Morrie & Jim on Climate Change
January 1st 2010 02:15
CO2
The station wagon slowed as the turn off came in view and turned. The 35 ton of loaded semi had no hope of stopping and young Maurice was left an orphan. Mum, Dad, and sister were taken back to the city for the funeral. Such a sad occasion, one small seven year old, left alone when he needed love and guidance most. None of the family could take the small boy so he was sent off to his Grand dad in a small country town. Old Jim Johnston met Maurice at the bus stop.
“Are you Maurice Whiteman?” Jim said as Maurice walked down from inside the bus.
“Yeah! I am. You must be my Grand dad.”
“ Right on, boy. Let’s get your bags and I’ll take you home. Still got some jobs to do before dark.”
“I’ve only got two. One with clothes in and a little one with a few things in it.”
“Right, I got the suitcase, you bring that little one.”
“ Yeah. They wouldn’t let me bring my computer games and stuff. I am gunna get bored quick out here. Nuthin to do.”
“ Chuck that bag in the back of the ute, boy, and we’ll be off.”
“Where’s your house Grandad, close to a shop I hope.”
“Not far boy, bout three miles I reckon. Do you like dogs and cats and chooks and stuff like that?”
“ We never had a pet. Mum and Dad were always at work. But the kid across the street had a Maltese though.”
The face of the boy dropped when he mentioned his recently deceased parents. Jim put his arm across the boys shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze with his big hand.
“Come on, you can help me feed the chooks as soon as we get home. Then the cat and the dog. After that you and I can feed ourselves and have a quiet yarn together.”
Jim made sure that Maurice was properly buckled up, closed his door and walked round to the drivers side of the ute. He saw the tears on the young face but made no mention of it, and drove the fifteen minutes home in silence. They turned off the main road and up the long driveway to the house.
“Geez, Grandad, your postman has a long way to go every day.”
“ Not here boy, he only comes Monday, Wednesday and Friday and he stops down at the road.”
“How do you know if he leaves any mail?”
“Go down and look, boy. C’mon put that bag down over there. This is your room. You can unpack later. We got animals to feed.”
It does not take long to feed six hens , two roosters and three ducks. Jim made it last and spent time introducing Maurice to them all. Next was the dog and cat, both old, and both quiet and seemingly unresponsive. Jim took young Maurice into his kitchen where the two of them managed to get their evening meal and clean up. Maurice was bursting with questions, choked up with grief and very respectful of Jim all at the same time. They each took a comfortable chair and Jim turned to Maurice.
“Do you like your name Boy?”
“No, I rather be called Morrie or something like that.”
“Why? Do the kids at school give you a hard time and drag out the last bit, like Maureece?”
“How did you know they do that?”
“I may be old boy, but I ain’t dumb. So we’ll rename you Morris. What about your last name, Whiteman?’
“You mean I can change that too?”
“Why not? How about Whitman? If someone finds out you can say I can’t spell and blame me.”
“ It sounds better than White man. Ok. Where’s your TV and have you got a computer. I hardly ever talked to my parents. They gave me my own computer and a Game Boy. Lots of fun with them. I had –“
“ Slow down a bit, we got plenty of time. TV is in here” Jim opened two smallish cupboard doors and pushed them back apparently into the wall revealing the TV.
“You can’t watch tele all the time, you know. Over here is the bookshelves. You can read whatever you want anytime you like. The music CD’s are under the TV, DVD player is this next door with some movies you probably won’t like, but they’re all I have. Won’t watch any thing for a while though cause there is a thunderstorm not far away and I shut down all electrical stuff for safety. Come on, we’ll go and watch the light show in the sky.”
“What do you mean, ‘light show’?”
“Don’t you ever watch the lightning in amongst the clouds when a storm is coming?”
“No. I’m scared of it. I shut the blinds and hope it goes away.”
“It won’t hurt you as long as you are a bit careful. Come on, out the back is where the best view will be.”
“Do I have to go and look?”
“You sure do, better than all those fireworks that foul up the air at New Years Eve in Sydney.”
“ They don’t have much carbon in them, so they won’t make the world get hotter.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, that’s what they say anyway.”
“What’s this guff about carbon? Are they teaching you about that at School?”
“Yes. Everyone knows that carbon is making the world hotter and is gunna muck up our climate.”
“Do they give you facts and figures, like real science facts. Or do they just tell you?”
“They tell us. We are just kids, we wouldn’t understand the science stuff. Geez! Look at that!”
A vertical lighting bolt had just lit up the sky and Morrie was amazed. He was also frightened and kept very close to Jims side for protection and comfort. Jim placed a hand on his shoulder. The storm was raging way across the valley and was slowly moving further away. The old man and the young boy stood there for several minutes watching and enjoying the display put on by nature. Finally they turned and went back inside.
“Geez! Grandad, I never seen anything like that; ever. How come we don’t have all that in the city? It’s wonderful; but scary.”
“ You do have it, Boy, but you got so many houses and stuff around you can’t see it to appreciate it. Anyway, you would be too busy with your game thingamajig to look.”
“Yeah, Grandad, I spent a lot of time with my Games. I am gunna get bored out here with nothing to play with.”
“Don’t let it worry you, there’s plenty of games going on out here what don’t use electricity and you’ll learn em quick enough. And there’s a bonus out here Boy, clean air and peace and quiet.”
“How come you got clean air all the time and we got pollution. The carbon pollution is everywhere. That’s what the teacher said at school.”
“This global warming stuff is worldwide, you know, it’s blaming carbon for it that’s all up the creek. It’s weather changes that everyone is worrying about. When I was a kid your age it was so hot we used to lie on a blanket in the back yard until the house cooled off enough to sleep. 100 bloody degrees at midnight, night after night after night. That was hot but no one thought of carbon trading schemes. Anyway the seasons have already changed by more than a month from when I was kid. The wheat farmers used to harvest their wheat in October, now they do it in December. That’s climate change”
“yeah, but grandad, the scientists say it gunna get hotter and when the ice at the north and south pole melts the sea will rise and flood some countries. We can’t let that happen. We gotta get the emissions trading schemes working to stop it.”
“How are they going to do that, by paying lots of money to some guy who says he can forecast the weather twenty or fifty years in advance? The silly beggers can’t even forecast a few days in advance and get it right.”
“But Grandad, they say the scientists have got it all worked out on computers and stuff.”
“ Computers do what you tell them to do. Computer models are what might happen if ---. You get my drift?”
“No, You lost me somewhere.”
“OK. A computer model is the computers response to information fed in to it. They get a whole heap of measurements, readings and stuff together, then put in a guess, what if the north wind blew south?, or something like that. Something that is not fact but purely a guess. The computer gives a response, just like it’s programmed to do. In weather forecasting they give you a map of a four day forecast, then change it every day to suit what actually happened and can be measured. The computer models can be manipulated to suit whatever result you want.”
“Geez, Grandad, people wouldn’t do that with climate change; would they?”
“Sure they would. Big business and super rich people have made their money their God. I don’t know if they pray to it, but it’s their sole purpose in life, make money. Suppose some of them got together and decided that because climate change was going to happen anyway, they had to find a way to make money out of it. Bingo! Carbon Trading Schemes; world wide. They could buy credits, sell credits and trade credits at some place like a Stock Market. They pinch the computer model from some scientific place that best suits their purpose and promote their idea. Get everyone to believe that mans science can prevent the worlds climate from changing. What a load of absolute nonsense. “
“ But grandad, what if the seas do rise? What if there are a lot of countries flooded out?”
“There you have it Boy. What if? What if the climate changed so much that the tropics froze and the poles grew palm trees? What if? That’s how they got the stuff about carbon in the first place. What if? No one can say they are wrong and prove it. Only in time will anyone really know. I reckon it would be better for us all if we started to learn how to live with whatever comes.”
“Geez, Grandad, you are a wise old man. Now I am confused again. Teacher says one thing, you say another. Maybe I should do as you say and start learning to live with hot sun, floods, bush fires, earthquakes, freezing cold and so on. If I had my computer I could look it all up on the internet.”
“Maybe it’s time for me to show you the ‘office’. Come on.”
“You are a bloody fraud, Grandad, you got two computers here and the desk top is more modern and faster than my old one. You didn’t say a word. I love you Grandad.”
“I love you too, Boy.”
“You know, Grandad, I have a name; would you call me Morrie please, instead of Boy?”
“ Sure, I can do that Morrie, But I also have a name and it ain’t grandad. You call me Jim and we got a deal. Shake to seal it?”
The two hands met and clasped to seal the agreement, the tiny soft hand of a small boy and the big bony hand of the old man. In that instant a bond was formed, a bond of love and mutual respect.
“Right Morrie, It’s bedtime. You get yourself a shower and to bed, then I’ll do the same. Tomorrow i want to take you outside and talk about carbon. Did you know that everything that grows uses carbon in some form or other? No? You are going to be busy with that computer finding out, aren’t you?”
“ Looks like I won’t need that game boy to keep busy after all. I never thought of things like we talked about. “
“ Sleep well Morrie, tomorrow is another day.”
The station wagon slowed as the turn off came in view and turned. The 35 ton of loaded semi had no hope of stopping and young Maurice was left an orphan. Mum, Dad, and sister were taken back to the city for the funeral. Such a sad occasion, one small seven year old, left alone when he needed love and guidance most. None of the family could take the small boy so he was sent off to his Grand dad in a small country town. Old Jim Johnston met Maurice at the bus stop.
“Are you Maurice Whiteman?” Jim said as Maurice walked down from inside the bus.
“Yeah! I am. You must be my Grand dad.”
“I’ve only got two. One with clothes in and a little one with a few things in it.”
“Right, I got the suitcase, you bring that little one.”
“ Yeah. They wouldn’t let me bring my computer games and stuff. I am gunna get bored quick out here. Nuthin to do.”
“ Chuck that bag in the back of the ute, boy, and we’ll be off.”
“Where’s your house Grandad, close to a shop I hope.”
“Not far boy, bout three miles I reckon. Do you like dogs and cats and chooks and stuff like that?”
“ We never had a pet. Mum and Dad were always at work. But the kid across the street had a Maltese though.”
The face of the boy dropped when he mentioned his recently deceased parents. Jim put his arm across the boys shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze with his big hand.
“Come on, you can help me feed the chooks as soon as we get home. Then the cat and the dog. After that you and I can feed ourselves and have a quiet yarn together.”
Jim made sure that Maurice was properly buckled up, closed his door and walked round to the drivers side of the ute. He saw the tears on the young face but made no mention of it, and drove the fifteen minutes home in silence. They turned off the main road and up the long driveway to the house.
“ Not here boy, he only comes Monday, Wednesday and Friday and he stops down at the road.”
“How do you know if he leaves any mail?”
“Go down and look, boy. C’mon put that bag down over there. This is your room. You can unpack later. We got animals to feed.”
It does not take long to feed six hens , two roosters and three ducks. Jim made it last and spent time introducing Maurice to them all. Next was the dog and cat, both old, and both quiet and seemingly unresponsive. Jim took young Maurice into his kitchen where the two of them managed to get their evening meal and clean up. Maurice was bursting with questions, choked up with grief and very respectful of Jim all at the same time. They each took a comfortable chair and Jim turned to Maurice.
“Do you like your name Boy?”
“No, I rather be called Morrie or something like that.”
“Why? Do the kids at school give you a hard time and drag out the last bit, like Maureece?”
“How did you know they do that?”
“I may be old boy, but I ain’t dumb. So we’ll rename you Morris. What about your last name, Whiteman?’
“You mean I can change that too?”
“Why not? How about Whitman? If someone finds out you can say I can’t spell and blame me.”
“ It sounds better than White man. Ok. Where’s your TV and have you got a computer. I hardly ever talked to my parents. They gave me my own computer and a Game Boy. Lots of fun with them. I had –“
“ Slow down a bit, we got plenty of time. TV is in here” Jim opened two smallish cupboard doors and pushed them back apparently into the wall revealing the TV.
“You can’t watch tele all the time, you know. Over here is the bookshelves. You can read whatever you want anytime you like. The music CD’s are under the TV, DVD player is this next door with some movies you probably won’t like, but they’re all I have. Won’t watch any thing for a while though cause there is a thunderstorm not far away and I shut down all electrical stuff for safety. Come on, we’ll go and watch the light show in the sky.”
“What do you mean, ‘light show’?”
“Don’t you ever watch the lightning in amongst the clouds when a storm is coming?”
“No. I’m scared of it. I shut the blinds and hope it goes away.”
“It won’t hurt you as long as you are a bit careful. Come on, out the back is where the best view will be.”
“Do I have to go and look?”
“You sure do, better than all those fireworks that foul up the air at New Years Eve in Sydney.”
“ They don’t have much carbon in them, so they won’t make the world get hotter.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, that’s what they say anyway.”
“What’s this guff about carbon? Are they teaching you about that at School?”
“Yes. Everyone knows that carbon is making the world hotter and is gunna muck up our climate.”
“Do they give you facts and figures, like real science facts. Or do they just tell you?”
“They tell us. We are just kids, we wouldn’t understand the science stuff. Geez! Look at that!”
A vertical lighting bolt had just lit up the sky and Morrie was amazed. He was also frightened and kept very close to Jims side for protection and comfort. Jim placed a hand on his shoulder. The storm was raging way across the valley and was slowly moving further away. The old man and the young boy stood there for several minutes watching and enjoying the display put on by nature. Finally they turned and went back inside.
“Geez! Grandad, I never seen anything like that; ever. How come we don’t have all that in the city? It’s wonderful; but scary.”
“ You do have it, Boy, but you got so many houses and stuff around you can’t see it to appreciate it. Anyway, you would be too busy with your game thingamajig to look.”
“Yeah, Grandad, I spent a lot of time with my Games. I am gunna get bored out here with nothing to play with.”
“Don’t let it worry you, there’s plenty of games going on out here what don’t use electricity and you’ll learn em quick enough. And there’s a bonus out here Boy, clean air and peace and quiet.”
“How come you got clean air all the time and we got pollution. The carbon pollution is everywhere. That’s what the teacher said at school.”
“This global warming stuff is worldwide, you know, it’s blaming carbon for it that’s all up the creek. It’s weather changes that everyone is worrying about. When I was a kid your age it was so hot we used to lie on a blanket in the back yard until the house cooled off enough to sleep. 100 bloody degrees at midnight, night after night after night. That was hot but no one thought of carbon trading schemes. Anyway the seasons have already changed by more than a month from when I was kid. The wheat farmers used to harvest their wheat in October, now they do it in December. That’s climate change”
“yeah, but grandad, the scientists say it gunna get hotter and when the ice at the north and south pole melts the sea will rise and flood some countries. We can’t let that happen. We gotta get the emissions trading schemes working to stop it.”
“How are they going to do that, by paying lots of money to some guy who says he can forecast the weather twenty or fifty years in advance? The silly beggers can’t even forecast a few days in advance and get it right.”
“But Grandad, they say the scientists have got it all worked out on computers and stuff.”
“ Computers do what you tell them to do. Computer models are what might happen if ---. You get my drift?”
“No, You lost me somewhere.”
“OK. A computer model is the computers response to information fed in to it. They get a whole heap of measurements, readings and stuff together, then put in a guess, what if the north wind blew south?, or something like that. Something that is not fact but purely a guess. The computer gives a response, just like it’s programmed to do. In weather forecasting they give you a map of a four day forecast, then change it every day to suit what actually happened and can be measured. The computer models can be manipulated to suit whatever result you want.”
“Geez, Grandad, people wouldn’t do that with climate change; would they?”
“Sure they would. Big business and super rich people have made their money their God. I don’t know if they pray to it, but it’s their sole purpose in life, make money. Suppose some of them got together and decided that because climate change was going to happen anyway, they had to find a way to make money out of it. Bingo! Carbon Trading Schemes; world wide. They could buy credits, sell credits and trade credits at some place like a Stock Market. They pinch the computer model from some scientific place that best suits their purpose and promote their idea. Get everyone to believe that mans science can prevent the worlds climate from changing. What a load of absolute nonsense. “
“ But grandad, what if the seas do rise? What if there are a lot of countries flooded out?”
“There you have it Boy. What if? What if the climate changed so much that the tropics froze and the poles grew palm trees? What if? That’s how they got the stuff about carbon in the first place. What if? No one can say they are wrong and prove it. Only in time will anyone really know. I reckon it would be better for us all if we started to learn how to live with whatever comes.”
“Geez, Grandad, you are a wise old man. Now I am confused again. Teacher says one thing, you say another. Maybe I should do as you say and start learning to live with hot sun, floods, bush fires, earthquakes, freezing cold and so on. If I had my computer I could look it all up on the internet.”
“Maybe it’s time for me to show you the ‘office’. Come on.”
“You are a bloody fraud, Grandad, you got two computers here and the desk top is more modern and faster than my old one. You didn’t say a word. I love you Grandad.”
“I love you too, Boy.”
“You know, Grandad, I have a name; would you call me Morrie please, instead of Boy?”
“ Sure, I can do that Morrie, But I also have a name and it ain’t grandad. You call me Jim and we got a deal. Shake to seal it?”
The two hands met and clasped to seal the agreement, the tiny soft hand of a small boy and the big bony hand of the old man. In that instant a bond was formed, a bond of love and mutual respect.
“Right Morrie, It’s bedtime. You get yourself a shower and to bed, then I’ll do the same. Tomorrow i want to take you outside and talk about carbon. Did you know that everything that grows uses carbon in some form or other? No? You are going to be busy with that computer finding out, aren’t you?”
“ Looks like I won’t need that game boy to keep busy after all. I never thought of things like we talked about. “
“ Sleep well Morrie, tomorrow is another day.”
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