Political Observations

The parson walked down the sidewalk of the mall after checking the prices at a local store for comparison at another. He stared at his iPhone calendar to determine where he needed to be next and when.

“Hey, Parson, better watch out you'll walk into a pole.”

The parson looked in the direction the voice came. He saw Watson sitting on a bench. Watson wasn't his real name, the parson knew. He'd got the name from his incurable habit of saying, “Certainly, Holmes.” Watson was one of the more colorful characters the parson had encountered.

“Watson, what are you doing here? Soaking up some business possibilities?” Watson often told the parson he'd change his homeless condition when the right business possibility presented itself. Truth was Watson was well-educated. This was evident, but he refused to divulge how he came to be living under a bridge without resources or purpose. His lifestyle defied his appearance. Somehow Watson always appeared clean; he took good care of his clothes, and very few realized his circumstance.

“Have you eaten today?” the parson asked.

“Not yet,” said Watson. “I've been trying to formulate which culinary establishment would afford me the most nutrition for the lowest price.”

The parson smiled. “Have you given any thought to that Burger King over there?”

“Well, now there's a strange thing about the Burger King, Parson. The ambiance isn't all that impressive. One would need good company if one were to even consider consuming a meal there.”

“How about the two of us testing the cuisine together?”

“Certainly, Holmes,” replied Watson as he rose from his bench.

The two walked across the parking lot, the side street and then into the Burger King.

“What'll you have?” the parson asked Watson as they stood before the counter.

“I'm going to bow to your pallet, Parson,” said Watson.

The parson placed his order, one of the combo meals for each of them with an extra order of fries for Watson. He carried them to the table Watson had selected, one that gave a view out two windows.

As soon as they'd removed the wrappings, Watson suggested, “How 'bout you asking a blessing on this food, Parson.”

The parson prayed. Watson echoed the “Amen,” and the two dug in.

“So, what's been happening with you lately, Watson. I haven't seen you about for a couple of months.”

“I've been busy following the Republican candidates,” said Watson. “I get down to the library just about every day. I read the papers, the New York Times and The Washington Post on the internet. I've been reading a lot on that Politico site and the Huffington Post.

With just a few questions from the parson, Watson discussed each of the candidate's relative strengths and weaknesses. The parson was astonished at how informed Watson was. He'd even researched each candidate's background, and gave the parson much information he'd not heard before. And as they talked the parson was amused that Watson lost his professorial tone in direct proportion to the amount of food that entered his stomach.

“So, who do you think will be the candidate?” the parson asked.

“Romney.” said Watson.

“What about the election?” the parson asked. “Who'll win, Mitt Romney or President Obama.”

“Too soon to call that, Parson, but I can tell you who will lose.”

“You can?”

“I can.”

“Tell me.”

“The loser will be the American people. And the reason for that is just like the church you serve. We're always going to be losers until the politicians and the preachers start planning for what's best for our grandchildren.”

Comments

[DeeBee]

Somewhere in the Bible, Proverbs maybe, it instructs us to beware of those who scratch our itching ears...

[DeeBee]

Seems like most folks in D.C. are selling a "You can have it all and be spared any pain."