The natives are more notable for their industriousness than cleanliness. I cannot pass among them unnoticed because their skin has a deathly pallor, but they will talk to strangers. Many worship a man nailed to a tree, whom they consume symbolically on their holy day. They carry his image as a talisman around their necks, believing this will protect them from evil spirits.
Leadership is poorly developed, and they choose chiefs to make their decisions for them, rather than thrashing out problems in community meetings as civilised people do. Wealth is determined by possession and ritual display of little bits of paper, rather than by the real utility of cattle. I miss the heat of the savannah.
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Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
You had me with the first line, and then it just got better.
Superb portrayal of our pathetic and delusional approach to life.
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Thanks so much. I didn’t really intend it as a critique of our way of life. It was more an exercise in exploring the experience of alienness
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Well, for me it is an accurate and scathing indictment of our society.
You expose religion, politics and capitalism as false gods.
And then you have a wee dig at the weather – brilliant!
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Oh yes Neil. Excellent writing and it made me smile. So very clever too.
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Thanks so much, Derek
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I sometimes wonder why ‘deathly pallor’ is considered to be superior. You’ve done a great job of putting a dent into righteousness.
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Thanks so much
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All I can say is at least I don’t worship the man nailed to the tree! You nailed ‘us’ pretty well there.
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Heathen! Thanks so much, Iain
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There’s leadership and then there’s leadership.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I think his comment was more about mandate than leadership
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Yes, it does look a tad odd from the outside looking in. 🙂 Well done.
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Thanks so much, Sandra
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Reminds of Tacitus’ writing on the Germanic tribes. Well done.
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There’s always an assumption that “my culture is more civilised than your culture”
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Yes, this shows the so-called developed world from a whole new perspective. Cleverly done, Neil.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thanks so much, Susan
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Well done! I like the view from another’s eyes! We need to do this more often in our society!
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If we could see ourselves as others do ….
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Point of view is very important. “Technical” does not mean “better” by any stretch….
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Agreed. And technical needn’t mean technological. Being able to track a deer for hours through the brush is also technical
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Yes, good point.
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Now I’ve read your offering for this week, I miss the savannah too. Trouble is, once you start noticing the nuttiness, you can’t stop. Great piece of writing, Neil.
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Thanks so much, Jilly, We miss you here
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Thank you, Neil. That’s very kind.
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I’m thankful that the Man is no longer nailed to the tree. Inventive, creative and thought-provoking.
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Thanks so much, Linda
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That’s just the way it is. Whether or not things could have been made better, who knows?
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He thinks it’s better where he comes from. But, then, so does everyone
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Interesting perspective – I wonder if they really see us like that?
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If we tend to see them through that kind of lens, chances are it works that way for them
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Grubby pretty much describes it in a nutshell (no offense to grubs.)
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In a sleek and technologically sophisticated sort of way
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well said. I’ll head out to the pasture and count the cows now.
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Excellent
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I often look at our society and wonder how one who is alien to our culture would view it. I usually view most of it as strange. The device of torture worn around necks and nailed to walls as a talisman is a particular oddity to me. That’s a peculiar way to show how civilized one is. Of course, if we switch to the cow system, I’ll be poorer than I am now. Well done.
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Thanks so much. Actually, wealth systems based on cattle tend to be quite complicated and not susceptible of easy calculation of wealth, not least because it confer obligations
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I seem to be in the minority, but I worship the man on the tree. I dare say I am happier than those who do not. For me Christmas really is the celebration of the Man of Peace.
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Faith is a gift
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Yes, and as a gift one can choose to take it or leave it. Peace, love, and comfort to you as you enjoy the take-aways from special family type season.
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like they say, if there’s no god we’d have to create one. the more mysterious, the better. 🙂
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Effable gods don’t last long
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I have long thought that travel to warm country’s should be offered under our health care system, it would warm my bones and give me colour. Yes you have got me thinking,
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Thinking can never be a bad thing
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Hs! Fabulous report! I’m guessing the recommendation is … avoid for foreseeable future
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Very probably. I’m not sure it merited a “mostly harmless” classification
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Love the switch around in perspective. So that’s how we appear to outsiders.
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Hard to tell for sure since this was written by an insider
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Yes, there is something contradictory about nailing a man to a tree to ward of evil.
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I think all cultures have deeply embedded contradictions
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Love the prose here and how you add that element of social criticism to the surreality of the story. It makes you feel both in and out of the story at the same time. I like it. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Anne
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I love the inventive, funny perspective of the field reporter, a very clever take on our customs.
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Thanks so much
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I too worship the Man who was on the cross. I don’t see the cross as an instrument of torture but as a token of God’s love for mankind and His Son’s willingness to lay down His life. You’re right. There as some who literally think that they are consuming His flesh and blood when they take the Holy Communion. Of course, it was meant to be symbolic not literal. Very thought provoking piece, Neil.
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Thanks so much. All field reporters are liable to misinterpret what they see
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You’re welcome 🙂 and you’re right about the field reporters.
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