At Ease Soldier

“You are the Big Boss now I see, that’s great, really really great!” The words are nevertheless spoken from the Minister of Health (in an unnamed country in the Middle East), while on an expansive compound to dine with an owner of a school system, from which I spent time as an International Educational Consultant and School Director. Did I mention he flew in on a helicopter and became my companion for the evening, especially when it came to the nightime stroll around the brilliantly lit expansive farm.

The trip came only after two days in country (undisclosed Middle East location — for your and my safety) and I was whisked away to a private “farm/compound” of sorts. I had no idea where I was going, but it was to somewhere special, special because that’s what I was told. How did I find myself in this unseemly hostile place and get to enjoy the benefits of a royal? How am I able to see these exotic, rare and endangered (at least a few) species in such a place? I will tell you why. I simply tend to take the other direction in life than most others, if not all, I come across, because I am curious and a bit inquisitive. The host was filled with excitement to show me the animals, albeit in an odd way like a boy who brags that he got the bigger piece of pizza when dining at a pizza place and fighting for the final two slices of happiness. From exotic animals to fruit flown in from all around the world, the finest coffees and teas and some scrumptious meats to gorge on, the trip seemed like a fantasy, a dream almost. After dinner came the walk around the compound. I walked with a large school system owner for a little over an hour with a flashlight in hand, trekking carefully on the bricked path, discussing life and being the “Yes Man”.

I was here to do a job and had to agree to most anything to remain in the good graces of the host and his friends. If I did not follow protocol, I knew I would be hightailed out of there in a hurry. Some of the Middle East, not everywhere, but in several places I have been, the unwritten rule is to become like them and follow suit and your well-being will remain intact. If you stray from the religious and/or cultural protocol, you will then find you have new friends and those friends will watch your every step until they deem you no longer fit to serve. Then your excursion into the unforeseen will end and the plane ride to the next destination will prevail. Luckily, I survived all the foolishness with a bit of luck and smiles and came home safely after each expedition.

What people do for money is historically comedic. Think about it, a little piece of paper fabricated by mankind determines how you will structure your life, your one shot of being on the planet we live. Is this the way you want to live? If so, congratulations, go paper chasing. If you envision something a little off the beaten path, then follow my wife and I and we will take you through the complexities of the life we live, usually not knowing what the next step would be. And, yes, I do understand, we must have some sort of monies (paper) to survive, but we can slowly start to eliminate the need for it with sustainable living and having everything we could ever want, on the land in which we dwell.

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Original story (created by me) published on Medium.com. Any changes and/or updates that have been added on Vocal.media are for content consumption purposes.

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