sardine RE: Jameson

“…the underside of culture is blood, torture, death and horror.” Fredric Jameson

I just came back from another dinner party.

In one corner, three teachers were diagnosing a student.

“...and we finally got Lakezia on medication.”

“She was probably a crack baby.”

“And maybe it's fetal alcohol.”

“Her mother is often a guest of Sheriff Charlie.”

In the other corner of the room, the conversation turned to business.

“...and only twenty-five percent of applicants who answer a newspaper ad work out. Fifty percent of drive-by applicants work out. Seventy-five percent of in-house referrals work out.”

“So you prefer the referrals?”

“Not necessarily, with the referrals that don’t work out, we have to do a little explaining. It's better to aim for the fifty-percent. The plants location and design are integral to the bottom line. We put a million more into that, and we still save on the cost of recruiting.”

At the table, over coffee, the topic was concerning immanent departures.

“I don’t know when we're going. It could be anytime. Just recently we all got called back to base for a drill departure.”

“They tell us, ‘If you haven’t gone, you’re going.’”