The Heartland Cleaners
It was time to clean the carpets.
I like doing it with one of the wet-vacuum rentals but I needed help
moving stuff. Surprise...honey was golfing. I had to find a little
help so I walked down the winding pathways of The Lincoln Trail
to find a friend, The Ol' Sage. I arrived at the cabin. I found him on
his front porch reading the local paper. "Another politician 'bites
the dust' after someone found out he smoked pot as a child", he exclaimed
with a smile. "They're at it again!", he added. He was talking about the
Heartland Cleaners. Those folks who seek out the dirt and expose it for
all the world to see.
We agreed they were doing a great
job. The Heartland Cleaners were identifying lots of dirt. They have
identified...politicians who experimented with mind altering chemicals,
child care workers who touch children, parents who don't love their children,
ladies who make extra money on special Heartland corners, farmers who
use dangerous chemicals, neighbors who blow-up government buildings, groups
of Heartlanders who practice using guns, mothers who hurt those they love,
children who take "matters" into their own hands, policemen who "corner"
Heartland citizens and hurt them and, lastly, we can't forget those who
live a "different" sexual life-style. There is no end to the depths of
exposure. There is no one left who we can look at with total confidence.
I had joined the Sage on the front porch. Sitting on the edge of
the porch with the Sage resting comfortably on his glider, we pondered
the results of the Heartland Cleaners. Everyone had been touched...teachers,
parents, clergy, politicians, police, neighbors, divorcees, prostitutes,
vagrants, travelers and long-term friends. It looked like their was no safety
anywhere if we looked at others with the eyes of a Heartland Cleaner.
We agreed, if we were children, it would be one "hell" of a community to
live in.
Yet the neighborhood we lived in
seemed like a different world than the Heartland Cleaners' mental image.
It seemed rather safe here. Oh yes, there was lots of family clustering
here. And, yes, there were a few single older folks nearby. There
were deaths but all them were the result of accidents or the result of
being old. Over recent years, there were those who disappointed the Heartland
community by their greed. There were parents and children who failed
to be responsible....but those problems have always existed. The Ol'
Sage smiled as he recalled that even Abe and Mary Todd were often thought
to be "poor" parents. But we could think of no local dirt that could match
any of the "biggies" disclosed by the Heartland Cleaners.
The Sage recalled one of his
mental etchings from the Heartland Cleaners, as he reminisced about the
lady from a small town. He recalled her standing by the lake claiming
her children were kidnapped by a black man. All the while, she had just
locked the kids in the car and let it role into the lake where the children
drowned. "It makes good reading...", added the Sage. "But when we are
saturated with such terrible stories, it begins to effect how we see our
neighbors". We agreed the Heartland Cleaners were effecting our vision.
They were going beyond reporting news. They had become contributors to
the community life.
And his mention of "community life"
reminded me of why I had stopped by. I needed help. The Ol' Sage
consented. We left to get the work done. Three hours later,
we finished wet-vacuuming the carpets. The house looked and smelled
great. As we were cleaning up, the 'Ol Sage paused and gave me his favorite
eye-to-eye contact. With a slight smile, he commented...."You know,
when the Heartland Cleaners are done, our community should feel like
this...clean, renewed, motivated." "...not fearful, apprehensive of others,
cautious as people get closer, frequently speaking with cynical accusations."
"We really are better than that.", he concluded. We agreed this
is a problem that hurts the Heartland as it seeks to protect it's folks.
But then, I recalled
the Heartland Cleaners had just been talking about the cleaning chemicals
that were now in my carpet....dizziness, vomiting and a total body rash
were all potential options that awaited a vulnerable cleaned-carpet resident!
Oh no, I exclaimed. At last, the Heartland Cleaners were about to find
a bold type headline here on The Lincoln Trail. We talked about "rough
numbers" to keep in mind for the law suit...if illness struck. The Ol'
Sage left smiling...assuring me I would be O.K. I sat in an emotional
stupor...awaiting symptoms to begin. I was left vulnerable, fearful.
Another tragic result of the Heartland Cleaners.
If you're clean enough, click here to return home.