An Allegory for "The Chat"?

[Kooljock1]

From today's CCA website:



LionelVille Town Hall Meeting report...
by Z.W. Messengetti
November 20, 2004

The parking lot was full of cars. It occurred to me that I had not seen this many people in one place in LIONELVILLE in a long time. The recreation center was full. People in the back stood on chairs. I took out my portable recorder and switched it to the on position. Just then deputy Skinner walked up to the podium.

"Welcome everyone. This town hall meeting is about to come to order. Please take your seats or find a place to stand where you are not blocking your neighbor if possible."

I had been late arriving and wondered if I could get a place close enough to hear and record all the events for my story. The lot being totally full, I parked down the street and walked in with a young mother and her two kids. She said her husband still worked for the company. They were good looking kids and daddy was not with them. She said he was at the plant tonight.

Outside the hall a crescent moon was peaking through the clouds. The air was cold and brisk. It seemed like winter would soon arrive. A few stragglers were still arriving when the mayor was introduced by Deputy Skinner.

"Ladies and gentleman it gives me great pleasure to introduce mayor Caruso."

The mayor, obviously impressed by the size of the crowd packed into the recreation hall, waved his hands about and gestured to people in the audience that he recognized, which was almost everyone. He reserved a wink for someone wearing a fedora hat sitting in the front row just to the left of the podium.

"Thank you deputy Skinner. Thank you citizens. Thank you honored guests. Let me begin tonight by saying thank you for coming to this important meeting. As many of you know, the women's auxiliary is responsible for the decorations and refreshments this evening. Thank you ladies.

"We are here tonight to discuss the situation that the company is in. Many of you have called me with questions about the future of LIONELVILLE with the company in bankruptcy. I know you are concerned. I could read you a statement from the company but you have already read it over and over in today's paper. Copies of the statement are on each seat. Take a minute to read it now if you haven't already.

"The company recently suffered a huge loss in the courts, with a multi million-dollar verdict going against us. Many of you have opinions and questions. Don't worry. We will have a chance to hear you tonight. LIONEL has announced that business will continue as usual and all orders will be fulfilled. A new catalog will be available soon and things will proceed as normal. As a matter of fact, there are some here in this room that have told me personally that the company is about to unveil an exciting new technology. Folks are very upbeat about this and report that people at LIONEL still are feeling good about the future.

"Now, I would like to open up the floor for questions. Please introduce yourself before speaking and do speak loudly so we can all hear. A wireless microphone is available. Just raise your hand if you have something to say."

At this point, a lot of hands were raised and the mayor chose a lady in the middle of the room.

"My name is Claudette Coil and I want to know why LIONEL employees did such bad things and behaved so unscrupulously. How could this have happened?" A chorus of agreement rose from the audience. Many people shared this same question.

The mayor paused and smiled at the young lady. "A lot of things have happened at the plant that no one understands. I can tell you that those people who wronged the company are all gone, with a few exceptions, according to the new CEO. There will be further announcements of departures. I can't tell you why some former employees behaved so poorly and had such poor judgment."

A groan of disapproval greeted the mayor. Someone called out "We want to know more."

A man in OSH KOSH overalls stood and raised his hand. "My name is Henry Rail. I read in the paper that this all started in KOREA. It said someone, a worker from Sam something, a company that manufactures for the same company that sued LIONEL right here in the USA, that guy started this whole thing off by giving stolen documents to a guy working for Lionel's manufacturers in Korea. These two guys were friends. Then someone blew the whistle and those two guys both went to jail for a few months and now they're back on the job. This whole thing stinks! I think they were in cahoots. I think it was a plan from the beginning to trap LIONEL and then sue the company here in the states. That guy was a designer who worked closely with Mr. Coyote for several years. In my opinion, it was all started by Mr. Coyote's company, the company that sued LIONEL. Could that be true? Was the first move that started this whole mess really made by a person working indirectly for the company that sued LIONEL? They set up the whole deal!"

Half the house rose to stand yelling, "He's right! How could that be? That is crazy!" Now the meeting was totally out of order. The mayor banged his gavel on the podium repeatedly. He kept banging and people kept yelling. Some people were really angry.

"Order! Order! Order!" yelled the Mayor. "Sit down folks. Take it easy. Let me answer the question.

"Now I'm not saying that couldn't have happened. I'm just saying that it wasn't part of the case. The verdict is in. That scenario never came up in the trial. It probably would have if there had been any merit to it. We must face reality and live with the verdict."

Slowly people sat down, talking amongst themselves and shaking their heads. A gentleman of color stood up in the back. "My name is Hollis Ash and I work for the sanatation department in Rail town. I think LIONEL shud stop da whining and just pay da mony! They got what they deserved." The big man smiled and waved at the people in the hall, who were looking at him with many different faces. Then he sat down.

"My name is Boxcar Joe, and I live right here in LIONELVILLE. It said in the paper that the guy's name was Mr. Ahn, and he was a former design engineer there in Korea. He probably knew Mr. Coyote well, as he was a designer and Mr. Coyote, the owner of the company that sued our company, had his designs made there and visited often. Mr. Ahn had just recently left the company when the move was made on Lionel's vendor in Korea. Don't you think they could have made a deal of some kind to trap" THUNK

That was when my tape recorder ran out. I should have checked to see that the tape was at the beginning when I started recording. The rest is from memory.

The mayor once again said that people must face reality. Nothing about a set up ever came up at the trial and the verdict is in. It's over. Now the company is bankrupt and they will appeal the case to another court. They have new lawyers and are positive about turning the case around.

The mayor went on to explain that if people supported the company, it would do all right, and make it out of this alive. If people did not support the company, it would hurt the chances of a full recovery and possibly be the end of the company. Many more people spoke and then there was a break for coffee and donuts, served graciously by the women's auxiliary.

As a side note, on my way home, I passed the plant and a few lights were still on. I slowed down my old Ford to take a closer look. I have never seen lights on at night in the main building. A crescent moon hung above the plant. A few cars were still in the lot. Very unusual. But these are unusual times.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Unusual times indeed. I posted this on OGR, but it was deleted within minutes. I find it interesting and fun, but I suppose some might find it inflamatory.

Jon [8D]

[Anonymous]

Why bother. Post it here. This is a friendlier place.

[nblum]

For some time now, any mention or quoting of the Clyde Coil site has usually
meant rapid zapping by one of the six or seven moderators of the OGRR Forum.
I don't think they much like Clyde or his pro-Lionel points of view :)

[Anonymous]

Clyde PWN3S

[Anonymous]

PWN3S = Dominates.

[ben10ben]

I couldn't help but laugh when I read it. Mr. Coyote is, of course, Mike Wolf, and Hollis Ash(pay da money) is Tony Lash[:)].

I really liked the second part much better than I did the first.

[Anonymous]

I actually sorta like Tony Lash. He is a loyal friend to Mike

[Anonymous]

And clyde should have used "Fox" instead of "Coyote"

[ben10ben]

I couldn't help but laugh when I read it. Mr. Coyote is, of course, Mike Wolf, and Hollis Ash(pay da money) is Tony Lash[:)].

I really liked the second part much better than I did the first.

[nblum]

The latest thread containing even oblique reference to Clyde's latest story on the OGRR Forum has been zapped.
I honestly don't think Rich Melvin is zapping these threads, but I have a pretty good idea who it is,
and folks would be surprised at the occupation of that someone. I suspect some here
can guess. The hostility to the Clyde Coil site appears not to be primarily the OGRR owners but
some of their immoderate "moderators."

[Bob Keller]

It reads like something out of the science fiction section at Barnes & Noble. What's next? The mayor starts choking, falls over on the table, and a K-Line Shay pops out of his chest? Is that Rod Serling standing over there, in the corner....

[Anonymous]

Who does Deputy Skinner represent?

[nblum]

Bob, thanks for leaving this topic up. It speaks well of Kalmbach, CTT and your personal commitment to
open discussion of issues that critically affect the industry and thus, the hobby. Clyde Coil
is clearly an unofficial voice of an important Lionel insider, and thus provides insight
into what is going on at Lionel, as well as amusement (for some of us) and positive karma through the TMCC
educational features of his site. To censor any mention of the Clyde Coil site would be a mistake and I
hope you will continue to permit some crosstalk on these issues. Thanks very much. It is appreciated.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Ogaugeoverlord

It reads like something out of the science fiction section at Barnes & Noble. What's next? The mayor starts choking, falls over on the table, and a K-Line Shay pops out of his chest? Is that Rod Serling standing over there, in the corner....

Actually Bob, I think this story comes from a different section at the book store. Political satire, more akin to The Wizard of OZ. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.[swg]

[garyseven]

This Just In:

Freak Mudslides hit Lionelville. In a related story, two grave robbers were apprehended when Lionelville Cemetery slid into the jail.

Lionelville Police responded to a report of prowlers rattling a woman’s bedroom window on Clint Nugent Way — officers found two suspects wearing black masks, both raccoons.

Police visited an Lionelville home to attend to a resident’s report of five invisible people hiding inside the house. A mysterious man with the deerstalker cap told police that sometimes there are up to 25 invisible people at his home. Police reports state that an officer asked the invisible people to leave, and thus reassured the resident.

No, Ninos, “Pescado” isn’t Mexican Money. It’s Fresh Fish. Fresh fi***acos will be added to the Lionelville Elementary school lunch menu in the fall. It will take the place of Creamed Hamburger on Toast in the semester’s rotation.

Tragedy struck at Lionelville High School when janitor, Ted Eastwood carrying an electric toaster fell into the swimming pool. Although the toaster was not plugged in, the custodian, who was unable to swim, drowned.

Gerald Eight out of positive karma - Agrarian_William eats boxcar filled with KRAPA Scrapple. Films at 11.

[Buckeye Riveter]

I can't believe a train or two hasn't derailed in Lionelville and destroyed the outhouse behind city hall.

Great satire. [:)]