Sometimes my reminder emails to my fellow clerks about our weekly lunches can get a little, well, interesting. Here's a recent example:
Today
is the day. It's also a day. That day being Thursday, July 16, 2015. At
least, that's the day I'm told it is. I suppose we could try to use a different
calendaring system and call it something else altogether. But for purposes of
clarity, we'll go with what the majority of the world calls it. That sounds
right.
So,
to start at the beginning...today is the day. The day for Thursday Clerk Lunch.
Of course, if we did call today something other than Thursday, July 16, 2015
would we still hold this lunch? I mean it is called "Thursday Clerk
Lunch," so if it's not "Thursday" maybe it can't happen at all.
Huh. Something to consider. But we've decided to keep calling today Thursday,
so once again that isn't something that will affect us today.
To
the beginning again...today is the day for Thursday Clerk Lunch. Held at the
usual place at the usual time. Don't know what those are? Think back to last
Thursday. Or was it last Thursday? Was it called something else? And if it was
called something else, did we even have lunch that day??? Oh wow. Now I'm
totally confused. So confused I might not even know where lunch is being held
or when it's being held or if it's being held at all. So, basically, I've
turned into all of you guys. Is there anyone out there who can tell me what the
heck is going on??? Maybe we need some kind of reminder system so that I don't
get all discombobulated like this. That seems like a good idea.
And
this will be our last foray back to the beginning...today is the day for
something. We don't know what it is, we don't know where it's happening, we
don't know when it's happening and, at this point, we're not even 100% sure it
is happening because it's possible that none of us exist. Good luck.
For
those of you who are now feeling completely adrift and want to try to put your
lives back together, here is a little something for you to think on...
What
do you do when you're bored? I'm not talking about those times when you're
bored and you just sit around staring at the ground or spinning in circles in
your desk chair. I'm talking about those times when you're bored, but your
brain wants to be doing something and you just want to scream your frustration
out. What do you do then? Do you try to turn off your brain? Do you work on a
crossword puzzle? Do you actually *shudder* work? I think at this point in our
lives we have probably all come up with ways to combat this disastrous
occurrence and I will now offer mine as an option for all of you. When
extremely bored, but intellectually stimulated I research serial killers. Is
this strange? I don't know why, but during slow times at school or during slow
times at work I tend to find myself online and reading about different serial
killers in US history. These stories just fascinate me. And whenever one of the
major news outlets features a retrospective on the worst killers of the '60s or
worst serial killers of all times, I just have to read it.
I've
been told a time or two that this is a very strange obsession. And I haven't
ever been able to pinpoint why I am so fascinated, but there's no denying that
I am. It just never ceases to amaze me that people can be so evil, that
something in their minds can be so broken that they perpetrate these horrendous
crimes on their fellow men ("men" being a term for mankind, not
simply the male of the species, since a lot of serial killer victims seem to be
women). And the question of why is so rarely answered. And while in some cases
there were seemingly no clues that would have led anyone to suspect what was
going to happen (looking at you, Ted Bundy, the guy everyone described as so normal),
there were others who were brazen in their status.
And
that leads me to my most recent interesting killer - Jim Jones of Jonestown
fame. The man who created a cult ("religion") and then convinced over
900 people (which includes hundreds of children) to commit mass suicide. How on
earth did he gain so many followers? I can understand how people might have
followed him in the beginning. He did get his start in the faith healing sects
of Christianity (and I've always felt that those people seemed more susceptible
to religious fervor, which can quickly get out of hand and seems to lead you
down some very strange paths), but reading about him makes it clear that he
went off the rails in his "teachings" very quickly. But not only did
he gain a huge following, he managed to
convince all those people to kill themselves by drinking cyanide laced kool
aid. What a terrible way to go! I mean, no method of suicide sounds
particularly appealing to me (thank goodness), but if I did have to go, I would
not want to go by cyanide (if Agatha Christie has taught me anything, it's that
cyanide poisoning is not a pleasant way to die). And did you know that this is
where the phrase "don't drink the kool aid" came from? That blew my
mind. I had absolutely no ideas as to it's origin. (A recent poll shows that I
was alone in my ignorance and everyone knew where that phrase came from. In my
defense, I had always just assumed that it was proof that my detestation of
kool aid was spot on.) But back to the question of why, the question that keeps
me reading about these terrible crimes. Why did Jones do this? Well, there is
ample evidence to show that this guy was more than a little off his rocker. But
in this particular case the bigger question for me is why did all those people follow
him? Why did they go along with his crazy plans? How could parents willingly
murder their children, some of them babies? It just boggles the mind. And did
any of them really believe that they would all be reborn in a paradise on a
distant planet? It's hard to believe that so many people went along with that
man to the point of actual death.
My
fascination with these and similar
atrocities has also extended into my reading (books, not just internet
articles) for years. I've often heard the refrain from friends and family,
"But don't you get tired of reading about the Nazis." The answer to
that is, of course, yes. I don't particularly enjoy reading about the Holocaust
and similar instances of genocide, but I also think that it's important to read
about them. To bear witness for the people who died and those who survived. To
remind yourself that you always need to think critically about what is going on
in society and around you. Because if history has taught us anything, it's that
it is very easy for humans to get swept up in a mass fervor, be it religious,
patriotic, or idealistic (with some very horrible ideals, to be sure). We all
need to be able to think for ourselves and critically examine where we are
being led as both an individual and as a society and whether that is a road we
want to travel down. For all that we are a modern society and the world fully
ensconced in the 21st century (as if that is some beacon of enlightenment),
these atrocities still happen today. And it's up to us to educate ourselves
about the past so that we can hopefully learn from those mistakes and ensure
they do not happen in the future.
Of
course, that very legitimate reason for reading about history still doesn't
explain my fascination with serial killers. Hmmm...maybe we'll just say I'm a
bit morbid and leave it there. It's probably best not to delve too deeply into
the psyche of someone obsessed with serial killers. ;)
For
those of you who are looking for some interesting books on horrors around the
world, take a look below...
World
War II-
1.
"In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson - An incredible book about
the American ambassador and his family in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power.
If you want a history that touches how the German population allowed itself to
be slowly led into committing the atrocities of the Holocaust, this is the book
for you. A truly fascinating read that almost feels like fiction.
2.
"The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure
Hunt in History" by Robert M. Edsel - Sometimes you need an uplifting
story and this tale about artists, art restorers, and museum curators coming
together to protect and rescue Europe's stolen art is a fantastic read.
3.
"Free to Die for Their Country: The Story of the Japanese American Draft
Resisters in World War II" by Eric Muller - WWII wasn't all about the
Nazis. The US did some pretty horrible things as well. After detaining Japanese
Americans at camps around the US for years we then drafted some of those young
men into our military. These are stories of some of the young men who resisted
that draft.
4.
"Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During
and After the World War II Internment" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston - A
first hand account of a young girl growing up in the US Japanese Internment
camps.
5.
"No-No Boy" by John Okada - Another fascinating book about a Japanese
American boy in the US internment camps.
6.
"Daniel's Story" by Carol Matas - This was one of my first
introductions to the Holocaust in 7th grade. A great book that introduces young
kids to the subject.
7.
"Night" by Elie Wiesel - I hope that many of you have read this book.
The firsthand account of a survivor of the concentration camps. A short book,
but one that will stay with you for a very long time.
8.
"Road to Valour: Gino Bartali: Tour de France Legend and Italy's Secret
World War Two Hero" by Aili McConnon - Enough of a sports book that it
will satisfy the masses, but the truly amazing story here is how this cycling
legend acted as courier for false documents to help get Jews out of Italy
during WWII.
Child
Soldiers-
1.
"A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah -
Beautifully written and an astounding first hand account of the life of a young
boy in Sierra Leone who was forced to become a child soldier. (Makes for a
great book club read. Can you guess whose choice it was for my book club?)
Cambodia's
Khmer Rouge-
1.
"First They Killed My Father" by Loung Ung - A book that is sure to
break your heart. Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge in a genocide against the people
of Cambodia. This is the story Loung Ung and her family's evacuation from Phnom
Penh and subsequent move from town to town as slowly she loses members of her
family.
The
World-
1. "Half the Sky: Turning
Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristof and
Sheryl WuDunn - There are many sad tales about oppressed women in this book, to
be sure. But the ultimate message is uplifting. The book focuses on how we can
help women around the world break free of oppression and better their lives,
sometimes through something as simple as easy access to fresh water for their
families so young girls don't have to leave school.
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