Before me (a #poem)

The road ahead

is paved with shards of dreams

Not all mine

but dreams nonetheless

Am I pursuing my own dreams,

dreaming that I am

or simply following

the dreams

of those who went 

before me?

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The flow of traffic

When you have a car, you want to drive fast and comfortably. Which makes sense.  But what if other options are not only faster but also safer ánd are less bad for the planet?

Until some 100 years ago, people in the US lived in walkable cities. Until their shops, small streets, buses and trams, squares and even buildings made way for the oil industry's biggest supporter: the car.

The automobile industry ran a highly succesful PR-campaign: pedestrians were ridiculed and the term 'jay walking' was invented. 'Jay' at the time meaning 'stupid, barbaric, nitwit who doesn't belong in the city' and you only meant something if you had a car. Walking and cycling was for cowards

Something similar was happening in the Netherlands. But the people succesfully protested. Resulting in far less traffic deaths than the US suffered.

Annually some 40,000 people a year get killed in US traffic. That's almost twice as much as in all the EU countries combined. Even when you look at the numbers per capita. Here are some explanations:

In the USA the people were pushed out into suburbia and practically forced to drive a car. Often two or three per family. Because a ten minute walk or bike ride to the grocery store or a bakery was replaced by a half an hour drive to Walmart or Costco.

In about 47 years from today (August 6th 2026, Gregorian Calender) the last of the oil wars will have been fought and the last drop of the stuff will have been violently squeezed out of the planet. 

Will future people take back the streets of US cities or will they still be the domain of the car?

Would you rather walk ten minutes to a grocery store or drive for half an hour to a Walmart?

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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

A donation (click) is much appreciated:

When nobody likes you

His grandfather fled Germany to dodge the draft and taxes, ripped people of with all kinds of cons and made his fortune selling women and later real estate. Which is the name rich people use for 'buildings'. 

His grandfather was an asylum seeker and his mother as well as most of his wives were immigrants. Since he hates immigrants, one can only conclude he hates his grandfather, mother and wives.

He was never loved or even liked. In order to get women to touch him, they would either have to be promised a lot of money or get drugged.

The way he talks is an insult to his (English) school teachers:

"I know a lot about drugs. I use them all! Tremendous stuff!" "I know everything about foreign affairs. I had a lot of them. Czech Republic, Slovakia... even kissed the *ss of some Russian guy in Finland! I'm the best *ss kisser. Bigly!"

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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

A donation (click) is much appreciated:

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No one kisses his *ss because they think it's big and beautiful but because of his perceived wealth and power. For those with actual power he is literally and figuratively a tool, a useful idiot.

And he just grins and thinks he's the Greatest of All. If anything, he's the greatest embarrasment of all. Unfortunately he has been used to turn the US into one of those dystopian sociaties we were warned for in books and disturbing movies.

If he wasn't responsible for the misery of millions of people and r-ped children, I would pitty him. But I don't.