Thamus
Why would anyone want to buy a flea, so why are there so many markets for them? It seems to be part of all ethnic cultures to celebrate the usefulness of these creatures that inhabit our houses, cats, dogs — and occasionally, children.
Nothing to do with babies. To crib, when I was at school, meant to copy homework or exam answers from another pupil - with or without their knowledge. Allowing someone to crib your own work could be a powerful tool. Our school bully was a thug named Nick Dempsey who came from a long line of school bullies and hence the fear he engendered traveled before him as he moved through the school system. Apocryphal tales of the horrors and tortures his elder brothers had visited upon the oiks of their day were whispered in dread among the desks and in the bicycle sheds. I quickly noticed however that Dempsey, the self appointed terror of the playground and the journey home from school, was not actually the strongest person in the class. I noted how Dempsey always avoided Dennis Mahoney, a gentle and friendly sold who had the build and strength of the oxen he probably manhandled on his father's farm. Mahoney never flaunted his strength, but neither did he interfere with Dempsey's bullying, opting to mind his own business in all things to do with the daily trials of school life. Though I was no wimp myself, I was clever and Dempsey had a native contempt for all things clever, studious, who knows what. So he took to baiting me, tripping me up, charging brutally in sports tackles. I had no hesitation in swinging back at him but after collecting a couple of bloody noses and various bruises, I quickly grew tired of the thuggery. Mahoney was not the brightest knife in the school cutlery box, but he seemed keen to master the work nonetheless. Here was a doable deal if ever I saw one. I quickly drew up a pact with him. I would help him with homework and offer crib facilities by sitting next to him during class tests. In return, every time Dempsey lunged towards me he would find that Mahoney had inexplicable placed himself in his path. No blows were ever exchanged, but it took Dempsey, thick as he was, very little time to get the message. Some time later, I upped the ante by adding just a few friends and a couple of the most vulnerable little ones to the Mahoney protection racket. We had just started algebra, which I was OK with me, but to Mahoney it was as incomprehensible as a Hebrew Bible written in Chinese characters. Dempsey was left to pay a heftier price by bullying those who were game enough to fight back, costing him time, black eyes and a reduced reputation.
The hand that rocks the cradle may rule the world, but the hand that controlled the crib brough down the mighty of the school yard.
My new girlfriend comes from Prague. I call her my Checkmate.
At what point in the chain of life does sanctity of life cease to apply. Somewhere above the cockroach? Below the bacterium?