flickr photo credits: (1) krutscjo (2) bionicteaching (3) bionicteaching (4) keepps (5) Serenae
Five Card Story: The Voyage of Vacancy
a Five Card Flickr story by Joshua Kimrey created Jun 04 2014, 05:08:27 pm. Create a new one!
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Jim had always wanted to report on groundbreaking stories. Ever since he had started at CNN, Jim had typically been given local low key stories including: cats in trees, traffic jams, and high school spelling bees. So, when Jim was told that the lead national reporter was sick and that he would need to fill in, well Jim was more than ready. Jim was finally going to get the big story that he wanted, which was to be an informational piece on how average Americans across the country felt about the status quo of their government.
Jim started his journey by taking the old two lane highway, that resounded with a kind of tranquil peace, out of the town. As he looked back Jim couldn't help but feel a little anxious about his first assignment outside the busy, bustling city.
Jim didn't have to drive far for his first destination. As he pulled into a town he couldn't help but notice the run down gas stations and boarded up windows. It looked like no one had lived here in years. All of the buildings looked void of life, except for one small Chinese restaurant with an ornate doorway. Jim decided to take a few minutes to step inside. As he did, Jim was hit with a blast of pleasant odors mixed with the lingering aroma of smoke. Sitting in the restaurant were three men all sitting around playing mahjong. The men invited Jim to sit down and play, which Jim accepted in hopes of interviewing the three men. After three hours of playing Jim walked away with two things: a better appreciation of mahjong and the opinions of three men who couldn't be more disinterested in American culture, let alone the government. At this Jim decided it was time to take off, getting back into his car, Jim drove off on the old highway again.
A month went by and Jim continued disinterest at every turn. It seemed that he couldn't find anyone that was well informed as he made his way across the country. As hopeless as his assignment seemed, Jim decided that he would at least take the opportunity to visit the beach on the west coast.
As Jim pulled up to the coastline all he could see for miles was the tide of the ocean methodically going in and out. It was the middle of summer, but there were no people at the beach. All was void except for one small group of teenagers. Jim had stuck out at nearly every other group that he had talked to, so Jim decided he had nothing to lose and went up to the teenagers to ask for their opinions. After a few minutes Jim didn't get the answer he was looking for, but he did receive a response. The teenagers were all orphans that lived in a low income area in a nearby town. They explained how most of their days were spent on the beach enjoying the sun and living life without a care. Their school had gotten shut down due to lack of funding and they just decided it wasn't worth the trouble to go another thirty miles to another school. The teenagers wondered why the government hadn't done anything to help them and in turn had developed a disinterest. With this, the teenagers walked off down the coastline with the waves washing over their feet as they disappeared further down the beach.
Jim couldn't believe the results of his inquiries. From complete apathy to hurt citizens that turned their backs on the government that they believed had done the same to them, it seemed that the majority of the population was disconnected to the government and was content staying that way. Jim knew that something had to be done. He knew that his piece he was going to write would call to action the network to form a bridge between the government and it's citizens. To try and return to a time at which the populace didn't simply embark upon a journey of empty action and emotion without taking hold of the reigns and making an impact on their lives, as well as their fellow man's.
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