Same Land

3/13/2012

A Report to the General Public on the Effects of Like Mindedness in a Newly Discovered Country

Dear Reader,

            I have recently spent an intrigue-filled week in Same Land. This short report should help you to better understand the gift of difference in opinions and in life experiences. My personal experience in Same Land was something of a small revelation in and of itself. I expected an intricate and well-developed society, but got a shallow unsatisfying world.

            I hope my self-imposed work will educate you and the rest of the general public on the beauty of opinions.

            The newly discovered island of Same Land, located east of the Bermuda Triangle, is a very exciting and novelty filled country. Of course that reference applies to only those who have never visited such an island. As with most new things, namely Same Land, the novelty quickly wears off. Especially when thinking about taking up a residence in such a place.

            At first all the differences from our culture and society compared to theirs, seem exciting and new. However the ideas that seem new, quickly manifest themselves into ones that have been around for some time. In fact realization strikes that the ideas in Same Land have remained the same for quite some time. The more time one spends in Same Land the more one realizes that the disagreements back home, due to differences in taste, don’t seem quite so bad. For instance…

            When I first arrived in Same Land, by way of boat, I noticed I was hungry. I signaled for a cab and soon found myself riding down the highway in a blue taxicab. I asked the driver, “Since this is Same Land are all the taxis blue?”

            My driver responded, “Oh yes, all the taxis are blue and all the privately owned vehicles are red.”

            I noted this information in my handbook and began looking for the pattern just described by the coachman. When we exited the highway and headed into town I noticed that all the cars were red, with a rare smattering of blue taxis in between. Then I started noticing the people. The men all wore black tee-shirts and blue jeans, just like my cab driver. They all had brown hair and blue eyes. This was somewhat exciting to me. Then I noticed all the women wore the same blue shirts and green skirts. They too all had brown hair and blue eyes.

            When we finally reached the town where I’d be staying; I instructed my driver to find me a good place to eat. He chuckled and continued to drive on. Then I noticed something that made me a little claustrophobic. All the buildings looked exactly the same! My eyes hurriedly looked for even the slightest difference in the architecture. There was none to be found I cautiously asked my driver how he knew where we were going.

            He chuckled again and said, “Look at the signs. They’re all different.”

            I read the signs on the buildings as we passed them. They read, “Smith’s Fine Dining, Grove’s Bait and Tackle, Ripley’s Grocery Chain, and Brown’s Hardware.” I relaxed slightly until I noticed that, when we turned down the next road, the exact same businesses repeated themselves. The only change was the family name. For example they read, “Perigo’s Fine Dining and Lowe’s Grocery Chain.”

            I forced myself to relax and told myself that I only needed to eat. We stopped at a Rupert’s Fine Dining. I paid the cab driver and walked inside.

            When I stepped through the door I noted all the small tables, and four accompanying chairs, were arranged in evenly spaced rows throughout the small restaurant. This comforted me slightly, because it reminded me of a small restaurant I liked back home.

            There were several families dining at Rupert’s Fine Dining and again that sameness pattern was showing itself. Every middle-aged father wore a short and trim beard. Seated to his right was his wife who wore her hair back with two black berets. To her right was a young boy and to his right was a young girl. Each child was dressed identically to their parents. There were about eight identical families in the restaurant, with two couples. One couple being young and the being other older.

            As I walked over to a seat I noticed that some of the restaurant patrons were staring at me. This at first confused and then bothered me. I quickly realized that their reactions were due to my maroon tee-shirt and lacking facial hair. After a while I noted it was mostly the children and couples who stared. The parents tried to tell their children that they were being impolite but soon found themselves idly doing the same thing.

            As I sat down at my table, and picked up my menu, I regarded the food everyone was eating. I was sure that they were all eating the same thing and fervently hoped there was more than just one item on the menu.

            All the males were eating pizza and females were eating a salad. My menu was set up with breakfast, lunch, and dinner sections. For breakfast: pancakes, biscuits, and eggs. Both lunch and dinner were composed of pizza and salad.

            I was slightly disappointed and the constant staring was starting to get to me. It wasn’t the innocently curious stares of the children. Or the interested stare of the young couple. Or even the occasional stares of the parents. But it was the cold disapproving stare that emanated from the elderly couple that really got to me.

            I was obviously not the first visitor to Same Land, but never the less I still seemed to fascinate and annoy its inhabitants. Maybe it was just the constant sameness, the incessant staring, or even both. But I was absolutely certain of one thing. I had to get out of there. I ordered a pepperoni pizza to go, which was all they had, and left.

            When I got outside I took a deep breath and waited for a taxi. As the cab pulled up, I opened the door and chanced one last quick glance back inside Rupert’s Fine Dining. The place had become a hive of excited conversation.

            After I sat down in the cab seat I distracted myself with opening the pizza box and digging in. I started slightly when the cab driver gently cleared his throat. I hastily swallowed and told him I’d like to go to Cleat’s Hotel. He chuckled with that same chuckle that my last coachman had and we drove off. I had to take a second look at him because he seemed exactly identical to my previous driver. I was tempted to ask if he was, but thought better of it.

            An hour later I was sprawled out in my hotel room bed with my hunger finally sated by the last of my pizza.

            The roof, walls, and shag carpet of my room were a soft white. The bed, small love seat, nightstand, TV cabinet, and even the TV itself were all a soft yet dark brown.

            It felt good to be away from all the sameness. Even though I was sure every other hotel room looked just like this one. Every other private residence or even small business for that matter. Even that Rupert’s Fine Dining had the same color patterns.

            I propped myself up and turned on the television. The first thing that came up was a cartoon. It was pretty funny and lasted about twenty minutes. When that was over another cartoon came on. It was the same one. I thought to myself, “I’ve heard that the classics never get old, but this is just too much.”

            I flipped the channel and found a news station. They should have called it the “olds” station because they reported the same “old” thing and never had anything “new” to report. It turned out that the “news”, or “olds”, station and that cartoon were the only things on. With nothing else to do I quickly fell asleep.

            I found out the next day that when one spends much time in Same Land, you get stuck in the same rut every day. I wasted the entire morning trying to think of something to do, and ended up going back to Rupert’s Fine Dining for lunch.

            I also found out why Same Land is stuck in the rut of sameness, and no, it’s not what you think. There isn’t a mad scientist cranking every one out of a cloning tank. My theory states that the overwhelming weight of peer pressure caused it all. Everyone was so afraid of being different that they just stayed the same. I myself was tempted to buy a black tee-shirt and grow a beard. Just to keep the prying eyes off my back.

            In conclusion a different opinion may start a squabble or a fight, but in my opinion that’s better than being and doing the same things all the time.

            So if you plan to visit Same Land. Be sure you’ve got a strong will and an appetite for an adventure. Or you’ll end up just like everyone else…

The Same!

Hello again,

      This is your annoying authorish voice. A few things can be noted hear about this post. One it was written when I was 16 in 2009. The point of this lesson, (bear with the details they're a bit fuzzy) was to show that all of your characters should have a difference in opinion. It also provided a great story opportunity. This is one of my favorite stories that I have been blessed enough to write. As many of you know, (or not so many) one of the reasons I post these blogs is to get feedback on my written work. I hope that you enjoyed this project. If you saw something that you didn't like or did like please let me know by commenting in the provided area. I would like to know where you see faults or strengths. That way I can try to improve my writing. As always I am thankful that you read this and hope that you do comment.

                             Sicerely,

                          Isaiah T. Silkwood

 

P.S. If  you liked my stories let a friend know. Maybe they would enjoy it to. J

Copyright Isaiah T. Silkwood 3/13/2012