the reach of rome
Folks down by me live by a different Code. Mostly their own. You live hell and gone from the Reach of Rome, you tend to make up your own rules that meet your local needs. Laws from places half of us never visited …. well…. Our boys down here are notorious for exaggeration. What you might call, for want of a better word, Liars. B.S.ers, braggarts, purveyors of Tall Tales. They still think this the Wild West and they’re the last of the cowboys. They mostly do what they want and call it freedom. Laws were made for suckers and sheep. They’re, by god, not bound by any rules or regulations, they’ll have you know.
I got a little of that in me too, so when I say these outlaws are slightly left of scofflaw, trust me, they’re slightly on the dangerous side. Sure, some are mild as Two Toke Tom who grows weed the way Grampa Daddle made moonshine. Just trying to make a living in times out of synch with societal demands. Prohibition comes and goes. Today’s criminal is tomorrow’s CEO. Some of us are just a little ahead of the curve, or so says Two Toke. We all got a small inclination toward the miscreant, I guess. Well, maybe not the missus. She toes the straight and narrow. And tries her best to help me do the same. Probably why I’m a pillar of the community. I’d hate to think what might happen if I was left with my own de-vices.
My pals poach, crab, overharvest free range clams, shoot deer out of season with a rifle, not a shotgun, and generally proceed as if game wardens and police officers were mythical creatures. They eschew niceties like auto insurance, ignore speed limits, drive under the influence and cheat the government on taxes every chance they get. Which, since mostly they’re unemployed, isn’t all that often.
They build without permits, hunt without licenses, drive without insurance, work ‘under the table’ and generally navigate life as if government was a volunteer program. All these folks who constantly carp and complain about government, they look at with total bemusement. Government certainly doesn’t apply to them, why should it bother anybody? I suppose there will come a time when Rome rolls in, wanting its tribute. By then we’ll probably all be a docile crowd down here, ready for government health care, meals on wheels and a good nursing home. Sure hope they don’t have rules at the Mabana Assisted Living Villa. The boys will want to stay up past Lights Out — even if they’re just asleep on the couch in front of the big screen communal TV.
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