The Outside World

The bar was quiet Saturday afternoon, with one customer at the bar leaning on the counter top. Seen in the dim light my eyes were adjusting. An old man in shabby clothes, looked like he had lived a hell of a life must have been ninety nine, and here he was here seeking refuge from the outside world- just like me..

The outside world - where cars streamed past in a multi coloured blur, and people moved like a thousand praying priests in grim determination, moving fast, their minds focused on each step ahead into a distant future of golden dreams.

Took a seat one away in a tall stool and ordered a beer from the girl behind the bar with psychedelic hair, she was friendly as anything; with a smile and a nod, she placed the beer in front of me, my hand searching for coins in my pocket. Irish music was on the sound system on low.

Not bothering to count them I just put the pile on the bar, let her sort it out, and said on a whim ‘Another one please, for him’.

The old man glanced quickly just nodding thanks, we settled back, just taking slow sips of beer, both thinking of what to say. Finally, the old man cleared his throat, turning his head at me deliberately where I could focus on him better.

Pale blue eyes regarded me with clear intelligence. His face didn’t really matter; it was all about the eyes with people.

The girl busied herself washing glasses, with a chink of glass now and again. Then suddenly he just spoke in the gravelliest voice heard. As he leaned forward I heard this.

‘The problem is they divide us by political, religious and monetary means. Politically they don’t really care who you follow, that is subterfuge, to detract from the government in power at that particular time’.

‘Power players still sit at their seat in Senate, while Liberal, Labour, Democrat, Conservative, and whatever other political party, poke their irons in the fire, while the masses vote’.

‘Another ballot doesn’t change the pieces on the chess board in Government. They remain the same, worldwide. Main players are USA, Great Britain and Australia. That is the Western World’.

He grinned slightly and asked ‘I hope you’re following me? He lit a smoke, offered me one, which I took, glancing at the beer in front of me i took a gulp, and replied ‘Yes’. He slid the lighter over.

‘Good ‘he said continuing ‘The Western World follows the Roman system of Senate and Senators, and has expanded on that, becoming Government now, introducing new laws daily and to the political process itself. It is ever changing, but basically the same’.

‘The army and police are there to protect the people, but also to control law and order, in an increasingly order less world, they are employed by Government’.

‘Ok, religion, same set up. Since BC became AD. The bible was written, after Christ was supposedly put to a cross with two thieves on Golgotha. By, you guessed it, the Romans’..

‘In an effort to hope for higher meaning, people gravitate toward religion. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikh, Catholicism, Methodist, Druidism – all of it’.

‘Now wars are fought over religion – and which God to believe in. Armies have clashed in deserts during the Crusades in the name of the pope. All in the name of religion’.

That’s the Israeli Gaza conflict, though I admit some of it is about land. Some picking up a gun to enforce it, how insane is that?’. I just nodded in agreement dumbfounded.

Mao Ze Dong said to the Dalai Lama that religion is poison, which may have been right, except he followed his own particular religion, Communism, Just another politician’.

The beer level was going down; I looked at the girl said ‘Please two more’- finally finding a note in my pocket.

The old man paused, looked around the bar, and said ‘All this means nothing, that money you put there is nothing, though i am enjoying this beer with you’. So I raised my glass a bit..

‘Money was invented by the Chinese or Romans, doesn’t really matter, that’s up for conjecture, so we’ll stick with the Romans’.

‘Monetarily it’s no different, whole lives are lost with mortgages, loans, property, paying off the banks’.

‘Working jobs to earn money that the Government taxes-through the bank when you get paid’.

‘Now to the stock market, this was created to buy, sell shares of a company.

You can buy, sell trade anything, the stock market is life. You are investing your money into life and making money from it. You can pick up any newspaper with a hundred grand in your pocket; you can predict what’s going to happen next. Make some money’.

‘What do you mean?’ I asked. He nodded ‘Good question’ he said. ‘It’s called stock market prediction, if you’re smart enough to know how to play the game’.

‘You follow mining say cars – like the electric cars now. A company in China is competing with Tesla.They have just got a contract to make a million cars, you invest, that’s reading the stock market. It booms, you make money when you sell’.

‘Sometimes you’ve got inherited wealth, which is a story in itself-like in oil. Like the princes of Saudi, or Texas cowboys who struck gold with the black stuff bubbling out the ground. Money is a means to an end, some have it some don’t’. Some are born into it, some are lucky, some are smart and some work hard for it. These people I respect the most’.

I felt like a bourbon by now, we had covered it all, politics, religion and money. So I just remember asking him, ‘What is it all about then?’.

The old man just rubbed his forehead and said, not looking at me ‘I loved a girl once, just like you may love a girl’.

He continued, ‘That’s what life is, what you hold and see, who and what you have loved or who has loved you. It’s not about politics, religion or money. It’s about heart’.

‘Forget the mind, mind is only knowledge. The heart matters most’. He pointed at his own chest. The girl had stopped washing glasses by now and was just listening.

Feeling half-drunk, not sure on the words or beer, I understood everything, but had not said so at the time. So shaking the man by the hand I asked, ‘Thank you do you need anything?’.

‘Another drink if you’ve got one?’ he, asked looking at me again. I put a twenty down, was saving it, on the bar, ‘What was your name? I asked.

‘Don’t like to give out my name’ the old man said. ‘No offence’.

‘None taken, thank you, see you later’ I replied, and giving the girl a wave, I glanced at todays paper at the end of the bar, then thought against picking it up, and walked to the outside world.