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    A Bird of the Air: Act 1
    A Bird of the Air: Act 1
    A Bird of the Air: Act 1
    Ebook89 pages1 hour

    A Bird of the Air: Act 1

    By James Archer

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    About this ebook

    A Bird of the Air is the tale about a man (George Malone) who encounters the suffering involved with real loss, while consumed by the philosophies he has encountered and created as they apply to his self-realization. A smart tale told in ordinary language, appealing to the intellectual and the average reader, combining aspects of philosophy, psychology, and humorous (though kindhearted) jabs at modern American, Popular and Western culture and ideals, A Bird of the Air is set both in a minimalist version of the real world and the expansive territories of George Malone's psyche. Maybe a coming-of-age tale, maybe a psychological thriller, and definitely a look into the inner workings of a delusional schizophrenic, this tale is sure to capture the readers attention, and possibly reveal truths which apply to more than the tale's main character.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames Archer
    Release dateFeb 16, 2012
    ISBN9781466179240
    A Bird of the Air: Act 1
    Author

    James Archer

    James Archer is an Author, Songwriter and Musician living in the wild and wonderful hills of West Virginia. His writing takes a sometimes humorous, sometimes bluntly insightful look at the questions many of us ask of the universe in general, as he tells stories of psychology, philosophies, and people dealing with the joy and pain of their unique lives, in an attempt to give an interpretation of human beings being human. Check out his Indie Rock Band Startgo (www.readystartgo.net)

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      Book preview

      A Bird of the Air - James Archer

      A Bird of the Air:

      Act 1

      By

      James Archer

      Copyright 2012 James Archer

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      1. two plus one minus one

      2. The Battle of Angela

      3. A Secret Country

      4. Waking to a Dream

      5. Under Cover of Obvious

      6. Suffering Passage

      7. pluralsy

      An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason. – C.S. Lewis

      Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. – Oscar Wilde

      Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - Mathew 6 25-34

      I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance. – ee Cummings

      George Malone was any man on any given day. Some days he was the baker’s assistant down the street selling day old bread for quarters. Those days were years ago. Some days he was an angel- he seemed so interested in the people he interacted with that some would actually refer to him as ‘a stranger sent by God Almighty’ just for the purposes of caring for them for a moment or two. Some days he was an ego, trapped in the squishy soft flesh of a manbeast, running errands of mind over matter, beating down invisible doorways to transcendence or at the very minimum self-aggrandizement, and losing his place inside giant and satisfying delusions, only dreams are hard to tell from truth those days.

      There have been days when he was a gambler, blowing the rent money on foolish wishes that never come true; and days when he was a drinker, tipping the whiskey until the earth stood straight (but he felt sideways); and some days he was just interested in taking a nap. Today was none of those days. Something was broken.

      Let me be clear: the clicker still ticked, and the automated systems drew in breath and released, blinked at random intervals, twitched in muscle movement, auto-piloted him from point A to point B and (sometimes) unknown points and (always) back again. He sweated in the heat, and shivered in the cold, and his pupils adjusted themselves to the various degrees of light- morning, midday, evening, midnight.

      He even managed (unawares at times) hellos and thank yous, ‘pack a marlboras’ and ‘hold the elevator’s. Together with the ingestion of nutrients- barley, hops, wheat flour, sugar, water, salt, all the etcs- he almost seemed unbroken, as any broken man or woman might, at least from a distance, at least with the uncaring ‘how ya doin?’s and ‘fine, fine- yourself’s and of course the intermittent ‘catch the game last night?’s and whatnots and what have yous. Almost, except that in the eyes, where there should be that something- that je ne sais, that indefinable, indefatigueable- there was only loneliness, if you could decode it. George Malone was any man on some days, but on this day his unknown was broken.

      George Malone worked (if you could call it that) as a Salesman, selling bath tubs to strangers in the comforts of their homes. New bath tubs were in pretty good demand, as the damned things are always getting wet, and everyone knows that water leads to mold, and mold will kill you.

      Yessiree Bob, either fix that problem with the thing that I’ma sellin’, or its trouble trouble trouble for you and those little ones- nobody’s been coughing a lot lately have they? Or suddenly got bronchitis or asthma? Phew, that is a relief- you know people get sick, I don’t need to tell ya. The reason I bring it up is a lot of my customers don’t know, ya know, what the damned black mold could do, unchecked that is, untreated you see, and the problem therefore unsolved. Sign here, Bob. Let me help you keep your kiddos safe and sound and breathing in only the cleanest, only the purest. No, you don’t have to pay that all in cash- what kind of monthly makes sense to you? Let’s see what the finance guys have to say, and we’ll get you set up straight away- get that goddam mold licked and things running what they should be in your john.

      It was

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