Aboard My Train Of Thought by Scott C. Endsley (best book club books for discussion .TXT) π
Excerpt from the book:
Broke up into 6 short-stories, Aboard My Train Of Thought Is a humorous tale about a manic-depressive author and his accidental destiny into the White House; from there the story becomes even more bizarre-- is it all inside his head? Find out what REALLY, REALLY, REALLY happened at Roswell as the second half of the book takes us to a planet called Apathonia, where one of our hero's, Clyde P. Hipwing's, book ends up on the planet-- igniting a revolution. It all comes to a head with a mind blowing end. Are you ready for a ride?
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- Author: Scott C. Endsley
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book, so let it be. We're here today 'cause people ain't gettin' along. We're here today 'cause people are forgettin' what America is about. It ain't about doin' whatever the hell you wanna, no matter who's gonna get hurt. We're a nation that's forgotten the blessings of our Father God, and traded him off for the gods of our bellies!!!"
The room full of reporters were stone quiet as Ralph pranced back and forth like a Sunday preacher. "Oh, this country has had its share of blemishes. Slavery of old is something my forefathers endured and would have given their very lives for the freedoms I now cherish. But slavery of old is no longer a reality; the slavery we all endure now, black or white, is the slavery of the fear we live in.
"The man here... I mean, the President and myself want to bring the people back together, but we need your help. WE can't fix all the problems up here in Washington all by ourselves. We don't have all our problems due to the lack of bureaucracy!
"But, you say you ain't gonna join the band wagon with no left winger. You say you ain't gonna get on board with a right winger, huh? Last I looked, the symbol for this great country of ours is that almost extinct, Bald Eagle. And casually glancing at that emblem we hold so sacred, I noticed it had two different wings. A right and a left. Now wouldn't that bird look real silly tryin' to fly with just one wing?..."
A loud silence dominated the press room as Ralph backed off from the microphone, though a low rumble of whispers echoed as reporters didn't know whether to applaud or just keep their mouths shut.
"I'll answer a few more questions," I stepped forward.
"RALPH.... OVER HERE, RALPH!!!" the press room resounded.
"Okay," I laughed, "the future Vice President will answer a few questions!"
Ralph, as cocky as ever, directed his first question: "Yes, the man in the back row with the gray flannel suit and the funny looking nose, please."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Episode 8)
Launching from the livingroom sofa and nudging the television on/off button after the press conference, Edie decreed, "Okay Giles, that's all the television for tonight. Here's your favorite book, you may read until bedtime," she asserted, while handing him his copy of Aboard My Train of Thought, from the coffee table.
"A splendid young man! Says what he thinks," the professor expounded on Ralph's performance. "Why, we need more like him in Washington, I say! You know, the man of color has come a long way, Edie. A little under a century ago he would have been thought of less than a person. Can you believe how ignorant the popular consent of that day was? You think the country is divided now?..."
"Very fascinating, Professor Endicotsley! But, I believe I shall treat myself to an evening shower. Would you like for me to get you something before I leave the room?"
"Hmm, huh? Ah yes," Giles glanced up from his book, then placed it haphazardly in his robe pocket. "Would you be so kind as to wheel me to my radio room?... I think I'll dabble a bit with the computer before bed."
"Oh Giles, you'll be up all night playing with that silly thing."
"I just want to finish me chess game, Edie, it shouldn't take too long," he begged.
"Oh, all right." She wheeled him up to the keyboard, then kissed him on the top of his head.
"If you need anything, just holler."
The professor anticipated the finish of the match all evening. He was of course losing, being his Packard Bell Spectria 100 was the toughest opponent he'd ever faced. While he waited for his PC to load up, he decided to see how the atmospheric propagation was on his six meter ham radio transceiver. Tuning around the band, he didn't come across anything interesting so he went back to his computer, leaving the radio on.
"Ah, let's see.... Nope, can't move there, he'll get my last Bishop," he mumbled, pulling on his mustache in deep thought.
"Hmm, what if I.... Huh? What's that?" He quickly reached for the tuning knob on his radio after hearing what sounded like a strong signal just a tad bit off frequency. After a brief search he decided it was just his imagination and refocused on his match. "No, I.... wait a minute, he can't get me there if I just.... What?... There's that signal again!"
Redirecting his attention to his radio and pushing his spectacles up higher on his nose, he tuned around till he finally found the strong station causing him to lose concentration on his game. He fine-tuned the VFO until the voice became clearer. His startled ears perked up to what sounded like a very strange foreign language. Could it be Russian? Wait! There was another station now talking, its signal wasn't quite as strong as the other one though. After a few minutes the stations quit transmitting and Giles went back to his chess game.
"Hmm... Let's see.... WHAT IN THE.....???!!!" All at once without warning, his computer screen's background changed color as some sort of strange message formed on the screen. In a cold sweat, Giles took note of, but couldn't believe, what he was reading:
Giles Endicotsley... The peoples of the planet Apathonia send their universal greetings. You have been chosen among your kind to represent them in the great Council of Councils, in the company of The Greatest of Greats, on our lovely planet. Please, be not afraid....
He slumped back in his wheelchair, wiping his brow, and was relieved at the possibility that it was all a joke. No, wait a minute... Edie didn't know the first thing about computers, so it couldn't have been her. And no one else had been near his computer save for his grandson, three weeks ago. Who could've done it? Wait! There was more!
Giles.... this is not a joke, wheel your chair to the window and look out in your backyard.
He hurriedly rolled up to the window and got himself tangled up in the venetian blinds, but managed to give a look outside. Not seeing much at first, because of the dimly setting sun, he started to pull them shut. But wait! What was that dull orange illuminating glow by the tool shed!?
Giles wiped the window of its condensation to get a better look. As he pressed his nose to it, he spied two short individuals walking toward him. A splash of adrenaline ran down his spine as he backed his wheelchair away from the glass pane just as the two beings penetrated through without shattering it.
"Giles Endicotsley... Be not afraid! My name is Derf Enotstnilf. I'm from the planet Apathonia. The Greatest of Greats in the Council of Councils wishes to speak with you... Rise out of your wheelchair and come with us!" The hidious looking visitor from abroad beseeched.
"EDIE!!...." Giles yelled as the trunk of his body seemed to split in two, and a younger Giles quickly immerged from out of his now lifeless aged body. He looked back in astonishment at his prior flesh, slumped in his wheelchair. He noticed his feet touching the floor for the first time in almost three years, and turned to look in the mirror. "Why, I'm a young man again! How did you do that?!"
"Come with us, Giles, we must go now," Derf demanded, taking him by the arm as they exited unhindered through the wall to board the unearthly vessel.
Edie, wondering what all the commotion was about, hurried with barely a towel wrapped around her, and rounded the corner to the radio room only to find the professor's old expired frame he'd left behind, laying lifeless. "Giles!..... Oh God, No!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Episode 9)
The following sunup after my evening press conference with Ralph, the morning talk shows and news programs were hurriedly competing to bring the results of opinion polls and local reactions to their viewers and listeners. The overall consensus was exhilarating and encouraging.
The editorials were mostly favorable, commenting on Ralph's sharp candor. William F. Bucktooth wrote: "Ralph, as we'll affectionately call him, most assuredly is bound to be the scourge that restrains the elephants and donkeys from getting out of line in the Senate. At no time has anyone in Washington ever displayed such insurgency to shoddy partisanship. Time alone will unveil the triumph or the undoing of Mr. McCovey's much needed bullheadedness."
Flush Limbo, who certainly wasn't a fan of my administration in the least, was very impressed with Ralph's performance and egged him on to join the Republican ranks. Although he wasn't registered with any party, he seemed to demonstrate to Flush a heartfelt conviction for the good of the country, which he believed was in line with the Republican agenda.
Prospects looked good concerning Ralph's upcoming confirmation, as he had virtually no opposition. My own popularity increased overnight too, though I'm sure I was just riding Ralph's coat tails as I now exercise my hindsight.
But how long was this to last? With the national debt well over five trillion dollars, and a budget calling for 1.5 trillion dollars in increased spending (which I had promised to cut), I clearly demonstrated I was no economics scholar.
There was also another major problem: Getting my Supreme Court nominee, Wemsley Higglethorp, approved by the Senate, due to the Republican's nit-picking with concerns about his mother-in-law's sister being a heavy drinker. "Preposterous!" he'd protest. "She only weighs about 135 lbs!!"
Though the immediate polls looked good, I worried myself sick that after the nation's honeymoon with the new Vice President was over, things would get worse since we really didn't have any clear cut agenda. The nation might have fared better by picking ramdom names from a telephone book for potential leaders of the free world! But, there was still my first State of the Union Address coming up soon. I still had time to contemplate something that would rally the American nation behind us.
"Ralph, after you've been confirmed, we're gonna have to work extra hard keeping the confidence of the voters if we plan to run for re-election in the fall. We've got to stimulate the economy. I think in my State of the Union Address I should propose an across-the-board tax cut. Whatdya think?" I suggested, confident that he'd eagerly join the band wagon.
"Oh... Gonna play up to the rich fat cats, huh?"
"No Ralph. It doesn't work that way! When are you liberals gonna learn that a tax break helps everyone. True, the rich man gets the biggest share, but that allows him to reinvest more back into the economy to bring down unemployment... When was the last time you got a job working for a street bum, huh?" I emphasized.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's called 'tinkle-down-economics...' the big guy gets richer, and all the little guy gets is pissed on from above. There you go with that Flush Limbo crap! I thought you couldn't bear to listen to him anymore since he's been on your case," Ralph jabbed.
"It's called 'trickle-down-economics' and it worked in the 80s! It revived the economy, put people back to work, and even ended the cold war!!!" I maintained.
"All it's doin' for me is puttin' me asleep! Hey, yo the President, man. Do what you wanna," he pouted, "I guess I'm just the yessa masta boy!"
"That's not the way I want it to be, Ralph. I need your support! Look, if we don't agree on the details, then let's compromise. We can come
The room full of reporters were stone quiet as Ralph pranced back and forth like a Sunday preacher. "Oh, this country has had its share of blemishes. Slavery of old is something my forefathers endured and would have given their very lives for the freedoms I now cherish. But slavery of old is no longer a reality; the slavery we all endure now, black or white, is the slavery of the fear we live in.
"The man here... I mean, the President and myself want to bring the people back together, but we need your help. WE can't fix all the problems up here in Washington all by ourselves. We don't have all our problems due to the lack of bureaucracy!
"But, you say you ain't gonna join the band wagon with no left winger. You say you ain't gonna get on board with a right winger, huh? Last I looked, the symbol for this great country of ours is that almost extinct, Bald Eagle. And casually glancing at that emblem we hold so sacred, I noticed it had two different wings. A right and a left. Now wouldn't that bird look real silly tryin' to fly with just one wing?..."
A loud silence dominated the press room as Ralph backed off from the microphone, though a low rumble of whispers echoed as reporters didn't know whether to applaud or just keep their mouths shut.
"I'll answer a few more questions," I stepped forward.
"RALPH.... OVER HERE, RALPH!!!" the press room resounded.
"Okay," I laughed, "the future Vice President will answer a few questions!"
Ralph, as cocky as ever, directed his first question: "Yes, the man in the back row with the gray flannel suit and the funny looking nose, please."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Episode 8)
Launching from the livingroom sofa and nudging the television on/off button after the press conference, Edie decreed, "Okay Giles, that's all the television for tonight. Here's your favorite book, you may read until bedtime," she asserted, while handing him his copy of Aboard My Train of Thought, from the coffee table.
"A splendid young man! Says what he thinks," the professor expounded on Ralph's performance. "Why, we need more like him in Washington, I say! You know, the man of color has come a long way, Edie. A little under a century ago he would have been thought of less than a person. Can you believe how ignorant the popular consent of that day was? You think the country is divided now?..."
"Very fascinating, Professor Endicotsley! But, I believe I shall treat myself to an evening shower. Would you like for me to get you something before I leave the room?"
"Hmm, huh? Ah yes," Giles glanced up from his book, then placed it haphazardly in his robe pocket. "Would you be so kind as to wheel me to my radio room?... I think I'll dabble a bit with the computer before bed."
"Oh Giles, you'll be up all night playing with that silly thing."
"I just want to finish me chess game, Edie, it shouldn't take too long," he begged.
"Oh, all right." She wheeled him up to the keyboard, then kissed him on the top of his head.
"If you need anything, just holler."
The professor anticipated the finish of the match all evening. He was of course losing, being his Packard Bell Spectria 100 was the toughest opponent he'd ever faced. While he waited for his PC to load up, he decided to see how the atmospheric propagation was on his six meter ham radio transceiver. Tuning around the band, he didn't come across anything interesting so he went back to his computer, leaving the radio on.
"Ah, let's see.... Nope, can't move there, he'll get my last Bishop," he mumbled, pulling on his mustache in deep thought.
"Hmm, what if I.... Huh? What's that?" He quickly reached for the tuning knob on his radio after hearing what sounded like a strong signal just a tad bit off frequency. After a brief search he decided it was just his imagination and refocused on his match. "No, I.... wait a minute, he can't get me there if I just.... What?... There's that signal again!"
Redirecting his attention to his radio and pushing his spectacles up higher on his nose, he tuned around till he finally found the strong station causing him to lose concentration on his game. He fine-tuned the VFO until the voice became clearer. His startled ears perked up to what sounded like a very strange foreign language. Could it be Russian? Wait! There was another station now talking, its signal wasn't quite as strong as the other one though. After a few minutes the stations quit transmitting and Giles went back to his chess game.
"Hmm... Let's see.... WHAT IN THE.....???!!!" All at once without warning, his computer screen's background changed color as some sort of strange message formed on the screen. In a cold sweat, Giles took note of, but couldn't believe, what he was reading:
Giles Endicotsley... The peoples of the planet Apathonia send their universal greetings. You have been chosen among your kind to represent them in the great Council of Councils, in the company of The Greatest of Greats, on our lovely planet. Please, be not afraid....
He slumped back in his wheelchair, wiping his brow, and was relieved at the possibility that it was all a joke. No, wait a minute... Edie didn't know the first thing about computers, so it couldn't have been her. And no one else had been near his computer save for his grandson, three weeks ago. Who could've done it? Wait! There was more!
Giles.... this is not a joke, wheel your chair to the window and look out in your backyard.
He hurriedly rolled up to the window and got himself tangled up in the venetian blinds, but managed to give a look outside. Not seeing much at first, because of the dimly setting sun, he started to pull them shut. But wait! What was that dull orange illuminating glow by the tool shed!?
Giles wiped the window of its condensation to get a better look. As he pressed his nose to it, he spied two short individuals walking toward him. A splash of adrenaline ran down his spine as he backed his wheelchair away from the glass pane just as the two beings penetrated through without shattering it.
"Giles Endicotsley... Be not afraid! My name is Derf Enotstnilf. I'm from the planet Apathonia. The Greatest of Greats in the Council of Councils wishes to speak with you... Rise out of your wheelchair and come with us!" The hidious looking visitor from abroad beseeched.
"EDIE!!...." Giles yelled as the trunk of his body seemed to split in two, and a younger Giles quickly immerged from out of his now lifeless aged body. He looked back in astonishment at his prior flesh, slumped in his wheelchair. He noticed his feet touching the floor for the first time in almost three years, and turned to look in the mirror. "Why, I'm a young man again! How did you do that?!"
"Come with us, Giles, we must go now," Derf demanded, taking him by the arm as they exited unhindered through the wall to board the unearthly vessel.
Edie, wondering what all the commotion was about, hurried with barely a towel wrapped around her, and rounded the corner to the radio room only to find the professor's old expired frame he'd left behind, laying lifeless. "Giles!..... Oh God, No!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Episode 9)
The following sunup after my evening press conference with Ralph, the morning talk shows and news programs were hurriedly competing to bring the results of opinion polls and local reactions to their viewers and listeners. The overall consensus was exhilarating and encouraging.
The editorials were mostly favorable, commenting on Ralph's sharp candor. William F. Bucktooth wrote: "Ralph, as we'll affectionately call him, most assuredly is bound to be the scourge that restrains the elephants and donkeys from getting out of line in the Senate. At no time has anyone in Washington ever displayed such insurgency to shoddy partisanship. Time alone will unveil the triumph or the undoing of Mr. McCovey's much needed bullheadedness."
Flush Limbo, who certainly wasn't a fan of my administration in the least, was very impressed with Ralph's performance and egged him on to join the Republican ranks. Although he wasn't registered with any party, he seemed to demonstrate to Flush a heartfelt conviction for the good of the country, which he believed was in line with the Republican agenda.
Prospects looked good concerning Ralph's upcoming confirmation, as he had virtually no opposition. My own popularity increased overnight too, though I'm sure I was just riding Ralph's coat tails as I now exercise my hindsight.
But how long was this to last? With the national debt well over five trillion dollars, and a budget calling for 1.5 trillion dollars in increased spending (which I had promised to cut), I clearly demonstrated I was no economics scholar.
There was also another major problem: Getting my Supreme Court nominee, Wemsley Higglethorp, approved by the Senate, due to the Republican's nit-picking with concerns about his mother-in-law's sister being a heavy drinker. "Preposterous!" he'd protest. "She only weighs about 135 lbs!!"
Though the immediate polls looked good, I worried myself sick that after the nation's honeymoon with the new Vice President was over, things would get worse since we really didn't have any clear cut agenda. The nation might have fared better by picking ramdom names from a telephone book for potential leaders of the free world! But, there was still my first State of the Union Address coming up soon. I still had time to contemplate something that would rally the American nation behind us.
"Ralph, after you've been confirmed, we're gonna have to work extra hard keeping the confidence of the voters if we plan to run for re-election in the fall. We've got to stimulate the economy. I think in my State of the Union Address I should propose an across-the-board tax cut. Whatdya think?" I suggested, confident that he'd eagerly join the band wagon.
"Oh... Gonna play up to the rich fat cats, huh?"
"No Ralph. It doesn't work that way! When are you liberals gonna learn that a tax break helps everyone. True, the rich man gets the biggest share, but that allows him to reinvest more back into the economy to bring down unemployment... When was the last time you got a job working for a street bum, huh?" I emphasized.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's called 'tinkle-down-economics...' the big guy gets richer, and all the little guy gets is pissed on from above. There you go with that Flush Limbo crap! I thought you couldn't bear to listen to him anymore since he's been on your case," Ralph jabbed.
"It's called 'trickle-down-economics' and it worked in the 80s! It revived the economy, put people back to work, and even ended the cold war!!!" I maintained.
"All it's doin' for me is puttin' me asleep! Hey, yo the President, man. Do what you wanna," he pouted, "I guess I'm just the yessa masta boy!"
"That's not the way I want it to be, Ralph. I need your support! Look, if we don't agree on the details, then let's compromise. We can come
Free e-book: Β«Aboard My Train Of Thought by Scott C. Endsley (best book club books for discussion .TXT) πΒ» - read online now on website american library books (americanlibrarybooks.com)
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