IMA said she just heard on the news that somewhere in Florida the Police Department will only have to pay $1.00 per car because some Corporation is going to buy them and have their logos painted on the sides … just like the Nascar race cars. Hey … you know some school systems are already contracting with Soft Drink companies, etc. to pay for school stuff as long as their machines are placed in the schools; let’s forget the fact that some of the soft drinks are really not the best nutritional stuff for the children.

So the Corporations are buying the schools, now the Police Departments; they’ve already bought public radio and public television, the multimedia, the newspapers, radio stations and journalists, the movies, the government…why not sell them the fire departments too? (Oops, did I just hit on something in the works?) Anything else for sale? Oh yeaaaah…the children, who wear their logos on their sneakers, sweats, t-shirts, caps, school books…..!

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Always remember that these conversations took place many years ago

CONVERSATION ON PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION:

IMA: Jess, do the schools still teach that Look-Say Method of reading, that came in after our children left Elementary School?

JESS: I’m not sure, but you know you’ve seen the ads for “Hooked on Phonics” like it’s some new way of teaching kids to read, that supposed to be so good… and isn’t that what we used when we were in grade school?

IMA: Yeah, and that’s old…like us! But it worked — we learned how to read then and still remember how. So why did they change it?

JESS: Who knows?

IMA: I don’t understand why somebody … who, I wonder? … felt like they needed to change to the look-say method. I remember thinking at the time how dumb that sounded — kids would have to memorize every word in the language – instead of being able to figure out most of them by sound.

JESS: Must have been money! … somebody making a bunch of money, then find out it don’t work – then bring back the old way, like it’s new – and make a bunch more money.

IMA: You may be right. I don’t understand how somebody can convince a lot of so-called smart people that Look-Say is better than Phonics…but I never forget that IMA PHOOL!

MORE ON OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM:

JESS: Every time I tune in Talk Radio, I hear someone spouting off about our Public Education System, how bad it is, how dumb the kids are, how our kids can’t read, etc. Johnny hasn’t been able to read since the 70’s and we still haven’t figured out why. But somebody knows.

IMA: Well, the “BIG THEY” changed the way reading was taught, “THEY” changed the way math was taught, “THEY” introduced “social promotion” and put remedial reading as a College Course – so if you graduate from High School and can’t read your diploma- you’ll have to go to College to learn how! You don’t suppose this was a plan, do you?

JESS: Don’t know! But think about it? What we have here is a whole economic system based on consuming – consuming without too much questioning or reasoning. And if you want to maintain this system, us folks just have to spend, not think about it, just want it, or just buy it!

IMA: Maybe, there’s nothing wrong with our public education then, if it’s producing a population that just keeps buying. But then I’d have to call that our Public Indoctrination System – ’cause educated we’re not.

JESS: You got that right, you PHOOL!

ON CARPETING IN HOSPITAL ROOMS:

IMA: Jess, look at this article! It says that the hospital administrator and board vote to spend $375,000 to remove all the carpeting from the rooms in their hospital. Good grief!

JESS: Does it say why?

IMA: No, just “after careful study over the last 5 years, it was decided…”. Do you remember when I had that surgery in ’77? When I had to go back to the hospital they eventually put me in a private room…with carpeting on the floor.

JESS: Yes, I remember. thought it was strange at the time. Heard them talking about carpeting the corridors too, but they said there were too many carts that were needed and it was too hard to roll them; guess they forgot those wheels went into the rooms, too.

IMA: Took them almost 20 years to figure out what we decided that first day they put me in that germ incubator. Do you remember what we talked about then?

JESS: Oh yes! I remember when they couldn’t figure out what you had and were placing you in semi-isolation, but every one that walked in had street shoes on. I remember, too, when your IV dripped on the floor … all that sugar water soaking into that carpet; and the night you got so sick and vomited on the floor … and oh, I don’t want to remember some of the rest.

IMA: Well, don’t forget when I asked the doctor how long the carpet had been in that room and when that carpet had been cleaned last. Couldn’t figure out why anyone would think that carpeting was better than floors that could be mopped.

JESS: Oh the doctor’s answer was that she was told that mopping spread the germs around (of course, if you used a dirty mop and dirty water), and that the germs would settle to the bottom of the carpet…and I guess, just died down there? I also remember wondering then how much money somebody made from that venture and how much they’d make when they found out that it didn’t work.

IMA: Well, I don’t know how much they made putting it in, but someone’s gonna make $375,000 taking it out of this one.