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More Roses, Please
I had no idea what to do. I put my hand on his. I examined his teeth and assured him there were no worms in his mouth. He studied me for a moment, then a look of bitter betrayal swept across his face. The poor man began to wail that he had worms in his mouth. I felt completely powerless.
I did not notice when a hospital orderly entered the room and began to prepare a nearby bed. As soon as he heard the man’s cries he leaned over the bed. “What seems to be the problem here, my friend?” Hope returned to the man’s face. “I’ve got worms in my teeth!” The orderly, a wise looking old black man with white hair, looked over his bifocals knowingly. “Yes, I see what you’re talking about, but don’t bother them. They’re actually quite helpful!”
The orderly straightened a pillow and was gone. In a few minutes, the old man was peacefully asleep.
— Jim Rigby
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“We can’t be naïve in times like this, because we are in the presence of underworld forces that will do one of two things: they will either educate us, or annihilate us. And in fairy tales whenever the movement is down — and the movement culturally is down right now — you have to get underworld smart, have underworld intelligence, underworld metis.
— Martin Shaw
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