Undoing the Wrappings of Lies

George Orwell said, "the more a society goes away from the truth the more they will hate those who speak it."

The moderators of the site pulled the story because of the facts I pointed out in my preamble. I condemned both the left and right. Which apparently got both sides hating me because I was proving that their outlandish statements about my political view was wrong.

I ask before I consider who to vote for would Jesus approve of him. There are very few who I could say he would. That should make it clear how often I have voted.

I pointed out a few harsh realities which I guess offended them proving what George Orwell stated as true today as the day he said it.

I asked them if they were so concerned about my equal condemnation of both sides why they allowed their email service to be used to send out hate mail which included death threats in them.

When I gave my oldest Son a copy of all these emails on a stick being a detective, he thought he would start doing a little investigating. Many of the things I write re police are based on things he has told me.

I was not surprised when I got no answer from the moderators.

To those who have common sense; How does it feel to be screwed without a kiss? Because the politicians regardless of the party will do it to you. It is our current reality that inspired this little story. I hope you enjoy it.

As for spelling errors both windows 365 editor, Grammarly and two editors recommended by the moderators found none. So, I suggest you keep your hate to yourselves.

If you have constructive critism and are honest I will accept them. As for the rest you have already proven what kind of person you are. So, do not waste your time.

Undoing the Wrappings of Lies Part 1

Thanks to a little virus

The Past

I was lucky I grew up in a society that no longer exists even in small-town America. Back then even in our small town, it was dying. It was a time when riding the streets with your two-wheeler made you the king of the road. Our parents believed in the society they had helped to create and gave us the freedom to roam about.

For the boys and me in our early teens, our greatest challenge was how close we could get our bikes and bodies to the paved roads when in a steep long curve going downhill. Without the safety equipment required these days. Between the three of us, we were always trying to outdo each other. The faster, the more dangerous the ride, the greater thrill achieved.

Billy Moon, Jack Peters and I, the no-nonsense horse's ass had been best friends since we were knee-high to a grasshopper. We all lived on the same street less than twelve houses apart. My parents' house was in the middle. I was the oldest the other two were one year younger.

Our parents had agreed at an early age in our lives that if the three of us got caught doing something we should not that we would all be treated the same. We soon learned we did not have one set of parents we had three.

Many a time the three of us had our asses spanked by one of the fathers who had reached the point where he reached the limit of putting up with our crap. The other two fathers, when told about it, would say be thankful it wasn't me because it would of being a lot worse. Today, the two other fathers would have sued the one.

It did not matter that one family was African American, the second were Hindu's who had moved to the states to escape the caste system of their former society and changed their names to assimilate or that my parents were white.

They were united in dealing with us until we graduated high school. The three of us had been that close growing up. The three families had a lot of backyard barbeques together and were friends. Their morals and principals once known bonded them together.

Today they would all be branded as racists because they treated each other as equals and we all know that cannot be allowed. After all our society requires that there must be a group of people to hate regardless of the truth.

They all believed they were only as good as their 'word.' It was time where you still trusted and respected your neighbor and worked with them to make your community better. They had not been taught by our educators how to truly manipulate people, the system, and its power to our advantage.

After my generation graduated from school the educators started teaching the children their rights and how to use them against their parents. I did not understand that until I had become a parent. The growth of me-ism exploded.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and we were in the middle of one of the biggest downhill curves that we knew of when the little five-year-old girl ran out into the roadway in front of us.

Since I was the closest to the curb, I had a choice to hit the child or take myself out. I made a choice that today would be considered stupid by most because we all know life has no value. Crime is only a crime if you get convicted. Get away with it and its figured the sucker got what he deserved.

I took the spill, hit the curb, and went head over the handle of my bike rolling across a front lawn. The little girl's two older sisters saw me flying from their living room window and came out.

I did a real good job of getting myself pretty scraped up. Both my knees and elbows were bleeding. The little girl got her ball and started walking back onto the yard as if nothing had happened.

My front tire was ruined as was the rim. I was thinking it would take a month of allowances at least to get it fixed. I was standing up by the time the boys got turned around and came back. I had hurt myself so badly I had tears in my eyes.

The little girls' two older sisters came out and were helping to clean me up. Billy Moon and they went to the same Catholic school, so they knew each other. From that day forward I was known by them as Billy's friend who had hurt himself to keep their sister safe.

Yes, the three of us all attended different schools. I was the only one that went to a public school. It was a time when religious differences, political differences, and sexual differences were kept behind closed doors and not discussed publicly not even in our schools.

Parents back then were left to raising their children, nowadays they are encouraged to stay out of it. The village knows better. Your just an idiot that knows nothing. Challenge what is being taught may get your child kicked out unless you got the cash to buy your way out of it by paying somebody off.

The only thing important is money and how to get it. As one forty-year-old man said to me recently, I can take money from anyone. 'Take' in the dictionary means to gain possession of legally or illegally. Sadly, one statement like that says so much about the environment we all live in.

After gathering up what was left of my busted up two-wheeled bike, I started to walk back towards my home which was just over a mile away. Both the girls around my age decided to walk halfway with me to make sure I was all right. None of us had keys for our parent's doors because our doors were never locked.

Little did I know how much that little event would end up affecting my life.

*******

It was during the last year of high school that I decided to become a physical therapist after multiple discussions with my school counselor. She thought with my characteristics' that I would be perfect for it. Not because of my educational qualifications but because of the history of my part-time employment.

She had watched me when her mother was in the nursing home recovering from having a serious illness. I volunteered part-time in the assistant living section and was well thought of. I had the reputation of being thoughtful, patient, compassionate, and credible. If I could not answer their question at the time, I found the information needed to provide them with it.

What amazed her was that I had the natural ability to get these older people to trust me. The simple act of keeping your word spoke volumes to them. It resulted that I learned things that they had told no other. When important things affecting their wellbeing came out, I got others on it. That was why she felt with my concerns about the general health of them would complement me in the career she wanted me to consider. An added plus was my inborn ability, to be honest.

It took me three years to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I went through a program that trained me in the procedures of diagnosis and treatment. It also got my body in great shape because I was using my muscles in unique ways. The coursework covered topics in anatomy, physical therapeutic applications, and exercises needed for the treatment of some unusual injuries.

My instructors seemed to take my interest in it seriously because I would physically try the exercises until they were second nature with me. One thought I was overdoing it and took me aside to have a long talk about it.

I had to explain that I thought my ability to correctly show them how to do the exercise would greatly aid me with their rehabilitation. He had to admit that I had looked at it logically but had to admit that my approach was so different from other students that they had become concerned.

The course I signed up for had clinical clerkships where we were integrated into an existing program under the supervision of licensed physical therapists. It gave me practical experience in the different methods of physical therapy including rehabilitation and acute care.

By the time I graduated I had six job offerings. The people I had worked with, in the clinic had praised me for making what seemed difficult easy. For some reason, the knowledge that I was receiving registered differently in my mind then my fellow students. It was something that I did not appreciate.

One vet was having difficulty adjusting to the latest model of his artificial leg. The professional working with him was getting frustrated because of the lack of improvement shown by the vet. Nothing he had tried seemed to help. He was still having a lot of problems in his ability to adapt to it. I started asking myself why?

By accident, I noticed that on his existing good leg his foot naturally spread towards the outside, showing a natural imbalance in his lower leg muscles caused more by what he had inherited through genes than anything else. This caused his whole sense of balance to have changed over the years.

His inner leg muscles were being dominated by the outside ones and had been most of his life. As a result, when he wore the artificial leg it was straight, while his real leg leaned towards the outward side it was creating conflict with his own body.

I went to talk to the science and tech department explaining my problem. With their help using a three-D printer, we were able to create an aid that allowed the artificial leg to fit in a new way.

With my supervisors' approval because all else had failed I positioned the artificial leg to mirror as much as possible his good leg. The vet did not want to try it but after explaining why I had done I was able to convince him to try it.

He could not believe the difference as soon as he stood up. It felt more comfortable and natural to him. Within three days his walking difficulty was gone. The pressure and pain that he was having on his good side seemed to disperse. He no longer was walking with a limp. There was a vast improvement in his balance. It was the first time my supervisor and I had seen him smile in weeks.

He seemed to have a different outlook about himself when we finally told him we had done all we could. We saw the look of pure joy on his wife's face when he took her into his arms and danced around the room. She said it was the first time he had danced with her in years.

My instructor was amazed because I had reversed the normal thinking and adjusted the equipment to work better for him instead of trying to get him to adapt to it. He sent a glowing recommendation concerning me into the school. When hospitals were recruiting the graduation class, they were given copies as part of their recommendations.

I explained to him that the textbooks did not take into consideration that each one of us had naturally adapted to what our DNA had supplied us as we were growing up.

Any aids and equipment should be flexible enough to adapt to what the person needs. I would later learn by running into him years later that simple act had improved the quality of his life. Each time his artificial leg was replaced he had the part I had created, remade to change the artificial leg before using it.

At my graduation from university, I had three sets of parents come to see it. Of the three of us childhood friends, I was the only one who had continued with my education after high school. Each set of parents was honored to be there because they had all been the greatest influence on my life.

I do not think I will ever forget that as soon as I got my diploma from the dean and started to head off the stage. The retired vet a captain was there in full uniform to salute me.

That was the day I told them I was coming home to work in the Southeastern Missouri Hospital system. Of course, after moving back home to my parents' house until I established myself, they had to throw a welcome home party.

Jack Peters had gone into the Marines; Billy Moon had gone back to India to find himself a wife and they had no clue if he was coming back. I think that both of their parents were hoping I would take an interest in my friend's sisters.

*******

One of the first clients I dealt with at work was a lady who had a knee replacement the day before and I had her up walking the hallway with my support when her granddaughter came in. For some reason, as I was walking the client back to her room the young lady kept watching. I just figured she was pleased with how supportive I was with her grandmother like any family member would.

The young lady was not someone I would write home about, but she was a nice-looking young lady with short brown hair styled to compliment her long face. With hazel eyes and an average figure, she was like a lot of the girls I went to school with. Nice but not nice enough to get my attention.

After getting the client back on the bed I told her I would come back to work with her again later after she had rested.

Just as I was leaving the granddaughter said, "I got it! Your Billy Moon's friend who took a dive to avoid hitting my little sister."

I smiled and said, "That was years ago. I am surprised you remembered. I did not recognize you. My name is Russell Brophy nice to see you again."

"It was a scary moment when June and I realized we had lost sight of Mary. We were supposed to be watching her while mom was having a shower," She said. "I'm Kimberly Taylor the middle one."

Her grandmother watched us as we chatted, saw a natural attraction, and spoke up, "Kim, I think you should buy the nice young man dinner and thank him for saving your ass back then."

"Nana shush," Kim said. "Russ could be married."

"Are you young man," Her grandmother asked?

"Nana!" Kim said while blushing.

"No, I am not," I said. "If you promise to work extra hard over the next few days before your released, I will agree to meet your granddaughter for supper if she allows me to pay."

"Well then it's all worked out, isn't it," Kim's Nana said with a smile.

I could hear Kim whispering under her breath to me, "You don't have to do this. I can tell later that we met, and it didn't work out."

"Sorry can't do that she'll know when she cross-examines me," I said, "what the truth was."

We arranged to meet at Charlie's bar and grill and began developing an interest in each other. Kimberly worked part-time for our local fox tv station and did a small five-minute video clip on current happenings in our area. She was taking courses to become an elementary school teacher at the university. She could also be seen helping in weather reporting on the weekends when needed.

Although her parents were still strong Catholic's she was not into the church even though she believed in God she did not associate with any of the religious organizations primarily because of how her catholic schooling had affected her growing up. She learned that I was agnostic about the whole religious thing.

The next day as I worked with her grandmother, I got asked all the usual questions which I answered with tact. There was only one question I would not answer her and that was if I were going to ask her out again.

When Kim's grandmother left that Friday, her daughter and her husband had come to take her home. I was just returning from the outpatient center after completing four hours there. We ran into each other in the main lobby while they were waiting for her husband to get the car from the parking lot.

During the conversation, Kimberly's mother learned about the story of what I had done years ago. I had to smile because all of us kids back then had done a lot of things that our parents did not know about. It was about six o'clock when I pulled up to Kim's apartment. I guess she was waiting for me because by the time I had parked the truck and got out she was coming out the front door.

Kimberly at that time had a height of five foot six. I was five foot nine. I was more interested in her personality and good nature than her body. I had already decided by that time that we would most likely end up being friends.

I guess that is why we hit it off because neither of us was ready to settle down. We had about an hour to eat before heading over to the university for a Concert Band and Wind Symphony in the Bedell Performance Hall. We decided to go to a newly opened Mexico restaurant, and we were disappointed. The quality and flavors were not there.

The theme for the evening's performance was called 'Earthscapes' a musical representation of the geography of our planet. From the beautiful and tranquil to the rugged and unforgiven, it was a non-stop two-hour progression of music without a single voice during the performance. On the huge wall to wall screen behind the band was inspirational changing pictures of the type of land the music represented.

We left the concert holding hands talking about how unique the experience had been because both of us had never done anything like that before. It was funny because we both had enjoyed it.

"I wonder if what we witnessed tonight was like what those silent movies were like when they had a live band," I said?

"If it is it must have been just as wonderful and inspiring to those who witnessed it," Kim replied. "What inspired you to choose this for our first date?"

"Other than a movie theater it was the only thing I could find that still has tickets available," I said. "It was so different that it appealed to me."

We had just gotten back to my truck and as I unlocked the doors Kim's cell went off. It turns out her grandmother was having a backyard barbeque on Sunday after church and wanted to make sure that she would be attending. Kim said that she would be attending but would not be coming alone.

"You will have to pick me up about three," Kim said. "Let me warn you when the family gets together that here will be tricksters testing you to see if you can handle it. To them, it's their test to see if you will fit in."

Sometimes the greatest relationship starts from something simple. Time would prove that for Kimberly and me that was true.

*******

There was a whole group of cars when we pulled into her Nana's farm. As we got out, we could hear the voices in the back yard. Turns out not only was all her family there but so were a lot of her uncle and aunts and their children. Nana, when she saw me with her granddaughter, smiled in pure glee. Kim and I knew we had made her day.

Kim had been right her family tried a few stunts and I let them go right by me as if I had not caught on. Both Kim and her Nana knew better. While we were busy eating when one of her uncles brought me a straight double shot of sour mash and a large lemon figuring he had finally found a way to get me to lose my temper.