Other than yourself

Olympic speed-skating gold winner Joey Cheek did something different in his press conference. He did not give the reporters the nice "sweet" story of his success. Instead, he talked about Darfur and Sudan. To all my like-minded sadists out there, yes, it did cross my mind that this might be some kind of publicity gig. But I heard him on NPR, and he sounded very down-to-earth and matter of fact about it - like this was his bigger dream, winning the gold just happened to occur. I loved the way he said that "skating on ice in tights" was rather ridiculous, just after winning GOLD at the OLYMPICS! Modesty.

Of Last Minute Contest Entries and Typos

I read about the Caferati KGAF Flash Fiction contest somewhere and decided to enter about 1 hr before the deadline. Here's what I turned in (there was a theme/trigger "Black Horse"):

She cringed in pain, her hand on her cheek. She bit her lip and said nothing. When she looked in the mirror after he left, she saw the mark of his calloused hand. She was used to this, but every time, it hurt more than the last time, like an ever-widening a wound. She ran outside like she did every single time. Their farm had stables near the outhouse. The stables were her refuge. There, she walked directly to the last stall. There stood her only friend. He was dark, just like her, but somehow black looked much nicer on a horse than on a woman; or so they said. He was a thoroughbred, the pride of the stable. The gentle horse nuzzled his big head on her neck and she felt like he understood. She had never tried to ride him, because she had never really learnt to ride. Today she wondered if there was another reason. She walked around and thought about how tall he seemed. In one swift motion, like a veteran rider, she hoisted herself on him. He seemed as startled as she was. He raised his head and neighed like he wanted to show off to her.

She had left the door to the stall open. He was out of the stable and galloping in the open field like it belonged to him. Neither of them knew where they were heading, but they knew they were free.

Damn the typo. And now I can see a zillion things that are wrong about the piece. Oh well.

Starstruck

She walked slowly, much slower than the usual brisk pace. It felt delightful to feel the crisp chilly air after the closed up gym and the whirring of the treadmill. It was a clear night. Inspite of the lights hindering them, the stars twinkled tenaciously. They symbolized her dreams and aspirations, like the open sky was a canvas waiting to be painted. They fascinated her, and gave her hope. Nature is a good friend, strong in its silence, and unconditional in its encouragement.

A car screeched to a halt and she took her eyes away from the sky with a start. Embarrassed, but with a sense of calm, she hopped onto the sidewalk with a smile.

Democracy anyone?

Palestine chose a militant government, Hamas, over Fatah. They chose a group whose goal is the destruction of Israel. The Palestinians voted for Hamas because they could not stand to have the corrupt and bureaucratic Fatah in power. They asked Fatah to form a coalition, which was turned down. Hamas is thrown into governance and is grappling with it. Sure, the people were free and independent and voted for their own government, moving closer to Bush's goal of democracy in the Middle East. Democratic countries vote for one party to escape the evils of the other. Essentially they are voting out what they know they do not want, without knowing what they do want. But is that what is best? A militant group who has very little experience in governance?

I am not sitting in judgement of what is the best government for Palestine or for that matter any democracy. But if our options are between bad and worse, people settle for the bad. I have felt on many occasions that India needs an autocracy, a government with an iron hand. Any changes that are being made today are drops in an ocean. Drastic change requires drastic measures. When people have no option but to buckle down and do the right thing, they will. Until then, there will be ways and means (read corruption, bureaucracy) to be lackadaisical and callous and squander the country.