The Dinner Roll
By Daniel at 15 January, 2010, 12:20 pm
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Once upon a time I was
invited to the White House for a private dinner
with the President. I
am a respected businessman, with a factory that
produces memory chips
for computers and portable electronics. There was
some talk that my
industry was being scrutinized by the
administration, but I paid it no
mind. I live in a free country. There’s
nothing that the government
can do to me if I¹ve broken no laws. My wealth
was earned honestly,
and an invitation to dinner with an American
President is an honor.
I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff,
and joined the President in a yellow dining room.
We sat across from
each other at a table draped in white linen. The
Great Seal was
embossed on the China . Uniformed staff served
our dinner.
The meal was served, and I was startled when my
waiter suddenly reached
out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate and began
nibbling it as he
walked back to the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” said the
President. “Andrew is very hungry.”
“I don’t appreciate…” I
began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes
across from me, I felt
immediately guilty and petty. It was just a
dinner roll. “Of course,”
I concluded, and reached for my glass..
Before I could,
however, another waiter reached forward, took the
glass away and
swallow ed the wine in a single gulp. “And
his brother, Eric, is very
thirsty.” said the President.
I didn’t say anything. The
President is testing my compassion, I thought.. I
withheld my comments
and decided to play along. I don’t want to
seem unkind..
My
plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite.
“Eric’s
children are also quite hungry.”
With a lurch, I crashed to the
floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me.
I stood,
brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it
was carried from the
room.
And their grandmother can’t stand for long.”
I
excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside
feeling like a fool.
Obviously I had been invited to the White House
to be sport for some
game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had
been taken.
I
turned back to the President as he said,
“Their grandfather doesn’t
like the cold.”
I wanted to shout, “that was my coat! ” But
again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my
host and decided I
was being a poor sport. I spread my hands
helplessly and chuckled.
Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was
gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on
an elegant side table.
I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed
out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and
equity portfolios had
vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home.
Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving
in. The President hadn’t moved or spoken as I learned all this, but
finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him.
“Andrew’s whole family has made bad financial decisions.
They haven’t planned for retirement and they need a house.. They
recently defaulted on a sub prime mortgage. I told them they could
have your home. They need it more than you do.”
My hands were shaking. I felt faint.. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor.
The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak, and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and staredat the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops.
“By the way,” He added, “I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your
factories. I’m firing you as head of your
business. I’ll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There’s a whole bunch of Eric’s and Andrews out there and theycome to you for jobs groveling like beggars.”
I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème Brule. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a
cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle.
Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us.
What had I done wrong?
As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands. “You should have stopped me at the dinner roll,” he said.
WAKE UP AMERICA !!!
- Richard Gleaves
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